| Madai Cave | |
|---|---|
 Entrance to the cave. | |
| Entrances | 1 |
Madai Cave is a cave located in Kunak, Sabah, Malaysia. It is an integral part of the limestone hills range located within the Baturong Madai Forest Reserve. [1]
| Madai Cave | |
|---|---|
| Entrance to the cave. | |
| Entrances | 1 |
Madai Cave is a cave located in Kunak, Sabah, Malaysia. It is an integral part of the limestone hills range located within the Baturong Madai Forest Reserve. [1]
The earliest known human settlement in northern Borneo existed 20,000–30,000 years ago, as evidenced by stone tools and food remains found by excavations along the Darvel Bay area at Madai-Baturong caves near the Tingkayu River. [2] There were also old burial site in the cave although the identity of those buried there remain unknown to most villagers living near the cave. [3]
The cave is famed as a source for swiftlet's nests used in bird's nest soup, [4] with demands largely come from the Chinese community especially during Chinese New Year. [5] Twice a year (between February and April, and between July and September), licensed collectors risk their lives climbing to the roof of these caves using only rattan ladders, ropes, and bamboo poles precariously attached together. [5] It is a special festival event for the local Ida'an villagers, [6] [7] who have held the rights to Madai Caves for over 20 generations. [8] Although the Ida'an are the major producer, the community are not a consumer with the bird nest will be sold to a middlemen who in turn supply to consumers in Hong Kong and Singapore. [9]
Beside the bird nest harvesting, phosphate deposits from the swiftlet and bat were also collected for use as fertiliser. [3]
The cave was featured during the American adventure race programme of Eco-Challenge in the 2000 edition, where participants had to climb rattan ladders. [3]
The geography of Malaysia deals with the physical and human geography of Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country. There are two major parts to this country, Peninsular Malaysia to the west and East Malaysia to the east. In addition, there are numerous smaller islands surrounding both landmasses. Peninsular Malaysia is situated on the southernmost section of the Malay Peninsula, south of Thailand, north of Singapore and east of the Indonesian island of Sumatra; East Malaysia comprises most of the northern part of Borneo island, with land borders shared with Brunei to the north and Indonesian Borneo which is to the south.
The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely related to the true swifts, but form a separate family, the Hemiprocnidae.
Swiftlets are birds contained within the four genera Aerodramus, Hydrochous, Schoutedenapus and Collocalia. They form the Collocaliini tribe within the swift family Apodidae. The group contains around thirty species mostly confined to southern Asia, south Pacific islands, and northeastern Australia, all within the tropical and subtropical regions. They are in many respects typical members of the Apodidae, having narrow wings for fast flight, with a wide gape and small reduced beak surrounded by bristles for catching insects in flight. What distinguishes many but not all species from other swifts and indeed almost all other birds is their ability to use a simple but effective form of echolocation to navigate in total darkness through the chasms and shafts of the caves where they roost at night and breed. The nests of some species are built entirely from threads of their saliva, and are collected for the famous Chinese delicacy bird's nest soup.
Aerodramus is a genus of small, dark, cave-nesting birds in the Collocaliini tribe of the swift family. Its members are confined to tropical and subtropical regions in southern Asia, Oceania and northeastern Australia. Many of its members were formerly classified in Collocalia, but were first placed in a separate genus by American ornithologist Harry Church Oberholser in 1906.
The Kinabatangan River is a river in Sandakan Division, northeastern Sabah of Malaysia. It is the second longest river in Malaysia with a length of 560 km (350 mi) from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah, to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of Sandakan. The area is known for its high-biodiversity habitats including its limestone caves at Gomantong hill, dryland dipterocarp forests, riverine forest, freshwater swamp forest, oxbow lakes and salty mangrove swamps near the coast.
The Ida'an people are an ethnic group of Borneo, residing primarily in the Lahad Datu districts on the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Their current population is estimated to be around 6,000, but it appears that they once inhabited a much larger area along the east Sabah coast than present. For centuries, the Ida’an have owned exclusive rights to the collection of edible bird's nests in the limestone caves of the region, notably the Madai Caves. Most Ida'an are Muslim, but a small sub-group called the Bega'ak have been converted to Christianity recently, but some of them remains animist.
The Gomantong Caves are an intricate cave system inside Gomantong Hill in Sandakan Division, Sabah, Malaysia. The hill is the largest limestone outcrop in the Lower Kinabatangan area. Situated in a Sabah Forestry Department forest reserve, the caves and the surrounding area are a protected area for wildlife, especially orangutans. The limestone hill is also the only known site for the endangered land snail Plectostoma mirabile. Investigation of the guano deposits were first made in 1889 by J.H. Allard of the China Borneo Company, and the caves were first mapped by P. Orolfo in 1930. Detailed re-mapping and laser-scanning of the caves was conducted in 2012 and July 2014.
Niah National Park, located within Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, is the site of the Niah Caves limestone cave and archeological site.
Pak Phanang is a district (amphoe) of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, southern Thailand.
Pak Phayun is a district (amphoe) of Phatthalung Province, southern Thailand.
The uniform swiftlet,, also known as the Vanikoro or lowland swiftlet, is a gregarious, medium-sized swiftlet with a shallowly forked tail. The colouring is dark grey-brown, darker on the upperparts with somewhat paler underparts, especially on chin and throat. This species is widespread from the Philippines through Wallacea, New Guinea and Melanesia. It forages for flying insects primarily in lowland forests and open areas. It nests in caves where it uses its sense of echolocation, rare in birds, to navigate.
Changkat Kruing is a small village in Manjung District, Perak, Malaysia.
The edible-nest swiftlet, also known as the white-nest swiftlet, is a small bird of the swift family which is found in South-East Asia. Its nest is made of solidified saliva and is used to make bird's nest soup.
The glossy swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and eastwards to New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.
Germain's swiftlet is a species of swift.
The cave swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found on the Indonesia islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. It is a woodland species and nests in caves. The Bornean swiftlet was considered a subspecies, but is now usually considered distinct.
The Christmas Island swiftlet, also known as the Christmas glossy swiftlet or the Christmas cave swiftlet, is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the eastern Indian Ocean. It was formerly commonly treated as a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.
Agop Batu Tulug Caves is an archaeological site in the Malaysian state of Sabah and refers to a group of several caves in a steep limestone cliffs in the Kinabatangan district.
Edible bird's nests are bird nests created by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets, and other swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. They are particularly prized in Chinese culture due to their rarity, high nutritional value in nutrients such as protein, and rich flavor. Edible bird's nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans, with nests being sold at prices up to about $3,000 per pound ($6,600/kg), depending on grading. The type or grading of a bird's nest depends on the type of bird as well as the shape and color of the bird's nest. It is usually white in color, but there also exists a red version that is sometimes called "blood" nest. According to traditional Chinese medicine, it promotes good health, especially for the skin. The nests have been used in Chinese cuisine for over 400 years, most often as bird's nest soup.
The Kinabatangan District is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the Sandakan Division which includes the districts of Beluran, Kinabatangan, Sandakan, Telupid and Tongod. The capital of the district is in Kinabatangan Town.
Since 1980, the Sabah Museum staff have carried out excavations in the Madai and Baturong limestone massifs, at caves and open sites dated back 30,000 years. Baturong is surrounded by large area of alluvial deposits, formed by the damming of the Tingkayu River by a lava flow. The Tingkayu stone industry shows a unique level of skills for its period. The remains of many mammals, snakes, and tortoises were found, all food items collected by early occupants of the rock shelters.
 | This Sabah location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |