PULAU TIGA RESORT
                          

                           

Pulau Tiga Park was established in 1978, although the area has been under protection as a forest reserve since 1933. It is located north ofKuala Penyu, opposite the swampy Klias Peninsula, in Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo.

The park covers 158 square kilometers of mostly ocean, containing the 3 islands of Pulau Tiga, Pulau Kalampunian Besar and Pulau Kalampunian Damit. The islands were formed in 1897 by the eruption of mud volcanos.

Pulau Tiga is now covered in dense vegetation; however volcanic activity continues in the form of bubbling mud and methane gas venting, although the last major outpouring of mud was in the early 1960s.

Pulau Kalampunian Besar is now little more than a sandbar, eroded away by wave action. Known for its sugar-white sands and clear waters, it is popular for scuba diving and snorkeling.

Pulau Kalampunian Damit, little more than a large rock, is also called Pulau Ular (Snake Island). It is famous as a mating location for highly poisonous sea snakes.Located opposite the swampy Kilas Peninsula are three small coral reef islands, PulauTiga, Pulau Kalampunian Besar and Pulau Kalampunian Damit. The park has been named after ‘Pulau Tiga’, the biggest of the three islands. Gazetted in 1978, the reserve covers 158 square kilometres and has a unique and particularly rich marine flora and fauna. Dubbed Survivor Islands from the reality television show that was filmed here, the unadulterated islands offer some good prospects for snorkelling and diving.(Visit site for more information)

MABUL ISLAND                       

                                

Mabul is a small island off the south-eastern coast of Sabah in Malaysia. The island has been a fishing village since 1970s. Then in 1990s, it first became popular to divers due to its proximity to Sipadan island.

Located 15 km from Sipadan, this 20-hectare piece of land surfaces 2–3 meters above sea level, consists mostly flat grounds and aerial view is oval-shaped. Surrounding it are sandy beaches, perched on the northwest corner of a larger two square kilometer reef.

Mabul island is administered by Semporna, Tawau district.Located only about 15 minutes from Sipadan Island, Mabul Island is reputed to house some of the best underwater species of fish and other photographic marine animals. Recognized as one of the best muck-diving sites in the world, the pristine waters surrounding the island give a clear vision of the animals, a supposed boon for underwater photographers. Some of the marine animals one can get a quick look at are blue-ringed octopus, frogfish, moray eels, spike-fin gobies, cuttlefish and cuttlefish.(Visit site for more information)

SEPILOK

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in the Malaysian Sabah District of North Borneo was founded in 1964, to rehabilitate orphan orangutans. The site is 43 sq km of protected land at the edge of Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve. Today around 60 to 80 orangutans are living free in the reserve.

When Sabah became an independent state in Malaysia in 1963, a Game Branch was created in the Forest Department for the conservation of wild animals in the region.

Consequently, 43 sq km of protected land at the edge of Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve was turned into a rehabilitation site for orangutans, and a centre built to care for the apes. Today around 25 young orphaned orangutans are housed in the nurseries, in addition to those free in the reserve.

The facility provides medical care for orphaned and confiscated orangutans as well as dozens of other wildlife species. Some of the other animals which have been treated at the centre include; sun bears, gibbons, Sumatran rhinos and the occasional injured elephant.

Recently rehabilitated individuals have their diet supplemented by daily feedings of milk and bananas. The additional food supplied by the centre is purposefully designed to be monotonous and boring so as to encourage the apes to start to forage for themselves.

Sepilok is considered by the Wildlife Department to be a useful educational tool with which to educate both the locals and visitors alike, but they are adamant that the education must not interfere with the rehabilitation process. Visitors are restricted to walkways and are not allowed to approach or handle the apes.

In the wild orang utan babies stay with their mothers for up to six years while they are taught the skills they need to survive in the forest, the most important of which is climbing. At Sepilok a buddy system is used to replace a mother’s teaching. A younger ape will be paired up with an older one to help them to develop the skills they need.

The creation of reserve areas minimises the impact of deforestation on orangutans and far fewer young apes become the victim of the illegal pet trade as a result of these ‘sanctuaries’. Babies are often caught during logging or forest clearance or captured by poachers who slaughter the adult apes to reach them. The Malaysian Government has clamped down on illegal trading, outlawing all such practice and imposing prison sentences on anyone caught keeping them as pets.

Youngsters kept in captivity often become sick or suffer neglect which in some cases extends to cruelty. Whilst some of the orangutans raised as pets can never be returned to the wild, others can be rehabilitated; it is a long and expensive process, taking up to seven years but one centres such as Sepilok take on without question.(Visit site for mare information)