MYCAT CAT Walk – Going back to the start

I can’t remember the last time I went for a CAT Walk as a volunteer – I had signed up to be a CAT Walk leader almost immediately after my first in 2013. But with me about to pick up my volunteering game and start leading after a 10 month hiatus, I needed to get back in the field.

Tagging along on a CAT Walk sounded like a brilliant idea. My UK plans had fallen through – the Ringgit was a whopping 6.4 to the pound – suddenly 3 weeks had opened up. I contacted Lava, MYCAT‘s Programme Officer and volunteered for the September 26th through 27th walk.

Making the small village of Merapoh on the outskirts of Taman Negara in Pahang as our base, Day One got off to a slow start but quickly got interesting. After some shuffling back and forth between 2 vehicles, we entered the forest.

Our Saturday hike was what you would call an A to B; rather than start and end at the same point, we would start at A and end at B. There were 6 of us in all including Satish a CAT Walk leader in training, Adli an avid hiker and cyclist that I had met through KL Hiking, Michelle, and a brother-sister pair from Kulim. Two others were due to participate but had to withdraw at the last moment.

Ashleigh briefs volunteering CATwalkers as CATwalk leader in training Satish and Bateq guide Apu listen intently.

A group shot before the walk commences – you know, in case someone goes missing and you need to provide the police with a physical description of the missing person and what he/she was wearing….

We briefly enter into the dense green forest before realising we could go no further and would have no choice but to head towards the clearing.

Once carpeted in forest, the area had been denuded of its flora and fauna with the exception of these secondary shrubs.

The wild boar ditch separating the forest and the plantation area – it was at least 2 metres deep and just as wide.

Ash, who was leading the walk with Bateq guide Apo, had intended for us to pick a trail through part of the Sungai Yu Tiger Corridor to the Sungai Yu river, but after running out of viable trail at the beginning of our journey, we had no choice but to temporarily ply a narrow clearing that separated the forest and a vast swathe of barren land, logged presumably for a rubber or palm oil plantation that had yet to materialise.

A deep trench had been dug between the two areas  – a “wild boar ditch” Ash called it – to keep animals off the plantation. I had to marvel at the sheer audacity of humankind, denuding the area of its flora and fauna then preventing its original inhabitants from returning home. And at the fringes of the protected national park no less.

At the earliest opportunity we headed back into the green, ducking under the spider web of a mating golden orb (eeks!) to get onto an old trail overgrown with tall ferns. In the distance, a lone deer barked its warning call over and over. It was a first for me – deer are elusive and a rarity in these parts. I hoped it was okay, that it hadn’t fallen into the ditch or got caught in a trap. We didn’t hear it again.

Back under the forest canopy, the sweet rotting smell of fruit assaulted our senses. It was over ripe palm fruit or buah salak, which I coincidentally tried for the first time that weekend. Firm but sweet/ sour at the same time, I liked it. It reminded me of duku or langsat but denser.

Our route took us along an old trail overgrown with ferns and marshy in places.

There were signs of an elephant presence on our walk, which was tremendous news.

A short break is a great opportunity to to catch our breath, tie our shoe laces, have a drink or grab a bite to eat and have our arses bitten by leeches.

Part of a larger tiger conservation plan to increase the number of wild tigers on the Peninsula, MYCAT‘s Citizen Action for Tigers walk or CAT Walk for short, contributes towards this goal in numerous ways, among them deterring the presence of poachers. After more than 3 years, the CAT Walks are already showing positive results and we had yet to come across signs of recent poaching activity.

For the purposes of education, Ash led us to an old poacher camp anyway. Long abandoned, much of its wooden structure lay rotting on the ground, alongside various other discarded items such as empty packets of instant noodles, batteries and pharmaceuticals. As per CAT Walk protocol, it had been immediately reported to the Wildlife Crime Hotline (by calling or SMSing +60 19 356 4194); suspicions were it had been used by Cambodian poachers.

When we finally emerged from the forest it was 3pm. We were hot, sweaty and more than a little mucky but briefly rested by the river first before finally making our way across the water to the car, and back to Speleo Inn in Merapoh, our home for two nights.

A long abandoned poachers camp.

The detritus you find at a campsite can tell you a lot about who camped there. Aside from discarded packets of noodles, cigarettes cartons and batteries we also found used medicines, suggesting the poachers in question would be in the jungle for a while.

The signs of a hungry bear eagerly searching out termites and grubs.

Forward facing, shallow indent marks in the tree’s bark, possibly a wild cat.

Ash spots damar putih, a white coloured resin that leaks from the tree. It will eventually harder and can be collected for use as a fire starter or incense, due to the fragrant smell it emits when burnt.

More bear signs – this time digging up the ground for ants and grubs.

The unmistakable shape of a tapir print – this would be from one of its hind legs.

An elephant’s footprint – you can just make out the indentation marks created by its toenails as it digs its feet into the ground to avoid slipping or sliding forward.

A quiet bend in the Sungai Yu river.

As many of the Malay stalls were closed for the Hari Raya Haji weekend, we drive into Gua Musang’s Chinese village for dinner.

Our destination – popular seafood restaurant, Kim Kee.

Our slap up meal included two types of vegetables – Four Emperors in Belacan (not shown) and Sweet Potato Leaves stir fried in garlic – Chicken with Tofu Skin, Steamed Bean Curd with Shallots, Onion Omelette and Steamed Fish in Soy Sauce and Ginger (not shown).

Some satisfied and stuffed faces around the table….

Sunday is the day that CAT Walk volunteers typically leave Merapoh to return to their respective places of origin, so Day Two’s CAT Walk is relatively short and saw us survey an area that MYCAT calls Bird Valley, for its abundance of bird life.

In truth Bird Valley harbours much more. Once a logging trail, this prime piece of state forest land is separated from Taman Negara by two rivers: Sungai Relau and Sungai Tanum, and is  characterised by a formidable limestone rock formation known as Gua Lagi Panjang. It was also the location of my first CATwalk, and a trail I’ve returned to many times for reasons I’ll elaborate on shortly.

As Ash stepped into the role of observer, Satish stepped up to lead the group. He was accompanied by Bateq guide Akoi, or Alias is he is also known. Akoi had frequently followed me on my CAT Walks, but as my last was in November 2014, it had been a long time and I was happy to see him again; he was in good spirits.

Breakfast on Day Two – still no roti canai available but at least I got to eat a plate of nasi lemak before the rice ran out, as it did the day before.

Following both Satish and Akoi, we set out on the disused logging road but soon veered off into the scrub and gingerly picked a route down through a gully before we made our way up along one of the many leafy ridges to eventually reconnect with the logging road. Overhead the mating calls of a pair of hornbills were never too far away.

Bird Valley used to be a hot spot for poaching activity – previous CAT Walks would turn up snares that ranged in size from large rusted metal ones to tiny bamboo ones, their targets, large mammals like tigers and bears to small birds. Each CAT Walk leader who has plied the area has a heartbreaking tale to tell of stumbling upon animal bones, their untimely end coming at the hands of man. But today we didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. In fact MYCAT hadn’t detected anything suspicious here for some time, which is a  very positive sign.

Much like the day previous, there were lots of encouraging indications that large mammals like elephants and gaur had returned, even if we had yet to spot any clues of a big cat presence. The remains of a squirrel and stool with a high fur content however did suggest that at the very least small wild cats are doing okay.

Checking the MYCAT camera traps are a CAT Walk highlight and we were fortunate to be able to do so on this trip. A review of the photos from one of MYCAT‘s sponsored camera traps confirmed the presence of lots of wildlife activity. Monkeys, civets, mouse deer, porcupines and even barking deer were captured for posterity. There were people in some of the shots but the expensive cameras around their necks meant that they were of no threat. Poachers have a particular style of dress.

Although overgrown, the disused logging road was still easy to navigate and narrow tread marks suggested that one motorbike had been driven through here recently.

We find damar putih along the trail but it was hard to light and produced little smell.

There’s no telling how old this gorgeous tree is but it deserves the reverence we heaped on it – long may it prosper.

The shallow indentations of a set of sharp cat claws perhaps?

The CATwalk crew – proud to save our natural heritage.

We make a quick detour to check a camera trap.

The rather grim remains of some small wild cat’s meal….

I got caught in the post-Hari Raya Haji crawl on the Karak Highway (which added a miserable 2 hours to a 4 hour journey) on my return drive home, but I was glad I signed up to volunteer. The opportunity to walk the corridor as a volunteer rather than a CAT Walk leader was a great reminder of why I first embarked on volunteering with MYCAT and why I love CAT Walks.

Being in the jungle knowing that charismatic mammals like the tiger, leopard, elephant or tapir or gaur may have walked there days or hours before is thrilling. Knowing that I’m actively playing a part in ensuring their continued survival is meaningful. That the CAT Walk’s are paying off is not only reason enough for CAT Walks to continue but for them to be extended to other parts of critical forest in the country. I’m looking forward to going back.

To view pictures of more forest flora, click any of the images below to launch the slideshow.

References

MYCAT is an alliance of Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Wildlife Conservation Society-Malaysia Programme and WWF-Malaysia, and supported by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan) for joint implementation of the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan for Malaysia. For more information about the Malayan tiger and the activities of MYCAT visit: W: malayantiger.net or F: www.facebook.com/themalayantiger/

If you’d like to participate in a MYCAT CAT Walk or would like to sponsor a camera trap or support the task of saving Malaysia’s last wild tigers, go to http://www.citizenactionfortigers.my.

The Wildlife Crime Hotline is a 24-hour hotline to report suspected wildlife crimes. All reports are anonymous and will be handled with complete confidentiality. You can call or SMS to +60 19 356 4194  or e-mail report@malayantiger.net.