{"id":17320,"date":"2026-09-06T15:40:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T15:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strangethingstraveling.com\/animals-in-southeast-asia\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T08:55:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T08:55:25","slug":"animals-in-southeast-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strangethingstraveling.com\/en\/animals-in-southeast-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Animals in Southeast Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speaking of animals in Southeast Asia<\/strong>, I thought I’d see more of them on this trip. I actually did see them, but mostly in a short amount of time and within a few meters! <\/p>\n\n

The symbol of Singapore is the statue\u2014half lion, half fish\u2014located in the bay, since the very name \u201cSingapore\u201d comes from the word \u201clion,\u201d which, according to legend, was spotted in this area by the city\u2019s founder. Too bad no lions have ever been seen here. In Singapore, the only animals seen in the wild have been hens and roosters wandering around the city\u2019s parks. <\/p>\n\n

\"A
I found several roosters with their hens, roaming freely through the meadows of Singapore, surrounded by skyscrapers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Animals in Southeast Asia: The Malaysian Tiger <\/h2>\n\n

Another animal one might expect to find but that has never been present in a certain territory is the tiger in Borneo. Historically, this big cat has always existed on the Malaysian peninsula, but never in the area where Emilio Salgari<\/a> set many of the adventures of Sandokan<\/strong>, who was even nicknamed the Tiger of Malaysia. <\/p>\n\n

Before leaving, I had watched the Italian TV series based on the novels featuring the famous pirate. The one from the \u201970s is certainly a bit naive\u2014for example, in the fight scenes\u2014but I like it better. The more recent one is very well made, but it doesn\u2019t manage to convey the same sense of epic grandeur as the first one. On my trip, I read three of the best-known novels. <\/p>\n\n

The Italian writer wrote countless novels\u2014even ones not featuring Sandokan\u2014set in distant lands he had never seen. His sources were the books and publications he found in the libraries of Verona and Turin, places he had never left. It\u2019s hard to say whether\u2014due to the inaccuracy of his sources, by mistake, or for narrative purposes\u2014there are so many inaccuracies, whether geographical, historical, or related to nature. <\/p>\n\n

Despite his fame, Emilio Salgari<\/strong> led a very unfortunate life that ended in suicide.<\/p>\n\n

\"Among
Among the animals in Southeast Asia, monkeys of various species are the ones most easily spotted. In Salgari’s books, people eat a great many of them. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Kuching\u2014not a very exotic name<\/h2>\n\n

In the novels I’ve read\u2014as is generally the case with many 19th-century works\u2014a certain racism toward non-Westerners is evident, and there is certainly no compassion toward animals. Sandokan and his friends, despite being heroes of high moral character, actually enjoyed slaughtering innocent animals just for fun. <\/p>\n\n

Another aspect I find hard to tolerate in novels from that period is the excessive romanticism. Sandokan stubbornly sets out on a mission, dragging his men along and causing dozens of them to be killed, just to go and rescue a girl he barely knows. And before he\u2019s even seen her, he\u2019s already set his mind on it, simply because he\u2019s never seen a blonde girl (the Pearl of Labuan). Not to mention the fact that she\u2019s only 13 years old! <\/p>\n\n

One of the villains in *Sandokan* (a truly evil one) is inspired by the real-life James Broocke<\/strong>\u2014a very interesting figure, well-liked by the people, though less so by the pirates he fought tenaciously. He lived in what is now Kuching, where the mansion rebuilt by his grandson still stands. In Salgari\u2019s novels, however, this city is never mentioned\u2014perhaps because its name isn\u2019t very exotic? <\/p>\n\n

\"A
Of course, you see lots of insects with all the vegetation around.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

My Encounters with Animals in Southeast Asia<\/h2>\n\n

Anyway, I didn’t see any Labuan pearls, but I did see one of the things I’d set out to see on this trip: a proboscis monkey!<\/p>\n\n

\"Sign
Watch out for crocodiles!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The proboscis monkey<\/strong> is one of the funniest animals, and the males, with their big noses and bellies, look very human\u2014especially because of their expressive faces. Another funny animal that I enjoyed seeing up close is the bearded pig. <\/p>\n\n

\"One
One of the funniest animals in Southeast Asia, the proboscis monkey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"A
It’s also adorable as an alarm clock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The reason for my trip to Bako National Park<\/strong> was specifically to see these monkeys. I went there and then explored on my own by bus and small boat, since it\u2019s not accessible by land. It\u2019s a forested area right by the sea; along the coast, there are mangroves and crocodiles! The inland area can be explored via well-marked trails. When I planned the trip, I\u2019d intended to do the longest hike, but a subsequent knee problem led me to opt for shorter walks closer to the starting point and the visitor center. <\/p>\n\n

The hikes satisfied me in terms of the experience of walking through the jungle\u2014including the exertion caused by the humidity\u2014and the beautiful coastal views. But I didn\u2019t see any animals, except for the curious bearded wild boars. <\/p>\n\n

Tired, resigned, and sad that I hadn\u2019t spotted any nasonas<\/em>, I found one right on the tree closest to the building housing the restaurant and the visitor center. She was sleeping soundly, then she woke up, and I was even able to watch her eat. <\/p>\n\n

Links<\/h2>\n\n

Travel Home: Trip to Malaysia and Singapore<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Previous stop More<\/a> videos from Singapore<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Next Stop : Animals in Malaysia: Some Videos of the Proboscis Monkey, Too<\/a><\/p>\n\n

\"Skeleton
Aside from this skeleton, I saw far fewer fish than I expected. You’ll read about it in the next few articles. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Countries visited in my travel stories<\/a><\/p>\n\n

Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives<\/a><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speaking of animals in Southeast Asia, I thought I’d see more of them on this trip. I actually did see them, but mostly in a short amount of time and within a few meters! The symbol of Singapore is the statue\u2014half lion, half fish\u2014located in the bay, since the very name \u201cSingapore\u201d comes from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[763,781],"tags":[2504,2503,773,784,769,768,770,771,767,793,782,780,890,2501,2307,889,2502,787],"class_list":["post-17320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal-encounters","category-asia-and-oceania","tag-animalsinmalaysia","tag-animalsinmalaysia-wanderlust-proboscismonkeys","tag-backpacker-en","tag-backpackerstories-en","tag-diariodiviaggio-en","tag-esperienzediviaggio-en","tag-giramondo-en","tag-globetrotter-en","tag-raccontidiviaggio-en","tag-solotravel-en","tag-traveldiary-en","tag-travelexperiences-en","tag-travelinasia-en","tag-travelinmalaysia","tag-travestories","tag-viaggioinasia-en","tag-viaggioinmalesia","tag-viaggioinsolitaria-en"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t