WHERE TO SEE WILD PYGMY ELEPHANTS IN BORNEO: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE!

Found only on Borneo Island, the Pygmy Elephant is the World’s smallest subspecies of Asian elephant, and is included on the official ‘Borneo Big 5‘ top wildlife species to see.

When we visited Borneo for 2 weeks for our Honeymoon, we were desperate and hopeful to see just one in the wild.

As luck would have it, we had the privilege of seeing not one but a whole herd of wild Pygmy Elephants! It was such an unexpected delight and truly one of the best wildlife encounters we experienced here.

This blog will tell you exactly where we saw these wild Pygmy Elephants in Borneo, alternative places you can possibly see them and bit more about this elusive and docile species.

Pictured: Us witnessing a wild herd of Pygmy Elephants on the Kinabatangan River banks, a sight we were incredibly lucky to see on our 2 weeks in Borneo itinerary! — Pictured: Jordie and Liam witnessing a full herd of Bornean Pygmy Elephants, one of the sort after **Borneo Big 5** species, by the river banks! Can you spot the little baby elephant?

TOP 4 PLACES TO SEE BORNEAN PYGMY ELEPHANTS IN THE WILD

1. THE KINABATANGAN RIVER

Okay, let’s start with the place that we personally saw a full herd of Bornean Pygmy Elephants, which was along the Kinabatangan River during a river boat cruise!

We had just arrived at Sukau Rainforest Lodge, and was on our first of three river cruises that were included in our 2 night stay. It was late afternoon, and we were leisurely gliding down an estuary when our guide got a phone call.

He whipped the boat around and sped up the main river as fast as he could, without saying a word! It was only when we arrived at a river bank that we saw them – a herd of Pygmy Elephants dwelling behind the long grass.

We couldn’t believe our luck, and after waiting patiently at a very respectful distance for about 5/10 minutes, we are so grateful to say they did eventually emerge from the grass down to the river – including a little baby calf!

Pictured: One of the most amazing sightings we were lucky enough to see during our Kinabatangan River cruise was this herd of Bornean Pygmy Elephants by the river banks! Photograph taken by Jordie. — Pictured: One of the most amazing sightings we were lucky enough to see during our **Kinabatangan River cruise** was this herd of Bornean Pygmy Elephants by the river banks! Photograph taken by Jordie.

Kinabatangan River, located north of Borneo in Sabah state, is the hotspot to see Pygmy Elephants in Borneo.

Kinabatangan has a larger population of 200 individual Pygmy Elephants, making it one of the most likely places to see them out in the wild.

When down at the river banks, Pygmy Elephants tend to dwell longer here – socialising, playing, bathing, drinking and even swimming! Alternatively, when they head deep into the dense forest, it’s usually to rest or travel away from the area.

Our guide told us that the Pygmy Elephant herds that live around Kinabatangan usually visit the riverbanks once every 2 to 3 weeks, so hopefully your trip aligns with their movements!

So – while it is all dependant on happenstance and a little bit of luck, if you are visiting when a local Pygmy Elephant herd has relocated to the Kinabatangan river banks, there is a great possibility to spot them here.

How to stay here: You can book a stay and wildlife safari package directly through Sukau Rainforest Lodge, or as part of a longer travel itinerary with a local tour operator.

We personally used Sticky Rice Travel during our trip to Borneo, who we highly recommend. A great alternative company is Borneo Eco Tours.

Likewise, you could also make your own way to Kinabatangan from Sandakan airport and pre-book their own accommodation along the Kinabatangan River. We discuss all options for this here on our separate Kinabatangan blog.

Pictured: We loved seeing this adorable baby Borneo Pygmy Elephant munching on grass and having a drink from the Kinabatangan River! Photograph taken by Jordie. — Pictured: We loved seeing this adorable baby Borneo Pygmy Elephant munching on grass and having a drink from the Kinabatangan River! In fact, it was one of the highlights of our **2 weeks in Borneo travel itinerary**! Photograph taken by Jordie.

2. DANUM VALLEY CONSERVATION AREA

Another area where it is possible to see Pygmy Elephants in Borneo is by staying at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, an award winning eco lodge in the heart of the Danum Valley.

The Danum Valley is a protected primary rainforest in Borneo, untouched by humans for over 130+ million years and covering a huge expanse of over 43,800 hectares.

As mentioned previously, it is less likely to see Pygmy Elephants in the forests, but not impossible! When we stayed at Borneo Rainforest Lodge, our assigned guide Jonathan was telling us stories of many times lucky guests have seen a Pygmy elephant herd in the nearby rainforest.

Unfortunately, this time for us the closest we got to a Pygmy Elephant in the Danum Valley was a few piles of their poop! 😅

How to stay here: You can either book a stay and wildlife safari package directly through the sole marketing agent of Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Borneo Nature Tours, or as part of a longer travel itinerary with a local tour operator.

We personally used Sticky Rice Travel during our trip to Borneo, who we highly recommend. A great alternative company is Borneo Eco Tours.

Photograph kindly gifted for us to use by Borneo Nature Tours. Pictured: A herd of Pygmy elephants in the Danum valley. — © All photograph copyrights reserved and owned by Borneo Nature Tours.
Pictured: Pygmy Elephants spotted roaming the forest near Borneo Rainforest Lodge, Danum Valley Conservation Area.

3. TABIN WILDLIFE RESERVE

Another chance to see Bornean Pygmy Elephants resides at Tabin Wildlife Reserve, located in Sabah on the right-hand side of Borneo Island. It is well known for its dense concentration of wildlife – including the Pygmy Elephant.

How to stay here: There is only one accommodation option in Tabin called Tabin Wildlife Resort, which compromises of 20 comfortable jungle chalets with river and hillside locations.

You can either book a stay and wildlife safari package through TabinWildlife.com directly, or as part of a longer travel itinerary with a local tour operator.

We personally used Sticky Rice Travel during our trip to Borneo, who we highly recommend. A great alternative company is Borneo Eco Tours.

4. DERAMAKOT FOREST RESERVE

Deramakot Forest Reserve, located in the centre of Borneo Island between Kinabatangan and Danum Valley, is another hotspot to see Bornean Wildlife, accessed only by 4WD drive safaris. It’s in a fairly remote location and is known as the much less touristy version of Danum or Tabin.

In fact, Deramakot is supposedly home to a staggering 75% of Sabah’s mammal species, including the Bornean Pygmy Elephant. This statistic came as a surprise to us as it is also an area for ‘reduced impact’ logging practises.

From recent reviews, the split of bad to good experiences viewing wildlife (aka. seeing lots to seeing hardly anything) is around 50/50. The general consensus seems to be it can be quite challenging to see lots of wildlife, especially if you are only there for a minimal amount of time.

How to stay here: There are basic jungle chalets you can stay at within Deramakot Forest Reserve. Book a stay and wildlife safari package here through a local tour operator.

We personally used Sticky Rice Travel during our trip to Borneo, who we highly recommend. A great alternative company is Borneo Eco Tours.

Pictured: We loved seeing this adorable baby Borneo Pygmy Elephant and its small herd munching on grass and having a drink from the Kinabatangan River! Photograph taken by Jordie. — Pictured: After having a good drink down by the river banks, this Bornean Pygmy Elephant herd then headed back behind the long grass. Photograph taken by Jordie.

ABOUT THE BORNEAN PYGMY ELEPHANT:
ADDITIONAL FAQ’S

HOW BIG IS A BORNEAN PYGMY ELEPHANT?

The Bornean Pygmy Elephant averages at just 2 metres high when fully grown, and is the smallest subspecies of Asian elephant.

WHERE DO PYGMY ELEPHANTS LIVE?

The Pygmy Elephant lives within the dense forests of Northeastern Borneo.

Unfortunately, the habitat of the Bornean Pygmy Elephant is ever becoming more constrained, with elephant herds being confined of specific rainforest pockets with the inability to roam freely between rainforests. This is due to forests being cut down, destroyed and then surrounded by ever expanding palm oil plantations, which blocks the safe passage between forests.

There are plans for new ‘plantation corridors’ to be created specifically in the near future to help combat this issue.

When we visited Borneo, we witnessed the heart wrenching extent of palm oil plantations. As soon as you left the confines of an ancient rainforest, suddenly the land became flat and we drove for over an hours, witnessing only miles and miles of palm oil palm trees.

HOW MANY BORNEAN PYGMY ELEPHANTS ARE LEFT IN THE WILD?

It is estimated that there is only a population of 1000 to 1500 individual Bornean Pygmy Elephants left in the wild.

WHY ARE BORNEAN PYGMY ELEPHANTS ENDANGERED?

Habitat loss, human and elephant conflicts, poachers and loss of gene variety (being unable to cross to different forests due to palm oil plantations) is why the Bornean Pygmy Elephant is categorised as ‘endangered’ on the IUCN red list, with as little as 1000-1500 left in the wild.

WHAT DO PYGMY ELEPHANTS EAT?

The Bornean Pygmy Elephant has an extensive range in its diet, and can eat over 130 plant species a day! This includes items such as grasses, figs, barks and bananas to name a few.

CONCLUSION: WHERE TO SEE WILD PYGMY ELEPHANTS IN BORNEO

To conclude, the best places in the Sabah state of Borneo Island to spot wild Bornean Pygmy Elephants (rated by likelihood) are:

The Kinabatangan River
Danum Valley Conservation Centre (Borneo Rainforest Lodge)
Tabin Wildlife Reserve
Deramakot Forest Reserve

From our own personal experience visiting Borneo and seeing wild Bornean Pygmy Elephants with our own eyes, Kinabatangan River is by far your best bet to seeing them.

Not only is there a concentrated population here (approximately 200+ individual elephants known), it is much easier to fully see them as they reveal themselves down at the river banks.

Nonetheless, Danum Valley and Tabin are also great options to potentially spot them, though it may prove slightly more difficult due to the sheer amount of hectares to cover.

Finally, while it is possible to see Pygmy Elephants at Deramakot Forest Reserve, recent reviews from previous guests do not highlight Deramakot as a hotspot for Pygmy Elephants specifically.

A photo of Jordie, the author of this specific blog post and owner of the wesbite.

This blog post was written by Jordie Flain!

Founder of TheFlainsTravel.com

A travel-obsessed Sagittarius creating honest, easy-to-follow guides. Powered by tea, chocolate and a slightly concerning amount of tomato ketchup.

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