Ear Cave

Within a few kilometres of the Resort you will find many limestone outcrops. Limestone often means caves and Taman Negara houses many cave systems. Close to the Resort are Gua Telinga (Ear Cave) which has a rock formation like a human ear, Gua Kepayang and Gua Daun Menari (the cave of the dancing leaves). Explore the unique flora and fauna of a tropical limestone cave.

Taman Negara protects not only wild rivers and virgin rain forest, but also includes areas of limestone. In many places this occurs as spectacular cliff-sided outcrops, among them Gua Peningat ( 713M ), Peninsular Malaysia’s highest. There is a string of limestone hills between Sungai Trenggan and Sungai Keniam, the largest being Gua Besar visible from Bukit Teresek.

Close to Kuala Tahan is the limestone cave Gua Telinga ( Ear Cave ), harbouring a great variety of animal life. Further south, in the catchment of Sungai Ruil, is Gua Landak, first explored only in 1986; and further west are the outcrops such as Gua Tumpat, Gua Siput and Gua Cemara, none as yet easily accessibleto visitors.

Limestone is originally laid down beneath the sea as an accretion of fine material principally derived from shells and corals. Under intense pressure these sediments become rock, and with uplift of the land the limestone is subjected to the erosive forces of wind, rain and streams.

In many cases these caves are home to bats, swiftlets, snakes, toads, cockroaches, spiders, centipedes,… In spite of this, or because of it, some people like to explore caves; and Taman Negara offers some outstanding opportunities. 

Telinga (Ear Cave)

       

This is a limestone outcrop eroded almost down to ground level. A stream passes through the outcrop via several dark chambers separated by sections open to the light. A rope marks an 80M-long route through the caves, roughly following the stream. Exploring thoroughly along the way, it takes at least half an hour to pass through, crawling in a places along narrow passages and negotiating areas of deep squishy guano !!!

You should be able to encounter at least six kinds of animal life in Gua Telinga:-

1. Roundleaf bat ( Hipposideros larvatus ). Thousands of these insect-eating bats roost in dark sections of the cave. The name refers to the shape of the “leaves” of skin around the nostrils which help direct sound signals transmitted to assist the bat in navigation.

2. Dusky fruit bat ( Penthetor lucasi ). These are much less common, roosting where light enters the cave. They have large eyes ( and no radar system ), and are twice the size of the roundleaf bats.

3. Giant toad ( Bufo asper ).Usually found high up, sitting motionless ona rock. The largest of these toads are biggerthat a man’s fist.

4. Black-striped frog ( Rana nigrovittata ). Listen for the call – urch ! urch ! – and tryto track one down in the torchlight. Usually down by the stream edge.

Whip-spider ( Stygophrynus sp. ). Different from true spiders; these have large claspers on the head for grasping prey, and a pair of very long feelers. They are not poisonous !

6. Cave cricket ( Diestrammena sp. ) Small wingless insect, pale creamy-brown with a hump back and very long antennae.

In addition to these, look for long-legged centipedes, cockroaches ( coloured rich burgundy-red and pale blue! ), and cave racer snake (Elaphetaeniura). The snake can be up to two metres long, is black and white on the head and tail and shades of creamy-grey in between, and feeds on bats. Its bite is harmless to humans.

On emerging from the far end of the cave, a trail will lead  you back to around the outcrop to the cave entry point. If you decide against going in to Gua Telinga, at least follow the path around and have a look at the sculptured rock around the cave exit.

Note: For those visitors who are over-sized, it is advisable NOT to enter Gua Telinga as you may have difficulty to crawl through the narrow passages and get stuck inside !!!

 

Adapted from ” An Illustrated Guide In The Kuala Tahan Region Of Taman Negara” , published by Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Peninsular Malaysia, 1989.