The Tale of the Tapir in the jungles of Malaysia are some of the most epic in the world. West Malaysia has some of the oldest rain forest on the planet and the biodiversity is enormous.

As a wildlife biologist I have been to every continent many times (excluding Antarctica). Malaysia is among my favorite places to visit. The jungles here have it all. Elephants, tigers, monkeys, leopards, giant reticulated pythons but I was in search of one animal in particular. The Malayan tapir.

These shy and highly endangered creatures resemble a pig crossed with an elephant with the coloration of a Giant panda. There is only a population of about 1,500 left in the wild so I new I had my work cut out for me. I have never taken a tour in my life, I prefer to get out there and do everything myself.

 

 

Kuala Tahan: The Gateway to Taman Negara and the Adventure Ahead

I knew the area where these animals were found and researched the closest town, closest to the jungle. This town is called Kuala Tahan and it is the gateway to the Taman Negara national park where the Tapirs are found. My brother comes with me on a lot of my expeditions to film me and the both of us flew to Kuala Lumpur and hired a driver to take us to Kuala tahan. This tiny town is about a 6-8 hour drive from KL city but it is a very scenic drive. Once we arrived at Kuala Tahan I realized how tiny it actually is.

The whole town consists of basically one street but there is plenty of backpacker and hostile accommodation. For us, the jungle would be our accommodation. we both had a tent and I’m experienced in jungle survival so this method is not for the beginner.

 

 

The Tale of the Tapir We hired a boatman to take us about an hour upriver.

This would ensure we would be deep in the jungle and away from any people which may scare the elusive tapir away. I told the boatman to pick us up on this riverbank in 7 days and we started our trek into the deep forest.

After about 8 hours of walking we set up our tents. Once the camp was set up we did lots of exploring in the area. I heard a low frequency rumbling through the forest and new straight away there were elephants in the area. Every direction we walked we seemed to notice elephants in front of us. This can be very dangerous as wild elephants generally don’t like people and if they found me, they’d more than likely kill me. we climbed a tree an waited for them to pass and then headed back to our tents.

 

 

The Midnight Encounter: A Glimpse of the Elusive Tapir

Days and nights passed and still no sign of the mysterious The Tale of the Tapir. I was starting to lose hope. Although we had seen some amazing wildlife already, I still hadn’t found my target animal. It was the last night and we decided to stay up and hide overlooking a big mud pit. Animals are attracted to these pits because they can bath and eat the clay which contains minerals. It was pitch black and every 10 or so minutes I would turn on my flash light and see what was at the mud pit. Every time I would turn on the flashlight there would be a new animal there. Rusa deer, wild pigs even porcupines but still no tapir. My eyes were getting heavy and it was well past midnight when I noticed through my now night-adjusted eyes a different shape. I could see something light colored moving into the clearing.

 

 

The Unforgettable Encounter with the Malayan Tapir

I turned on my flashlight and there it was. The Malayan tapir! I thought I was dreaming and I had to ask my brother if he could see the tapir as well. Yep, he could see it also, it wasn’t just a dream. I sneaked through the jungle until I was about 15 feet away from it. The tapir was enormous. About the size of a Jersey cow. She new I was there and when threatened, these animals can be dangerous and have killed people. She lifted her trunk as a warning and after a few minutes she gracefully galloped back into the jungle and disappeared.

I couldn’t believe it! We had found the Malayan tapir on the last night! Our morale was so high the day trek back to the riverbank where the boatman was picking us up was a breeze. We actually got a little lost on the way back but managed to encounter the indigenous people that live in the area called the Orang Asli and they pointed us in the right direction. Our boat was waiting for us when we got to the river and it took us back to civilization. If you’re interested in watching the whole adventure, Youtube fly to Malayans

▶️    ‘Tale of the Tapir-full length’