Articles for The Malaysian Naturalist
These articles were written by Angela Hijjas for The Malaysian Naturalist, the magazine of the Malaysian Nature Society.
New Dipterocarp Species Planted in the Garden11,2019There are new Dipterocarp plants in the garden. Here are some information about them: Dipterocarpus rigidis is a large emergent tree to 50m tall; local name is keruing cogan, the shape of the leaf suggests the broad spear head (cogan) seen on Malay crests. It is found on the east coast of the peninsula, in particular on hills around Kemaman. It also occurs in Riau, Linggi, Borneo and the Anambas Islands. Hopea apiculata, locally known as resak melukut, is a species endemic in the Kenas and Manong valleys in Perak, and on Bukit Long, Kelantan. The leaf is very like Neobalanocarpus heimii, and can be distinguished only by the ripple marks in the wood of H. apiculata. Hopea helferi, locally called lintah bukit, is found in Langkawi and the northwest of the peninsula, and in Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and the Andamans. Shorea leptoderma, a synonym for Shorea scrobiculata, or balau sengkawang, is a species of the Malay peninsula and Borneo, now critically endangered by habitat conversion (think oil palm) and logging. Shorea ...
Panagiotis Spiliotis04,2019Panagiotis Spiliotis (b.1991) is a Greek and Irish trained botanist and plant ecologist based in his hometown of Brussels. After graduating from his Master’s degree in plant taxonomy from the University of Edinburgh in 2015, took some time away from studies to pursue other interests and goals, and develop abilities and skills not often associated with academia, including landscaping, carpentry and sales of high end luxury chocolate. After three years of successful employment in different industries, he traveled to Malaysia to undertake a large botanically themed project here in Rimbun Dahan. Other than pure taxonomy and systematics, his main area of interest in his discipline is ex-situ conservation of endangered species, focusing on how botanic gardens and conservation sites can manage, sustain and maximise the positive impact they can have on fighting the ongoing crisis of extinction caused by anthropogenic habitat loss and the destruction of our biotope. He is a ...
Barred Eagle Owl08,2018Yesterday, our staff found this dying Barred Eagle Owl on the ground near the front compound. "The barred eagle-owl (Bubo sumatranus), also called the Malay eagle-owl, is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is a member of the large genus Bubo which is distributed on most of the world's continents. This relatively little-known species is found from the southern Malay Peninsula down a string of several of the larger southeast Asian islands to as far as Borneo." - wikipedia It looked like it ate a poisonous or poisoned animal and subsequently poisoned itself. We at Rimbun Dahan are against poisoning rodents (we choose to catch and humanely kill them) to avoid affecting their natural predators like the owl or other animals in the vicinity. It is also possible that this one accidentally ate a poisonous animal or snake. We do have several Barred Eagle Owl nests in Rimbun Dahan but ...
Kemian Hitam07,2018Our staff found some lumps of kemian hitam, a type of aromatic resin that came from the rotting wood of Canarium littorale or kedondong bulan which had been struck by lightning a while ago. Half of the tree was killed and rotting on the ground. The resin has a very nice fragrance when burned. According to the Internet it is also associated with occult practices: it may be used to summon "makhluk halus alam bawahan, Jin Tanah, Jin Pokok, Jin Batu dan yang sebangsa dengannya." A comment on our facebook post claims that kemian hitam is used in smoking and cleaning woven textile such as songket, limar and kelingkam by suspending the cloth on a rack of netting and smoking kemian beneath it. This method is thought to kill bugs that may feed on the textile as well as get rid of mold.
Dryobalanops aromatica06,2018Another species planted in the early 90s is Dryobalanops aromatica, common name kapur, now old enough to present the typical shaggy purple-brown bark.
Shorea materialis06,2018In April, we had a massive flowering of Shorea materialis, commonly called "balau pasir", on one of several huge trees planted in the early 90s. Now we have a crop of tens of thousands of seedlings carpeting the ground. Norsham Yaakob has already taken over a thousand to grow on at FRIM.
Snake Tales03,2015Rimbun Dahan can be paradise for snakes... or the last thing a snake ever sees. This month, one lucky python was hauled out of the hen house and taken away to a new home, but things didn't turn out so well for a cobra which strayed near the main house.
Sept 2013 -- Death of a Cobra09,2013The Rimbun Dahan dogs cornered this small specimen in a drain and dispatched it, but not before it reared, displaying the diagnostic cobra's hood. The single circular marking on the back of the head identifies it as the Monocled Cobra, Naja naja kaouthia, a venomous snake which is fairly common, occuring in a range of habitats, including those impacted by humans, and usually feeding on rodents.
Oct 2012 -- New Planting10,2012Sometimes the garden gets away from us, and periodically we focus on different areas to clean up, prune and remove things. This was the objective in the front area, between the house and the front fence in October. Although we frequently lose trees, others are growing well and developing tall trunks and good canopies. An area of new planting is replacing old rambutan trees that are gradually all being removed from the front area. To see the list of new plantings since June this year, go to Plant Lists and check out the ones with the label NEW! Many thanks to University of Malaya intern Nur Syafik Maskawi for help with updating the Rimbun Dahan websites with our new plantings. Left: The area of new planting of Dipterocarps sourced from Tunas Harapan in Tanjung Malim.
August 2012 -- Tree Felling, and a Musang08,2012We had to fell a 23-year old Hopea odorata in July as it was threatening to fall on either Kak Putih's house or the spare staff cottage: the main trunk had split into two leaders, neither strong enough to carry the weight of branches and wind. Soon after palnting these we realised that rainforest trees must be planted well away from buildings. Girth was 2 meters, and we are keeping the trunk to mill into timber. If anyone knows of a portable mill that could come and do the necessary, do let us know! Another smaller tree had to be felled to enable the hired cherry picker to access the Hopea odorata, manoeuvring into position in the tight space between the buildings. After Raya we will hire the cherry picker again to remove all split trunks along the driveway, retaining just the strongest. In other news, a juvenile Asian palm civet fell into ...
July 2012 -- Python Returns to Henhouse07,2012This morning we had a snake alert: python in the hen house, again! This time three dead birds, one already consumed, two lined up ready to be eaten. When the snake was bagged, Lubis estimated its weight at 6 kilograms, including the eaten chook, as it didn't have the amazing foresight of our last python who realized if you chuck it up, you might escape. This one was captured and released near a local stream with dinner to digest.
May 2012 -- Otters again!05,2012The otters are back, and they are bristling! Having been our occasional visitors for a few months, we are no longer surprised by the odd spraint by the side of the swimming pool, but so far direct contact between humans and otters at Rimbun Dahan has been rare. This morning Angela Hijjas had a thrilling encounter with our fish-eating friends: "I woke with the azan this morning to hear desultory barking by Samson and Santan… I went out because it sounded a bit odd, and when I turned on the loggia light a big splash near the blue pots indicated something large in the water. It had to be an otter. I turned off the light and retreated with dogs in the house. "I watched for the next 45 minutes and then gave up, but it was starting to get light and from upstairs I could see waves in the lower pond, ...
January 2012 -- Otters01,2012Over the new year, we restocked the reflective pool between the main house and the guest house with baby koi. At the time, the reflective pool was home to a vast hoard of black tilapia, as well as five or six mature koi over a foot long. Shortly after the introduction of the baby koi, all the mature koi and a number of the baby koi disappeared. At first we suspected infection. Ragged remains of koi were found near the swimming pool, suggesting that monitor lizards -- of which we have many, and some very large -- had been making free with the fishy remains. However, members of the staff at Rimbun Dahan said it was the work of musang (civet cats, or mongoose). Musang? we queried, but musang don't swim! Oh yes, replied the staff knowingly, musang swim very well, and when there is food for them they call all ...
Sept 2010 -- Flowering Season09,2010With the La Ninya weather this year, we have had constant rain and virtually no rainy season, but a few things in the garden are flowering at the moment. Alstonia angustiloba, the common pulai tree (left), initiated this feature on current flowering as one of our trees was laden and the fragrance permeated the plaza, but like so many tropical plants the flowers are small, short lived and either white or green. The unusual fragrance lacks the sweetness of more temperate flowers but it punctuates the experience of walking in our tropical garden.
February 201002,2010The louvred sculpture by Darwin artist Brian Ash was destroyed in early February by strong winds that broke a branch from one of the Shorea materialis trees near the front fence. Asialink resident artist Brian Ash created this untitled work in 1999 from aluminium and mirror louvres to reflect the vertical nature of the young dipterocarp grove in the southwest corner of the garden. The long tailed macaques had repeatedly damaged the sculpture in the past, presumably because of the mirrors, or perhaps they just thought it a different kind of climbing frame. S. materialis is an extremely heavy balau timber that used to be fairly common on the east coast of the peninsula from Terengganu to Endau, on low-lying usually sandy soil near the coast or on tidal reaches of rivers. Ten were planted at Rimbun Dahan where the soil is sandy and most have thrived. The tree which is ...
Dec 2009 -- Barred Eagle-Owl and Drongo Cuckoo12,2009The 16th of December was a red-letter day for birdwatching at Rimbun Dahan -- we got our first good photographs of a barred eagle-owl. Our first sighting of this impressive predator had occurred at dusk several days before, when the alarm screeches of drongos alerted us to its presence in a tree in the Taman Sari. The three drongos were swooping and calling around the owl, but none dared to get very close. The owl was very tolerant of our staring, and even more so when we finally caught it on camera a few days later while disturbing its daytime nap. We were lucky enough to have our friends Akshay Sateesh and Brooke Resh visiting with their digital SLR to take some good shots. The eagle-owl has been seen several times resting in the same ipoh tree, Antiaris toxicaria, beside the steps of the dance studio, gripping the branches with its enormous ...
Nov 2009 -- Danger in Pradise11,2009The stormy season is in full sway in mid November with rain every day; often it's dark by 5 as the clouds close in and the dogs all go to ground. It's a wonderful time for the garden, although it has its dramatic moments. Lightening strike is something I have long been aware of, as our trees are now the highest things around, but we are making progress there. My theory is that with creepers, big or small, going up and through the trees, any tall tree is effectively earthed. The only problem is getting them established without engulfing the tree with exuberant growth. On last week's walk in Rimba Ilmu, we noted a terap tree that had been struck, but it was dead just at the top; where the lower branches touched adjacent trees it was still alive. That connection is what protects trees in forests, otherwise we would see ...
Nov 2009 -- Lime Butterfly11,2009A Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus malayanus, was resting on the glass door of Rochelle and Monika's studio, and was much admired by all. Unfortunately for the butterfly, 5 minutes after it posed for photographs, a cheeky gecko came and ate it. This, a familiar butterfly of gardens and villages, is one of a group all of which have remarkably similar caterpillars which feed on kinds of citrus. P. demoleus is the commonest: almost every small lime bush seems to have larvae. The eggs are usually laid upon young leaves; the larvae first resemble bird-droppings, later becoming green with grey oblique markings which effectually disguise them. The pupa, like those of many Papilionid and Pierid butterflies, is able to adapt its colour, within limits, to its surroundings. Common and widely distributed in S.E. Asia, New Guinea and Australia, this insect is not found in Java, Sumatra or Borneo. From Common Malayan Butterflies, R. Morrell, Malaysian Nature ...
Nov 2009 -- Black-Thighed Falconets and Grammatophyllum11,2009According to Wikipedia, The Black-thighed Falconet (Microhierax fringillarius) is one of the smallest birds of prey. It is typically between 14 to 18 centimetres long. It can be found in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. It breeds in tree holes. It feeds on small birds and insects. The typical habitat is forest, forest edge and wooded open area. Our pair of falconets was photographed while feasting on dragonflies. The Grammatophyllum speciosa orchid is once again flowering, for the third time in its life, and the first since 2005.
Sept 2009 -- Fruiting Shorea acuminata09,2009September 2009 BY ANGELA HIJJAS Shorea acuminata, meranti rambai daun, is in the red meranti group of Shoreas. It is a tree of the southern half of the peninsula, most common in Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. It prefers low lying well-drained land and is often the most abundant meranti in the forest. Although greatly reduced by forest conversion, this species is not currently at risk. This species was planted at Rimbun Dahan about 12 years ago and is fruiting for the first time, but very sparsely. See other dipterocarps in the garden at Rimbun Dahan.
Sept 2009 -- Pig-Tailed Macaque09,2009by Angela Hijjas We already have two species of primates at Rimbun Dahan, without counting humans -- the common, gregarious and inquisitive long-tailed macaques, Macaca fascicularis, and the shy and retiring langurs who frequent the treetops in smaller family groups. We have had occasional sightings recently of a pig-tailed macaque, Macaca nemestrina, or beruk in Malay, a very large monkey that has been traditionally used to pluck coconuts and throw them down to their handlers on the ground. You could once see them being taken from grove to grove on the owner's bicycle, sitting on the handlebars, holding on and staring grimly ahead. E. J. H. Corner, the famous botanist of the '40s and '50s, trained them to pluck samples from trees in the forests of Johor, but apparently they had to be trained only in Kelantanese dialect, as that was all they understood! Eventually one of Corner's beruk attacked him, landing him ...
July 2009 -- Baby Wild Boar09,2009by Angela Hijjas No sooner did the pig tail macaque make an appearance than a real one pig came along -- a baby wild boar, Sus scrofa, separated from its mother. The dogs cornered it apparently but because it bites they didn't want to know much more about it. Sham, our handyman, heard the ruckus and found it, but it tried to bite him too! Bad photos because I needed a flash, and it was wriggling a lot... We have had occasional instances of wild boars at Rimbun Dahan, although these are fewer now that we have fixed a few holes in the fence. They come from the surrounding abandoned rubber estates, where they are hunted by weekend warriors for food. Wild boar piglets are striped, whereas adults are not -- this is thought to help them stay camouflaged. Usually wild boar sows with piglets are particularly defensive of their young, and can inflict ...
April 2009 -- Pittas, Tree Flowers, Copperhead Ratsnake05,2009by Angela Hijjas May is nesting season, and we have sporadically heard and seen the Blue-winged Pittas that successfully bred two years ago in Rimbun Dahan. According to Jesmi the gardener, there are at least four individuals that call to each other from the depths of the garden. We hope to see another breeding success this year, so the area they favour for nesting (pictured left) has now been put off limits for grass cutting and pedestrians, although restricting dogs is a bit hard. Meanwhile, among the native trees in the garden, the Firmiana malayana, mata lembu (below left), and the Kayea grandis (below middle) are flowering, and a very young Baccaurea lanceolata has a few fruits (below right). No new snakes this month, although the Copperhead Ratsnake that caused such a stir a few months ago was sighted again near the studios, and I almost trod on one while walking the dogs up ...
March 2009 -- Baya Weavers03,2009by Angela Hijjas The only good Acacia… … is a dead Acacia? Not this time…. In the middle of a traffic interchange on the Guthrie Corridor just near Rimbun Dahan, a solitary Acacia is hosting about eight Baya Weaver nests (Ploceus philippinus). In a completely open space, surrounded by what Guthrie considers landscaping (a sparse sprinkling of non-indigenous palms) is one Acacia draped and decorated with these ingenious nests. On showing it to my grandchildren, I speculated why they had chosen this site rather than elsewhere: it's out in the open and predators are readily seen, there's safety in numbers, they are surrounded by open land where grasses can grow, and that's what they feed upon. According to Allen Jeyarajasingam they frequently nest in association with nesting red ants and hornets, and the characteristic nest is a neatly woven flask shaped structure with a long downward tubular entrance, suspended from branches. We were ...
February 2009 -- Pied Hornbills and Ashy Minivets02,2009by Angela Hijjas A small group of Oriental Pied Hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris convexus) has recently been seen around Rimbun Dahan. Like all hornbills, they have large bills topped with a hollow casque. This species is resident up to 150m, where it frequents forests, the forest edge, plantations and beach scrub. Although it feeds mainly on insects and other small vertebrates, it gathers in groups to feed in fruiting trees, as it did at Rimbun Dahan to feed on the fruits of Kelompang jari (Sterculia foetida). Oriental Pied Hornbills are a noisy species, whose flight consists of rapid flaps followed by short glides. It is also remarkably tame -- large groups can often be observed by vacationers gathering in beach-side trees on Pulau Pangkor. In other bird news, Rimbun Dahan usually hosts a group of Ashy Minivets (Pericrocotus divaricatus) during the northern winter. The first two arrived on 3rd November 08, and more the ...
January 2009 -- Copperhead Ratsnake01,2009Our snake of the month is the Copperhead Ratsnake (Elaphe radiata Boie 1827), otherwise known as the Radiated Ratsnake. A fine specimen of this large non-venomous snake, over a meter long, was found this week in one of the artists' studios. Copperhead Ratsnake According to Klaus Dieter-Schulz, who has published a monograph on the Elaphe genus, many snakes of this type are associated with water and swim very well, which has been confirmed with findings of the Copperhead Ratsnake far out to sea. It is thought that this helps them colonise offshore islands, and the snake is well distributed across Asia. Other typical ratsnake habitats include fallow land and scrub edges, interspersed with rubble and larger rocks, like abandoned quarries and refuse disposal sites. Many species of the genus also favour man-made environments, where they prey on newborn and subadult rodents. The Copperhead is sometimes encountered in piles of coconut shells, leading ...
November 200811,2008November has been wet. Last night we had 35 mm of rain in an hour, and over the month a total of 437 mm, and still one day to go. Since we started recording rainfall in 2005, the wettest month ever was in November 2006 with 446 mm, and November 2008 may yet be more. A pity we can't export to Australia... A snake was found this morning on the road, apparently washed out of a tree and drowned in the deluge (picture below). It has been identified as a White-Spotted Slug Snake, Pareas margaritophorus, another new addition to the snake population at Rimbun Dahan. Lauren Black, whose room is in the guest house, had a tiny Paradise Tree Snake, Chrysopelea paradisi, on her balcony the other day, poking its head up through the floor slats (see images at right). The population of macaques is thriving, but causing some damage to new ...
October 2008 - New Planting10,2008BY ANGELA HIJJAS The main objective in the planting programme at Rimbun Dahan is to develop the highest canopy possible, not always easy when trees tend to branch out as soon as they reach clear light. To encourage monopodial structure for as long as possible, we prune side branches and force the trees up by dense planting. Inevitably this has made them the tallest structures in the neighbourhood, apart from the DiGi tower on an adjacent block, and they are vulnerable to lightening. Two trees were lost on different occasions, a durian on the right-hand side and a Sterculia (fortunately not an indigenous species). We lose four or five trees a year, but then we have an open space where we can plant something else, in a ready-made 'tube' for rapid vertical growth. The notes on Shorea sumatrana last month generated an interesting response on its rapid growth, spurring me on to ...
October 2008 - Snakes and Chicks10,2008Just when you thought we couldn't have more pictures of snakes eating things -- here's another scaly individual, possibly a rat snake or a bronzeback, gorging on a lizard, right near our front door! Photos by resident artist Oceu Apristawijaya. We are also raising a new clutch of chickens... just 15, hopefully for our own consumption, hopefully not for snake food.
September 2008 -- Shorea sumatrana09,2008A critically endangered species, Shorea sumatrana was one of the first Dipterocarps planted at Rimbun Dahan, probably in 1992. It is now flowering for the first time, and although we have had Dipterocarps flower before, they have always been more common species like Hopea odorata or Shorea roxburgii, species that cope better in our drying weather. Earlier this year, our one specimen of Shorea sumatrana was measured to have a GBH (girth at breast height) of 90cm, so it has grown well, despite not being in a more favourable wet position. The flowers are tiny, perhaps half a centimeter, but the flush on the branches gives a pinky hue. We look forward to posting news of fruit setting, but so far no pollinators have been observed. This species is being painted by Rimbun Dahan resident botanical artist, Lauren Black, whose subjects are rare species; rare either because they do not occur often ...
July 2007 -- Oriental Whip Snake07,2008BY ANGELA HIJJAS Oriental whip snake Ahaetulla prasina Mildly venomous The brilliant green of this snake drew my attention to it as I walked through a deeply shaded area of the garden; fortunately it stayed motionless for the camera and the dogs didn't disturb it. They are mainly tree bound but can sometimes be seen on the ground, and according to the text cited below they can be picked up with little risk of being bitten. It feeds on small birds and lizards, and has the curious habit of sticking out its tongue for a long time. About 4 to 6 young are born in a litter and they are light brown in colour. The young feed on flies and small lizards, and attain a length of about 2 m when fully grown. This species is common in Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Fascinating Snakes of Southeast Asia-An Introduction by Francis Lim Leong Keng and Monty Lee ...
June 2008 -- Return of the Blue-Winged Pitta06,2008BY ANGELA HIJJAS The call of the blue-winged pitta can be heard all over the garden, and occasionally we catch the flash of its brilliant wings in the Taman Sari. Jesmi the gardener discovered their nest in an abandoned woodpile in the garden, and watched the birds fly in and out and issue alarm calls from a perch in a nearby tree. The nest is hidden in thick growth on a pile of wood cuttings. The nest is dug into the mound, supported with sticks and lined with fibers. This is the second year that this species has been spotted at Rimbun Dahan. Last year it was only detected towards the end of its stay, when it was often seen hunting for worms in the Taman Sari which were carried off to its unseen nest -- see Nature Notes August 2007.
May 2008 - Python reticulatus05,2008BY ANGELA HIJJAS This specimen of Python reticulatus, about 3m long, was caught in the hen house, along with two dead chickens, one of which had been eaten. In an attempt to escape, the python then regurgitated the chicken it had eaten. Some time later, the python was still in the henhouse, so Rimbun Dahan staff transferred it to a gunny sack and released it outside the property near a small stream. This is only one of many such encounters with pythons at Rimbun Dahan. Two years ago, a large python was found trapped in the well and helped to escape; see Nature Notes August 2006. Other reptiles observed at Rimbun Dahan include the monitor lizard and other snakes including rat snakes, paradise tree snakes and cobras. Python reticulatus The Reticulated python is known to be the longest of all snakes, attaining a miximum length of 15 m. Its normal prey is warm blooded ...
May 2008 -- Before and After, 17 Years05,2008Over the course of seventeen years, the constant planting, pruning, sun and rain have done their work in the garden at Rimbun Dahan. What was once hot bare expanse has become cool and crowded with greenery, as the before and after images below show. The view above, taken from the dining room, looks out diagonally across the reflective pond to the balai beside the swimming pool, and to the rambutan orchard beyond, all of which can be clearly seen in the 1991 image. In the more recent image, the reflective pond is planted with papyrus grass, waterlilies and lotuses, which obscure the view. The lawn beside the house has been maintained, to prevent creepy-crawlies from having too easy access to the house. A rain gauge has been installed on the lawn. Note that the cool marble floor beneath the dining table continues to be a popular haunt for the household dogs. The ...
Dec 2007 -- New Birds12,2007BY BILQIS HIJJAS Over the last few weeks, four new bird species have been spotted in the garden at Rimbun Dahan. The first, and the one with the closest encounter, is the Rufous Woodpecker (Celeus brachyurus), pictured below. This specimen was found dead on the driveway and covered with ants -- an appropriate end for a bird that apparently excavates its nest cavities in the nests of tree ants, according to Jeyarajasingham and Pearson's field guide to Malaysian birds. It is surprisingly difficult to correctly identify a dead bird. Although its plumage can be examined in detail, it lacks the posture, behaviour, and context so vital for identifying a bird in the wild. This particular species also has a very weak bill for a woodpecker, but its identity was at last given away by its zygodactylous feet (two toes to the front and two to the back, to allow it to grip ...
August 2007 -- Blue-winged Pitta08,2007BY BILQIS HIJJAS Within the last week, we have had a number of sightings of a Blue-winged Pitta, Pitta moluccensis, in the Taman Sari area next to the main house. We witnessed the pitta at midday and in the evening industriously hunting for worms which it found plentiful in the exposed earth of the vegetable beds in the Taman Sari. Quite large and beautifully coloured with iridescent blue wings, the pitta was wary, but not skittish. Several times it hopped confidently across the open paths in search of food. When alarmed, it flew up into the nutmeg trees and waited for the commotion to die down before returning to the hunt. According to Allen Jeyarajasingam's field guide, Blue-winged Pittas are winter migrants from the northern hemisphere, resident only on Langkawi and in Kedah in Peninsula Malaysia. However, members of the Malaysian Nature Society's Bird Group hypothesise that the pitta may be increasing its breeding ...
June 2007 -- Black-crowned Night Heron06,2007BY ANGELA HIJJAS On 23 June, a Black-Crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, was seen roosting over the pond at Rimbun Dahan. According to A Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore (Oxford), by Allen Jeyarajasingam and Alan Pearson, the night-heron inhabits mangroves, rice fields, inland freshwater swamps. It is largely nocturnal but also active by day. It roosts and breeds colonially in mangroves but feeds at night mostly in freshwater habitats and also on mudflats at low tide. At dusk, night herons circle their roost in noisy flocks and flies in V-formations to feeding grounds, returning at dawn. During the breeding season, these birds are very active during day, collecting nest material and indulging in a variety of aerial displays.
May 2007 -- Butterflies05,2007BY ANGELA HIJJAS More than 10 butterflies were enjoying the nectar from a Hoya carnosa, which was flowering for the first time, in the Taman Sari on Tuesday. At least four species of butterfly were feeding on the plant, each butterfly staking out its own umbrel of the pink and white flowers. The butterflies pictured are possibly Parantica aglea, also known as Ideopsis vulgaris, the Blue Glassy Tiger.
April 2007 -- Arrival of Rare Water Plant04,2007Cryptocoryne minima, an exceptionally rare water plant, was recently found in the Sungai Buloh Forest Reserve, and some of it has been moved to the water garden at Rimbun Dahan. The Curator of the Fresh Water Plant Collection at Zoo Negara, Mr Herman Bernard, retrieved the plant with volunteers from the Malaysian Nature Society, when it was announced by the press that the Selangor State Government is planning to spend up to RM 100 million on 'development' in the park. MNS has been trying to have the reserve protected as a Community Forest Park. Currently the area has no clear planning status, and despite the protests of the Kota Damansara community, the State seems intent on going ahead with its 'development' plans. The most upsetting part of the State's campaign must be the fact that they are playing the religious card, allocating a huge proportion of the rocky reserve for a ...
August 200608,2006BY ANGELA HIJJAS I spent last weekend at the trustees' retreat for WWF Malaysia in the rainforest of Belum. Despite many hours spent in meetings, we managed some brief expeditions into the jungle. The Lantern Bug, pictured right, was spotted during one such walk. Lantern bug seen during a walk in Belum rainforest. The elaborately patterned Lantern Bug (Fulgora spinolae) uses its strange elongated forehead as a sense organ and for balance. It is one of a small group of brightly coloured insects, the lantern bugs, that are particularly diverse in the Belum-Temengor rainforest. A few days after my return from Belum, on the morning of 17 August, a large python was found stuck in the well at Rimbun Dahan. On placing an escape route of a wooden stake in the well, the snake had escaped by the afternoon. Just goes to show that to see some large wildlife, you don't have to be ...
June 2006 -- Dusky Leaf Monkey06,2006A new camera with a zoom lens brings us Rimbun Dahan's very own peanut gallery - a selection of intimate portraits of the local troupe of leaf monkeys. Dusky or Spectacled Leaf Monkey Cengkong, lotong bercelak Trachypithecus obscurus or Presbytis obscura. Burma and Thailand to Malaya, widespread in forest at all elevations. Coloration is rather variable, most individuals have back and shoulders grey or dark grey, legs and the crest of longhairs on top of the head paler grey, the breast and belly usually appear pale grey or whitish, with a sharp line of demarcation between this shade and the darker back. Distinguishing feature on adults is the bold white interrupted rings around the eyes and a white patch over the mouth, including both lips. In new-born young the fur is pale orange or reddish buff, and the skin of the face entirely pink. Arboreal in groups of 5 to 20 (the group at Rimbun Dahan is ...
March 2006 -- Stink Horn Fungues03,2006BY ANGELA HIJJAS The last month has been stormy at Rimbun Dahan, with rain almost every day. This Stink Horn fungus was found mid March under a clump of palms. A saprophytic (parasitic) fungus, it emits an odour that attracts flies that visit the messy decaying flesh, subsequently helping to disperse the spores. Order: Pallales Family: Pallaceae Genus: Dictyophora (Stink Horn fungi) ('A Guide to Tropical Fungi', Dr. Tan Teck Hoon, Singapore Science Centre, 1990.)
January 2006 -- Rambutans Attract Monkeys01,2006BY ANGELA HIJJAS Greetings to all for Christmas and the New Year. Our rambutan trees are in fruit and are just the right colour for the season. We have had plenty monkeys around to enjoy the fruit, and interestingly, if not surprising, is the fact that the long tailed macaques eat the fruit weeks before it is ripe, therefore securing an evolutionary advantage over humans who must wait, and most likely miss out. But apparently rambutans are adapted to this predation as well, as I noticed as I weeded lots of quite mature seedlings this morning: they obviously germinate from immature fruit. The fruit is green, but the seed is viable. As well as the ubiquitous macaques, we have what I thought is the Banded Langur. However I'm not clear on the species differentiation, as this one was photographed on 17th December fits the description of the Dusky Langur. It could be ...
October 2005 -- Jungle Fowl11,2005BY ANGELA HIJJAS Until the 18th September, the predominant dry, hazy weather prevailed at Rimbun Dahan. Since the coming of the Equinox on about the 22nd September, we have had 309 mm rain in the last 35 days and clear blue skies are once more the norm. The Equinox, when the sun is directly above the Equator, usually brings unsettled weather that could have contributed to the prevalence of the American hurricanes in the last month. In the last week of October, with the rainy season well under way, we decided to lop branches in the orchard, to give more light to smaller trees and thus encourage them to grow taller. As we dragged branches to a heap, a jungle fowl flew off from under our feet, revealing this nest with five eggs. We immediately moved away, except for a quick photograph, but didn't see her return to the nest. The species name ...
August 2005 -- A Fine Spider08,2005The long dry spell has finally broken: there was no rain at all from 26th July until 18th August, a period of 22 days without rain. Hopefully Sumatra had rain too, to quell the peat fires. The impressive speciment on the right was seen on a web suspended between two nutmeg trees in Taman Sari, Rimbun Dahan. It is possibly Tetragnatha sp, a large genus containing many long spiders. Tends to be light coloured with a pale yellowish carapace, slightly darker legs, and the abdomen covered dorsally with small closely packed gold or silver coloured plates.
June 2005 -- Dry Season, and Heron Nesting at Tasek Putri07,2005BY ANGELA HIJJAS Concerns about climate change persuaded me to get a rain gauge and I have been tracking precipitation since March. June is always a dry month and this was no exception with a total rainfall of only 59mm. Rain fell on just 6 days, compared with 14, 15 and 16 of the previous three months, and it was concentrated in two of those days when we had 16mm and 37mm. The garden dried out, many trees shed their leaves, but they did not all respond in sync with others of the same species. Only one of the ten Intsia palembanica, a merbau timber tree of the Dipterocarpaceae family, shed its leaves, and the photo on the right shows the new red growth. Reasons for this typical coloration of new leaves in the tropics vary, but it is plausible that because red leaves have a higher surface temperature than green, the ...
May 2005 -- Long-Tailed Macaques06,2005BY ANGELA HIJJAS We have a large colony of long-tailed macaques in the compound, and they have an interesting social structure. While the adults forage around the trees further afield, they leave the babies in a 'nursery' with one or two adults to keep an eye on them. These are not the really tiny ones, but are large enough to play with each other and practice the many skills they will need as adults. One favored location for the nursery is on the 'assam gelugor', Garcinia atroviridis, trees outside my bathroom. I think this is because the foliage and branching are dense enough to allow many ready handholds in case of falling. A favorite game is King of the Castle on top of the tree, and as a result the lead shoot is constantly pruned… Macaca fascicularis or long-tailed macaques, can be distinguished from the langurs by distinctive head shape, more pinkish ...
April 2005 -- Civet Post Mortem04,2005BY ANGELA HIJJAS On the morning of 6th April, I took my coffee to my balcony where the sunscreen was down. Just as I went to raise it, I realised monkeys were in the tree immediately outside. They were Banded Langurs, Presbytis femoralis, and thanks to the screen I was able to collect my camera without them seeing me. They are extremely shy and flee at the slightest disturbance. I counted eight, but there could have been more, feeding on the seeds of Terminalia calamansanai, a tall pagoda-shaped tree heavily laden with fruit. Soon after, I was called outside and noticed our youngest dog Santan carrying an animal that turned out to be a young civet. To be a naturalist and a dog lover is hard sometimes.... This particular specimen was a juvenile female, measuring 63 cm from tail end to ear tip, 9cm from nose to back of skull, with a ...
February 2005 -- Garden in Hot Dry Weather02,2005BY ANGELA HIJJAS For the first half of February, the weather seemed unusually hot, dry and hazy. Temperatures in KL reached as high as 38C. In the middle of the month the weather broke with windy storms in the late afternoons and night. This morning I walked around the garden looking at broken branches and just relishing the damp again, when I noticed fallen seeds, since identified as Dryobalanops aromatica, known in Malay as kapor. These canopy trees were planted about 12 years ago, and I am delighted to find that they are fruiting so soon, although I have lost several of the original row planted along the length of the front fence to white ants. Ironically, kapor has a strong camphor frangrance and is preferred for making storage boxes that deter insect attack, but the tree itself seems particularly vulnerable. The fruits have five wings that enable the heavy seed to ...
January 2005 -- Fighting Monitors01,2005BY BILQIS HIJJAS Two water monitors (Varanus salvator) or biawak were witnessed mating in the reflective pool in the late afternoon on 10 January 2005. The pair were causing quite a ruckus, thrashing and rolling in the water, and were not at all disturbed by the barking dogs, or my mother and I loudly discussing their progress from close by. The smaller monitor was holding the muzzle of the larger one in its jaws -- there was some blood evident, and at some points it wasn't clear whether they were mating or fighting (see image left). The scene lasted for over an hour. There are a lot of biawak at Rimbun Dahan; although the dogs keep some check on the population, they can often be seen swimming lazily across the ponds and terrorising the troupes of monkeys. More information on the water monitor. There have been several sightings of wild boar (Sus scrofa) or babi hutan in ...
- Permaculture in the Tropics2002
by Angela Hijjas from The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 55 no. 1 Permaculture is a name coined and patented by the Australian visionary Bill Mollison. Mollison alerted Australians to the importance of protecting biodiversity and agricultural land. As well as promoting an organic, interlinked and labour saving agricultural approach, he also encourages gardeners to plant ...
- Tending the Garden2001
by Angela Hijjas Recently the Selangor Branch showed the new three hour BBC series by David Attenborough called 'State of the Planet', and I have been mulling over it ever since. The main issue he explores is the impact of humans on the global landscape of plants and animals and he ...
Gardening in the Forest2001by Angela Hijjas from The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 54 no. 4, 2001. To lay out a garden in the world's oldest tropical rainforest is an exciting and daunting prospect. The Nature and Education Research Centre at Endau Rompin was opened in March by the Chief Minister of Johor, and the new facilities required some ...
A Gardener's Review2001by Angela Hijjas From The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 54 no. 3, 2001. I was a rank beginner when I started writing on landscaping with indigenous species. Since then my interests have broadened, and my garden has become an obsession, but why did I choose indigenous, and how far am I in achieving my ...
Conservation for Children2001by Angela Hijjas Now that my children are adults, I look back on my record of creating awareness about conservation issues with them and realise that communicating knowledge about our environment is not necessarily automatic just because the parent is concerned. I generated one child as actively involved, joining me bird ...
Garden Colour2000by Angela Hijjas From The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 54 no. 2, 2000. As I have often noted in this column, Malaysian species are not known for colour, unless you are fortunate enough to see the huge Rafflesia in full bloom on the forest floor, or Bauhinia kockiana (left) enveloping a tree canopy on the ...
A Tropical Fragrant Garden2000by Angela Hijjas From The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 54 no. 1, 2000. Perfumed plants should be included in a naturalist’s indigenous garden to make up for the lack of colour in Malaysian species. Fragrance adds a delightfully unique character to a tropical garden, but the plant’s utilitarian ‘objective’ for creating perfume is ...
Neo-Colonisation1999by Angela Hijjas From The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 53 no. 3. For the naturalist gardener to transform a bare patch of ground to forest, one needs to simulate the natural processes of plant colonization. The inexperienced gardener who plants durian seedlings and expects the fruit exactly on cue seven or so years later ...
Palms1999by Angela Hijjas From The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 53 no. 1. Of all tropical plants, palms are the most mysterious. Their appearance indicates a primeval history that predates the usual trees and flowering shrubs that comprise the bulk of most garden planting. Their form and structure are exotic and offer the focal point ...
Tropical Water1999by Angela Hijjas From The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 52 no. 4. Water and its lack or excess has become a much debated topic in KL, where floods alternate with droughts, and taps droop to a drip when rains miss the catchment and fall in the city heat sink instead. I am responsible for ...
The World's Largest Garden Gnome1999by Angela Hijjas for The Malaysian Naturalist vol. 52 no. 3 For gardeners (and this is the MNS gardening column), the tropical rain forest presents an ideal of wild perfection whose luxuriant growth we try to emulate on our small plots. It provides the inspiration for the landscapes of our imagination, but ...
The Interactive Garden1999by Angela Hijjas From The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 52 no. 2. Gardening is essentially a manipulation of the natural environment. We elect to save or eliminate, plant and nourish or neglect, and the result is a man made garden. For the naturalist, there is the added objective of nurturing as much of nature ...
Plant Indigenous1998by Angela Hijjas With the accelerated loss of forest habitats gardeners can try to make a difference to the survival of birds and other small creatures by selecting indigenous species to enrich urban habitats. Most Malaysians only have small gardens or make do with a few pots on a balcony, so ...
Gardening's Current Affairs1998by Angela Hijjas from The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 52 no. 1, March 1998 After six years, parts of my garden are beginning to fulfill imagined promises: a wider variety of birds and insects come part and parcel with more species of plants and the growing trees stretch the canopy to greater heights, ...
A Sense of Place in the Landscape1997by Angela Hijjas from The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 51 no. 3&4 The new facilities at Kuala Selangor Nature Park were opened with some fanfare last month, complete with the attendance of the Minister for Housing and Local Government, Dato Dr. Ting Chew Peh. The function also served to launch Hari Landskep, and ...
Taman Sari1997by Angela Hijjas for The Malaysian Naturalist, vol. 51 no. 2, December 1997. The name 'Taman Sari' evokes the fragrance and grace of a lush Javanese garden, with bees probing for nectar in masses of flowers. The first Sultan of Jogjakarta, Mangkubumi, the 'guardian of the earth,' chose the name for the ...
Transitional Landscapes1997by Angela Hijjas for The Malaysian Naturalist vol. 50 no. 3 April 1997 As an enthusiast of indigenous gardening, I am always interested in what everyone else plants. Tropical gardens range from the pseudo-jungle of the 'Balinese' style (masses of spectacular sub-tropical species) to the 'Bandaraya' style of intricate baroque detail, with ...
The Gardening Lifeline1996by Angela Hijjas from The Malaysian Naturalist vol. 50 no. 1, December 1996 Some of us share a compulsion to garden and find great tranquility as we perform the apparently mindless tasks of watering and weeding. Gardening fulfills a desire to beautify our surroundings by rearranging things but there is more to it ...
Sustainable Architecture1996by Angela Hijjas Recently I was asked by a local architecture magazine to write about my house as an example of sustainable architecture. No investigation on the merits of this proposal was suggested, so I duly considered the salient points, knowing full well the outcome. If my home is considered a ...
Letters to the Editor
[This page is still being populated. These links below are still on the way.]
- Unsustainable Logging of Temengor Lags Behind International Precedent (15 August 2006)
- Could Forests Worsen Global Warming? (The Sunday Star, 15 January 2006)
- Proposal to Transform Paya Indah into Illegally-Traded Protected Species Sanctuary (The Star, 1 March 2005)
- Protecting the Environment Strengthens our Culture
- Crisis in Captive Breeding for Sumatran Rhinos