2 July 2026

My Big Cat Year – Borneo and the search for the five Wildcat species and other unique wildlife and habitat

As part of The Big Cat Year, we made a visit to Borneo, booked through 1StopBorneo, a Bornean eco-tourism operator who is also very active in conservation. You could also turn the two around, i.e. it is an NGO who uses the income from the eco-tourism side for the conservation efforts. Shavez Cheema, the founder of 1StopBorneo was instrumental in setting up the trip. Already from the beginning, he has been very supportive of My Big Cat Year. Again, many, many thanks Shavez!!

It was a 30-day trip and focused mainly on Brunei (4 days) and Sabah (24 days). Prior to arriving in Brunei, I visited Singapore (3 days), a place I have worked in back in 1993/94. In Sabah, we visited Beluran, Tawau Hills NP, Inikea, Plant4Borneoelephants, Maliau Basin, Deramakot and the Kinabatangan River.

For me personally, the top 5 Wildlife moments were; A Borneo Bay Cat crossing the road – Mating behaviour of a pair of Marbled Cats – Sunda Leopard Cat taking a Rajah Spiny Rat – A close to 6 Meter Reticulated Python devouring a Sambar – Watching close to 80 Borneo Elephants. Also, witnessing some true conservation successes made a big impact.

All in all, we managed to see 56 mammal species, around 140 bird species and 28 Reptiles and Amphibians!

With regard to the mammals, the highlights for me were Borneo Bay Cat, Marbled Cat (3x, 4 ind.), Sunda Leopard Cat (43x), Sunda Pangolin (6x) , Otter Civet (2x) , Banded Civet (4x), Moonrat (5x), Sunda Stink Badger (9x), Binturong, Proboscis Monkey, Bornean Orangutan, Maroon Langur, Borneo Elephant, Irrawady Dolphin, Hose’s Pigmy Flying Squirrel, Hose’s Shrew, Western Tarsier.

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My Big Cat Year – Trip Report Borneo – 270526 to 300626

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Bozon
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