#1stopbrunei

FRIDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2013

Bandar Seri Begawan - A Trip was recently organised by the 1stopBrunei Wildlife Club led by its President, Muhammad Shavez, to the forest of Mentiri.

Twenty members of the club joined the trip on Wednesday followed by a two-hour walk into the forest. This area has a very low protection level and can be developed for housing development in the future. A survey was made to see the flora and fauna and ecotourism potential.

The trek started with a short prayer and information was given regarding the itinerary. One objective of the trip was to record animals and plants seen. A data base will be made on the findings and will be made available for the general public after a year once the club has compiled all the survey _findings. A documentary and mini episodes of each trip into the forests will be made and the Mentiri mini episode will be available soon on social media.

From the parking lot, the members made a two-hour walk into the jungle where many pitcher plants (sumboi sumboi) were spotted. Various species of insects, a few birds including the greater Coucal, a beautiful brown and black bird called Burung Bubut in Malay were spotted. Even a very large spider was spotted along the trail. Bear marks on the trees and a skunk were spotted as well.

Upon arriving at the lake, some of the members waded into the lake and saw a monitor lizard and water insects. A lot of fish were spotted. More time and survey are needed to identify the species of fish in the lake, and the animals found around the lake. A night trip will be organised as well to see the nocturnal animals. After the lake, the three-hour trip came to an end.

Next week the 1stopbrunei Wildlife Club will be heading to an island in Brunei Bay.

For more information, the public can email [email protected], or add them on facebook - 1stopbrunei wildlife and log on to 1stopbrunei.com.