Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Big Tree in Kalabakan

The Big Tree in Kalabakan

31th August, 2010 - Malaysia National Day (Independence day). A public holiday so we are free from school and work. We used this opportunity to make our first trip to Kalabakan. An unknown plantation town to many people. Kalabakan village only consist of a few wooden sundry shops, several wooden house, a memorial, an army camp, oil plantations, open market and a graveyard. This place has a potential to become a fast developing township because it is near to the sea, has a wide area and near to Indonesia and Kota Kinabalu.

This is the first time for my dad, sister and I to visit Kalabakan. I found out if we go straight and did not turn in to Kalabakan, we would reach Kota Kinabalu and the Lost World Of Borneo - Maliau Basin.

On our way back we spotted this handsome tall tree and could not resist stopping by to have a close look. It is surrounded by thousands of hectares of oil palm plantations. He hope the plantation management will protect it.

Tawau is well known for keeping some of the tallest tropical trees in the world. In fact the tallest tropical tree in the world is found in Tawau Hills Park and we visited that tree last week.

Photo above : This tree we visited today is one of the tallest trees in the region.

Photo below :
Borneo's Big Trees
as recorded in the National Geographic magazine, July 2006 edition.

Photo image from the National Geographic magazine, July 2006 edition.


NG GRANTEE
Borneo's Big Trees

Some boys never grow up. They just climb taller trees—then work to protect them.

A team led by grantee Roman Dial of Alaska Pacific University climbed a Koompassia excelsa, actually a member of the pea and bean family, that towers above an oil palm plantation in northeast Borneo. This 268-footer ranks among the tallest tropical trees known.

"It was sad to look from the top," says Dial, "and realize that this represented what remained of the tallest tropical rain forest in the world. It felt like climbing a redwood in a cornfield."

He hopes that tall trees in a nearby region will eventually be conserved as part of a big tree park.

----Michael Klesius

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