Attenborough to film Sabah wildlife

Sabah conquest: Atten­borough will spend a month in Sabah to film a documen­tary in 3D format.

KOTA KINABALU: Renowned British naturalist Sir David Attenborough is once again turning his attention on Sabah’s wildlife.

The documentary maker is spending about a month with a crew of 44 in Sabah’s Lost World, the Danum Valley and Gomantong Caves in the east coast to film flying creatures in three dimensional format.

The segments would be part of a documentary called Conquest of the Skies slated for release in the United Kingdom in December followed by other countries later.

“We are making a story about how insects and animals with bones have evolved to fly. There are more examples of the interesting flying creatures in Borneo than anywhere else in the world,” Attenborough said here on Wednesday.

“There are all sorts of flying reptiles such as frogs and snakes and then there is the flying lemur. This land is rich in wonders,” he said.

Attenborough said shooting a documentary in 3D format was most suitable as it would show clearly the movements of the animals.

This would be his second foray to the Gomantong caves that is home to thousands of bats.

“The first time I came to Sabah was 40 years ago to film the bats at the Gomantong caves which no one had done previously. At that time, we had to slash our way through the jungle because there was no road nearby,” he recalled.

“When we finally got into the cave, there was this huge pile of guano and we had to clamber on it to get a look at the bats. That was unforgettable,” he added.

Describing Borneo as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, he lauded efforts by Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia in conservation such as the Heart of Borneo initiative.

“This region rivals the Amazon and the Congo. It is amazingly diverse and we still don’t know the extent of what more there is to be discovered,” he said.