Ranger’s fascinating encounter with rare wild birds

KOTA KINABALU (Jan 13): Life as a forest ranger can be quite challenging, but for Raymund Thessin, close encounters with rare wildlife species make it incredibly fascinating.

Since joining the Yayasan Sabah Group in 2004 as a ranger, Raymund has come across many wildlife species, including Bornean pygmy elephants, orangutans and clouded leopards while performing fieldwork in Yayasan Sabah’s conservation areas.

“But nothing is more fascinating than meeting face to face with the Great Argus, Bornean Cuckoo, and white-tailed Bulwar pigeon.

“These are very rare and elusive wild birds, and I feel very fortunate to have seen them at close range in the Danum Valley Conservation Area.

“Seeing these beautiful birds in the wild really brings me closer to nature and reminds me of my job to protect Sabah’s remaining untouched natural heritage,” he said in an interview.

The natural heritage Raymund specifically refers to is DaMaI (Danum Valley, Maliau Basin, and Imbak Canyon Conservation Area), which is home to these three elusive wild birds as well as hundreds of other exotic and endangered wildlife species in Sabah.

“Nowadays, whenever I enter or walk in the jungle, I really feel like I am living in symbiosis with wildlife species.

“We in Malaysia, particularly Sabah, are indeed very fortunate because we still have large areas of untouched tropical rainforest such as DaMaI,” he said.

Raymund, 43, is currently stationed at the Danum Valley Studies Centre in Lahad Datu, but he has also trekked through the Maliau Basin and Imbak Canyon conservation areas.

The three conservation areas are Class 1 (Protection) Forest Reserves with a combined area of 132,640 hectares, managed by the Yayasan Sabah Group, a non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 1967.

Raymund has encountered many interesting events throughout his service as a Yayasan Sabah ranger, including a close encounter with wild Bornean pygmy elephants while patrolling the Danum Valley forest.

“I was walking down a small hill and then saw an elephant calf. I immediately walked back because I knew its mother was nearby.

“But before I realized, the mother elephant suddenly appeared and seemed to charge towards me.

“So I hid behind a big tree, and the female elephant tried to ram it with her trunk. Luckily, they left after a short while,” he said.

Recalling another frightening incident in 2005, Raymund said he was leading a patrol team of five rangers near Sungai Purut/Segama, also in the Danum Valley conservation area, after which they set up a camp near the river.

“Around past midnight, we were woken up by strange noises coming from the river, and momentarily, a water surge reached our camping ground. The flood totally caught us unprepared.

“We managed to move to higher ground without our belongings. We lost almost everything except a few clothes,” he recalled.

Raymund also has fond memories of his time at Danum Valley, especially having the lifetime opportunity of meeting Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton.

The British royal couple visited the Danum Valley Conservation Area on September 16, 2012, and they not only spent three hours at the place but also sat down on a tree branch to be briefed by a researcher on ants and other living creatures on trees.

The royal couple’s visit to DVCA was also very significant, especially in recognition of the joint efforts by Yayasan Sabah and the Royal Society, as well as Yayasan Sabah’s conservation work.