Borneo, A Wealth of Wildlife

August 10, 2026

We tried not to be disappointed that we did not find them on our Kinabatangan River safari last week; we did see plenty of animals, though: crocodiles, Proboscis monkeys, gangs of other monkeys, and hornbills, but yes, we were a bit let down about not finding elephants.  A few days later, while working online, we came across a simple one-day tour:  leave at noon, drive three hours, climb into the flat-bottom boat at 4 pm, explore the river until 6, have a bit of dinner, then drive back to Sandakan.  I asked Stan, “Are you willing to try the river again?”  He answered, “We sure aren’t going to find any elephants if we sit here.” 

It would be a long day, but we hired on.

And found them!!!

Pygmy elephants are endemic to the island of Borneo, and only about 1,000 remain in the wild.  They are the smallest elephants in the world, yet they are still pretty huge.  Their shoulder height is 6 to 8 feet, and they weigh 2 to 3 tons, while their African cousins are 10-13 feet at the shoulder and weigh 4 to 7.5 tons.

It was pouring rain when we arrived at the camp, but the downpour tapered off by the time we needed to crawl into our boat.  As we motored down the river, we stopped to see groups of monkeys, but all of us in the boat had our hearts set on the elephants, so we moved on.  The wide, brown River Kinabatangan rushes along jungle banks lush with tall leafy trees and dense undergrowth. Our eyes searched for any color; any movement. After several miles speeding along, we approached a plot of tall canes on the bank’s edge. One boat was already stopped near there and watching the bank from about 50 feet away; we became hopeful and pulled alongside. Everyone was silent.

First, we heard them; my hair stood on end. Then we saw green stalks along the river bank being thrashed about.  Minutes later, a big elephant face broke through the canes, its trunk ripping up young canes.  One by one, they approached the water’s edge, paying no mind to the boats as they concentrated on eating, which is no wonder; they eat about 250 pounds of vegetation each day.  After the first two arrived, we began to see more, until finally there was a nine-member adult herd with a youngster and a baby in tow, trumpeting and eating, eleven elephants in total!  When the grand dame got her fill, she lumbered to the bank, entered the river, and swam across the wide, rushing river. 

Like a small child on Christmas morning, I was delighted! I was thrilled and relieved to at last find these rare wild creatures. And on my birthday!!!  At least it was still my birthday in the US, though not here any longer.

What a day!  I got my wish! And to make it even better, before our boat safari began that afternoon, we met and immediately became friends with a three-some group of young ladies from Spain.  Later they surprised me by singing Happy Birthday for me. Other safari guests from all over the world joined in. Everyone loves the birthday song!   Again, what a rare and happy treat! 

Oh, but that was not the end of amazing things that day. On our drive back to the city, our driver, Boeing, a great lover of music, used his phone to play and sing all the good 70s- 80s hits for us like Hotel California, Take Me Home, Country Roads, Sweet Child of Mine, and It’s a Heartache (Bonnie Tyler). Stan and I introduced him to Sam & Dave, the Allman Brothers, and Chuck Berry.  We all sang and clapped together as he drove along in the rain. We had that car bouncing.  Hotel California used to be Boeing’s favorite song, the one he sings without word prompts at all the family karaoke parties. After our ride, however, he’s going to surprise them all at the next karaoke party by singing Johnny Be Good.

I’ll say it again, we love this amazing life.