Asie - Borneo (130) Images supplémentaires...
Charles Darwin's description of Borneo as a "great, wild, luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself" is apt. The world's third largest island contains arguably the greatest plant diversity of any region on earth, more bird species than all of Europe and the same number of mammals as the continent of Australia. Within ten acres of its rainforests, the tallest in the world, there are more tree species than in all of North America.

Borneo's varied landscapes are hotspots for biodiversity and include lush rainforests, mangroves, swamps, coral-fringed offshore islands and the montane forests which reach their highest altitude on Mt Kinabulu, the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia.

Borneo is perhaps best known as the home of the Orangutan - but also harbours the Bornean pygmy elephant, the unusual proboscis monkey, carnivorous pitcher plants and a rare and celebrated orchid flora. It is also the home of gliding frogs and the world's largest bloom - the Rafflesia flower. In the last decade alone, 400 new species have been discovered on the island, including an extremely rare subspecies of clouded leopard.

The relatively unspoilt central region, known as the "heart of Borneo", is the focus of conservation efforts to mitigate wildlife trade and hunting, commercial logging and large-scale clearing for palm oil cultivation (a principal ingredient in 10% of Western-world supermarket produce).

For more information and images, contact timaldred@naturepl.com.

RF- Sunrise and mist over lowland dipterocarp rainforest. Danum valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. (This image may be licensed either as rights managed or royalty free.)
01160635
Nick Garbutt / RF- Sunrise and mist over lowland dipterocarp rainforest. Danum valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. (This image may be licensed either as rights managed or royalty free.)
Western tarsier (Tarsius bancanus) clinging to tree, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo
01174932
Nick Garbutt / Western tarsier (Tarsius bancanus) clinging to tree, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo
Bornean angle-headed lizard (Gonocephalus bornensis) with mouth open in forest habitat, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
01217524
Nick Garbutt / Bornean angle-headed lizard (Gonocephalus bornensis) with mouth open in forest habitat, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Wallace's gliding frog's extensive foot webbing allows it to glide long distances (Resolution restriction - image digitised from film, 'Weird Nature' tv series)
01092543
Tim MacMillan / John Downer Pr / Wallace's gliding frog's extensive foot webbing allows it to glide long distances (Resolution restriction - image digitised from film, 'Weird Nature' tv series)
Sunrise and mist over lowland dipterocarp rainforest, Danum valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
01160637
Nick Garbutt / Sunrise and mist over lowland dipterocarp rainforest, Danum valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Bornean pygmy forest elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) browsing beside water, Rio Sungai Kinabatangan, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
01219971
Juan Carlos Munoz / Bornean pygmy forest elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) browsing beside water, Rio Sungai Kinabatangan, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Rafflesia (Rafflesia keithii) the worlds largest known flower, Gunung Gading National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia
01319149
Edwin Giesbers / Rafflesia (Rafflesia keithii) the worlds largest known flower, Gunung Gading National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia
Close up of juvenile Reticulated python (Python reticulatus) looking down from tree, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
01217520
Nick Garbutt / Close up of juvenile Reticulated python (Python reticulatus) looking down from tree, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Male Bearded pig (Sus barbatus) at forest wallow. Bako NP, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia
01217446
Nick Garbutt / Male Bearded pig (Sus barbatus) at forest wallow. Bako NP, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia
Male Three-horned Rhinoceros beetle {Chalcosoma mollenkampi} on buttress root, lowland rain forest, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.
01152253
Nick Garbutt / Male Three-horned Rhinoceros beetle {Chalcosoma mollenkampi} on buttress root, lowland rain forest, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.
Butterfly at rest on leaf, Sarawak Borneo, Malaysia, June
01319129
Edwin Giesbers / Butterfly at rest on leaf, Sarawak Borneo, Malaysia, June
Orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus) head portrait of dominant male called Aman. He is the first orangutan in the world to have had his cataracts operated on and his eye sight restored. Matang wildlife centre,...
01319212
Edwin Giesbers / Orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus) head portrait of dominant male called Aman. He is the first orangutan in the world to have had his cataracts operated on and his eye sight restored. Matang wildlife centre,...