Sabah News

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia – On a soft couch in the chilled lobby of a luxury hotel, Mason Campbell shifts somewhat uncomfortably in his dark suit. He’s waiting to head to a…

SUKAU, Malaysia – At first blush, the muddy waters of the Kinabatangan River in northern Borneo seem to laze through a hodge-podge of sleepy fishing and farming villages. The river…

After graduating from school, Aaron "Bertie" Gekoski was on a fairly conventional career path for a young businessman, starting out in copyediting for a magazine before launching a modeling agency…

Details of this interview are contested. The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is extinct in the wild in Malaysia. But a recently published study sheds some light on what motivated poachers…

"After a week of grave concern, we have some positive news," the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) announced today. "Puntung looks like she's getting better." Female Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) Puntung,…

A controversial bridge appears to be inching toward construction in northern Malaysian Borneo. For more than a year, scientists and conservationists have argued that the 350-meter (1,148-foot) Sukau bridge crossing…

The story of a species with one of earth’s oldest mammal lineages, the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is an illuminating chapter in the tale of what scientists are now calling…

Last month, poachers slaughtered two elephants for ivory in Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. Wildlife rescuers discovered the remains of the first Borneo elephant on December 27, and those of the second…

The fate of a forest tract in Malaysia may have shifted dramatically in just the last few months. For three years, a group of conservation NGOs in Sabah, a Malaysian…

In 2015, Malaysian officials publicly confirmed there were no wild rhinos left in Malaysia. It was grim news for the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), whose surviving population is now believed…

For thousands of years Sabah’s magnificent 560-kilometer-long (about 348-mile-long) Kinabatangan River has wound its way down from the hills of Borneo’s northern interior through some of the planet’s richest lowland…

There’s probably only one thing left that can save the Bornean rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni): cutting-edge, high cost in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology. This subspecies of the Critically Endangered Sumatran…

A few months ago, it was announced that there was a new record for the world's tallest tropical tree: a Yellow Meranti (Shorea faguetiana) found in Sabah, one of the…

Among the World’s most controversial industries, palm oil production is once again in the headlines. The polarized rhetoric and contradictory claims – concerning who really did what and where –…

Last week, Malaysia formally established its largest marine park — the Tun Mustapha Park — off Sabah Province in Borneo. The park is the result of more than 13 years…

A yellow meranti (Shorea faguetiana) in Sabah, a state in Malaysian Borneo, has been crowned by researchers the tallest tree in the tropics. The giant, which measures 89.5 meters (293.6…

Other stories in Mongabay's Conservation, Divided series: Part 2: How big donors and corporations shape conservation goals Part 3: Conservation today, the old-fashioned way Part 4: Conservation's people problem Epilogue: Conservation…

A new study shows that in addition to degrading and destroying habitat that wildlife depend on, logging continues to impact forest inhabitants well after the damage is done by helping…

A commentary by rhino expert John Payne urges the use of all available technologies to raise birth rates of Sumatran rhinos.

I have spent the better part of the past 45 years promoting conservation of primates and their tropical forest habitats, and have had the opportunity to visit and experience firsthand…

Christmas has come early for some of the planet's most endangered animals: the Malaysian state of Sabah has established a 68,000-hectare rainforest reserve that houses orangutans, elephants, and clouded leopards,…

With devastating fires in Indonesia providing a backdrop for the destruction wrought by unrestrained plantation development, the Malaysian Borneo state of Sabah on Wednesday announced it is pressing forward with…

Can a sanctuary in Indonesia keep the world's most imperiled rhino from extinction? "One percent of the world's population," veterinarian Zulfi Arsan says as he nods towards Bina, a 714-kilogram…

Giant river toad. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler. It's no secret that vital biodiversity hotspots in Southeast Asia are under threat from logging and the spread of oil palm plantations.…

Logged over forest and oil palm in Sabah. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Sabah, a state in Malaysian Borneo, is weighing a proposal to produce only palm oil certified under…

CAO lasers easily penetrate forest canopies to reveal minute variations in ground elevation associated with soils. This images shows a ground elevation map in dense tropical forest of western Amazon.…

. Up to 64 percent of above-ground biomass in selectively logged forests may consist of dead wood left over from logging damage, argues a paper published this week in Environmental…

A Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) at Sepilok Rehabilitation Center in Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. The three nations that share Borneo could save themselves $43 billion by more…

Malaysian officials admit the Bornean rhino may only be represented by three surviving captive animals Tam, here at Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Sabah, may be the world's last male Bornean…

Mt. Kinabalu, in the Crocker Range of Sabah, Malaysia, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Part of the Crocker Range would be flooded if the Kaiduan dam is built. Credit: Shankar S.…