Flora Fauna

Discover the Flora Fauna in Rasa Ria Reserve

Explore the beautiful flora and fauna of the Rasa Ria Reserve, surrounded by the high peaks of its sacred forest. An expert Resident Naturalist will take you on an informative journey, explaining the geography and the fascinating surroundings. *Please note that the presence or sights of these species are subjective since they roam freely in the forest.

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Rasa Ria Bird List

Featured Residents in Rasa Ria Reserve

Otters

Dalit Bay Golf Club is home to a few families of Asian small-clawed otters. Otters are semi-aquatic mammals; they live on land but spend most of their time underwater hunting for food. We sometimes spot families of otters travelling between ponds to ponds in Dalit Bay Driving Range.

Common Porcupine

Found in various types of habitats, as well as open areas near forests. Their habitat is terrestrial where they live in the hole of tree barks or roots. They also live in a burrow from which a network of trails penetrate into surrounding habitat. Our rangers often spot them along the trail.

Borneon Keeled Pit Viper

As with other pit vipers, this is a venomous snake, with heat-sensing pits on the sides of the head. It may be found at heights ranging from low vegetation to mid-canopy levels. IT has a wide range of subspecies all evolved within Borneo and are almost genetically identical with slightly varying colours and markings.

Slow Loris

Slow lorises are perfectly adapted to life in trees with special pincer-like hands and feet. Being nocturnal, they use scent-marking to communicate with each other and large eyes to help forage in the dark. Its main diet consists of insects! They are highly vulnerable to the pet trade and need protection.

Rhinoceros Beetle

The most impressive insect found in Borneo. The jaws appear only in male and aid them in combating other males during mating season. The strongest and winning male use their large horns to throw one another out of treetops. The biggest rhino beetle males are found in tops of trees, and this is why the females can only fly during mating season.

Mammals

Animals play an important role in the growth cycle, in keeping the balance of life and of the tropical rainforest. Animals act as pollination agents and seed dispersers. This stimulated the development of species among tropical rainforest plants and assist in the nutrient cycle to help prevent species degradation in the forest. The lowland rainforest accommodates an incredible diversity of wildlife and at the Rasa Ria Reserve, the most prominent animals are the mammals.

Bearcat

Arctictis binturong

The binturong is sometimes called ‘bear cat’ because it has a face that looks like a cat and a body like a bear with long shaggy hair but it is not related to either animal.

Common Palm Civet

Paradoxurus hermaphroditus

The Common Palm Civet is found from the Himalayas and southern China to the Philippines, the Malay peninsula and the Indonesian islands.

Mouse Deer

Tragulus javanicus

Also known as the Lesser Malay Mouse Deer, they do not have antlers or horns. Instead, adult males have elongated, tusk-like upper canines.

Long-Tailed Macque

Macaca fascicularis

The Long-Tailed Macaque is native to Southeast Asia and lives in a wide variety of habitats, including primary lowland rainforest, disturbed or secondary rainforest, shrub land, and riverine and coastal forests.

Malayan Porcupine

Hystrix brachyura

The Malayan Porcupine is one of the largest of Southeast Asia's seven species of porcupine.

Slow Loris

Nycticebus coucang

Slow Loris is a group of several species of nocturnal primates found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas of Bangladesh and Northeast India to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines and from Yunnan province in China to the island of Java.

Birds

More than 80 species of birds have been recorded in the Rasa Ria Reserve, the surrounding coastal areas and landscaped gardens. Their bright colours flit through the green vegetation and calls ring out through the air to announce their presence. Bird watching is a relaxing sojourn that can be enjoyed alone or in small groups to appreciate the beauty of nature through these wonderful winged creatures.

Stork-Billed Kingfisher

Pelargopsis capensis

The Stork-Billed Kingfisher is a tree kingfisher which is widely but sparsely found in the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India to Indonesia.

Oriental Darter

Anhinga melanogaster

The Oriental Darter is a large bird, measuring 85-100cm in length and weighing between 1kg and 1.8kg.

Cinnamon Bittern

Ixobrychus cinnamomeus

Cinnamon Bitterns hunt small fish, frogs and invertebrates but like other bitterns, they are solitary and hunt quietly alone.

White-Crowned Shama

Copsychus stricklandii

The White-Crowned Shama is a bird in the Old World flycatcher family and is endemic to Borneo.

Tabon Scrubfowl

Megapodius cumingii

The Tabon Scrubfowl is a ground-living bird. They have large, powerful feet that they use for dragging and piling mounds as well as digging pits to lay their eggs which take up to 70 days to hatch.

Olive-Backed Sunbird

Nectarina jugularis

The sunbird is a group of very small Old World birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding their young.

Insects

Insects live in nearly every habitat, and it’s estimated that there are currently 10 quintillion insects on the globe. So far scientists who study bugs, called entomologists, have named one million insect species but studies estimate that four million are still uncategorized. Most Insects have wings and antennae, with six legs and a hard outer shell called an exoskeleton.

Insects are vital to every ecosystem. They pollinate plants, decompose plant and animal matter, and are themselves a source of food. Birds alone are estimated to eat 400 to 500 million tons of insects per year.

All insects belong to the phylum Arthropoda. But unlike other arthropods—like lobsters, spiders, or millipedes—insects have three pairs of jointed legs, segmented bodies, an exoskeleton, one pair of antennae, and (usually) one or two pairs of wings.

Forest Cockroach

Ectobius sylvestris

Forest Cockroaches are insects with a soft, sleek and flat body, long antennae and spiny legs. They have two pairs of wings. The forewings are leathery and the hind wings membranous.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

Halyomorpha halys

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug has a shield-like pentagon-shaped body which is characteristic of all stink bugs.

Cricket

Acheta domestica

House Crickets are a widespread species which probably originated from Southeast Asia and was carried by humans into many other countries.

Praying Mantis

Mantis religiosa

The Praying Mantis are formidable predators as they lie in wait to ambush their prey or patiently stalk their quarry.

Whip-Tailed Scorpion

Amblypygi

The Whip-Tailed Scorpion is similar in appearance to true scorpions except that it has a whip-like tail that serves as an organ of touch and has no stinger.

Stingless Bee

Meliponula ferruginea

Stingless Bees can be found in most tropical or subtropical regions of the world, such as Australia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and tropical America.

Botany

Botany, also known as a branch of biology that deals with the study of plants, including their structure, properties, and biochemical processes. Also included are plant classification and the study of plant diseases and of interactions with the environment. The principles and findings of botany have provided the base for such applied sciences as agriculture, horticulture, and forestry.

Rain Tree

Samanea saman

This tree species grows up to 200 feet in height with a crown that spreads to a width of 240 feet.

Common Screwpine

Pandanus utilis

These palm-like shrubs are native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm, and screw pine.

Strangling Fig

Ficus sp.

Strangling Fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species, including some banyans and vines.

Bird-Nest Fern

Asplenium nidus

An epiphytic species of fern that is native to tropical southeastern Asia, eastern Australia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Christmas Island, India and eastern Africa.

Devil’s Backbone

Euphorbia tithymaloides

Devil’s Backbone was introduced as a garden plant although its roots, stems and leaves are known to be toxic.

Lemongrass

Cymbopogon

Lemongrass is a genus of Asian, African, Australian and tropical island plants in the grass family. It is widely used as a culinary herb in Asian cuisines and also as a medicinal herb in India.

Reptiles

These cold-blooded creatures are highly adapted to living in various habitats, and even with humans. Some are dull coloured yet others are brilliantly hued to pleasantly surprise you on a walk through the forest. They love warm sunshine and cool waters but do be careful – they can also be masters of camouflage so tread carefully!

Reticulated Python

Phyton reticulatus

At an average of 10-20 feet in length, this is one of the longest snakes in the world. They are found in Southeast Asia where they have populated many islands due to the vast distances they are able to swim.

Water Monitor Lizard

Varanus salvator

This common species occurs throughout Southeast Asia in virtually all habitats including urban areas where it may sometimes be seen feasting on roadkill.

Many-Striped Skink

Eutropis multifasciata

When you hear rustling in the dry undergrowth, that would probably be a skink.

Common Tree Frog

Polypedates leucomystax

The Common Tree Frog is an arboreal species that is widely found throughout South and Southeast Asia and thrives in both wetlands and forests.

Aquatic Swamp Toad

Pseudobufo subasper

This is a large toad with males growing up to 9.4cm and females up to 15.5cm. Its body is densely covered with warts and its feet are fully webbed with thin webbing which is in contrast to the rather thick webbing found in most toads.

Gliding Lizard

Draco Volans

This is a sun-loving species found in the tropical rainforests of southern India and Southeast Asia.

Marines

The northern end of the reserve is bordered by the South China Sea and mangrove forest that line the Tambalang River. Leisure cruises up the river bring you through this unique coastal habitat with Rhizophora, Sonneratia and Avicennia trees growing abundantly along the river bank. It’s a wonderful transition habitat that is home to water loving creatures like monitor lizards, otters, crocodiles and mudskippers. In the morning, birds flit through the forest canopy while at night, fireflies come out to play with flickers of light against the night sky. The mangrove forest surrounding part of the golf course has been rehabilitated to act as a wildlife corridor for animals to move freely between the sea and land so don’t be surprised if you see otters or monitor lizards scurrying across the resort grounds.

Mud Skipper Fish

Family Gobiidae

The Mud Skipper Fish are particularly abundant in mangroves and muddy shores, but some like the Gold-spotted mudskippers are also commonly seen on rocky shores and near reefs.

Jelly Fish

Chrysaora fuscescens

Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella-shaped bells and trailing tentacles, although a few are anchored to the seabed by stalks rather than being mobile.

Green Sea Turtle

Chelonia mydas

The green turtle is one of the largest sea turtles and the only herbivore among the different species. Green turtles are in fact named for the greenish color of their cartilage and fat, not their shells.

Sand Dollar

Clypeaster reticulatus (Mayotte)

Sand dollars are species of flat, burrowing sea urchins belonging to the order Clypeasteroida. Some species within the order, not quite as flat, are known as sea biscuits.

White Barnacle

Chthamalus stellatus

A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters.