Top Wildlife Spots In Malaysia

When you imagine Malaysia, images of illuminated skyscrapers, stunning beaches and beautiful islands will float around your head. However, there’s plenty of wildlife-packed areas that, after reading this blog post, you may wish to put on your to-do list.

Read on to discover the country’s most spectacular wildlife spots.

Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre

This animal Sanctuary in Sepilok was designed for the rehabilitation of orphaned and injured orangutans. Covering 40 square kilometres of the Kabili Sepilok Forest Reserve, it homes 80 orangutans. Some are kept in nurseries and others live free in the rainforest.

During your visit, you’ll follow manmade walkways around the reserve to see the young primates eating bananas on the feeding platform and playing in the outdoor nursery. Viewing platforms have also been installed throughout the park to allow visitors to sit and watch the older orangutans teach the younger ones skills such as climbing and swinging from tree to tree.

Tawau Hills National Park

The Tawau Hills National Park is one of the lesser-known nature areas in Malaysia, however, that doesn’t mean there’s not plenty of wildlife to see. This area is overflowing with wildlife but some of the mammals tend to be a bit shy, so keep your eyes peeled and ears pricked to catch a glimpse of them.

The rare red leaf monkey can be spotted high up in the canopies. Their maroon-coloured fur makes them stand out between the green leaves.You’ll also get to see eight different species of hornbill throughout the park,usually found in the headquarters.

Kinabatangan River

The Kinabatangan River is the longest river in Sabah, reaching a total of 560 kilometres. It’s situated in the Sukau Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, meaning there’s plenty of animals living here. We recommend you travel by boat or river cruise because you’ll be in the perfect spot to see numerous species both in the water and on the riverbanks.

During your boat ride, you may see crocodiles swimming beside you and proboscis monkeys swinging through the trees by the water’sedge. Spot the pygmy elephants on the riverbanks in Sukau, drinking and washing their young.

Borneo Conservation Centre

Much like the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, the Borneo Conservation Centre acts as a rescue and rehabilitation facility, but this time for sun bears. When the bears are given to the centre, they’re checked for diseases before starting in the training pen. They’re taught to forage, build nests, climb and socialise with others, before being released back into the wild.

There are around 40 sun bears here, most of which can be seen from the pathways and elevated viewing platforms. You can watch them climb,forage and sun themselves, as their name suggests. This conservation centre is situated next door to the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, so why not visit them both on the same day?

Teluk Duyung

You may want the final stop along your wildlife tour to be at a beach, so why not relax at Teluk Duyung, also known as Monkey Beach? This bay- situated in the Penang National Park - is a popular tourist attraction and is home to cheeky, long-tailed macaques. These monkeys eat small crabs, which explains why they’re found on this strip of coastline.

As well as watching the monkeys, people also choose to visit the area to swim, hike, camp or go on a boat trip to Turtle Beach. Here you can see several turtles swimming around the shallow waters. Bring your snorkelling gear if you wish to get a closer look at them.

If, after reading this blog post, you’d like to book a trip to Malaysia, contact us via our website or call us on 0800 021 3237. Alternatively, you can visit our Woodbridge, Framlingham or Ipswich travel agents and speak to a member of our team.