A Visit to Bako National Park in Sarawak

During my recent trip to Sarawak (on the island of Borneo), I visited the famous BakoNational Park. It is the oldest national park in Sarawak. BakoNational Park has a rich history. It boasts of multiple jungle streams, waterfalls along with trekking trails. The attractions of the National Park make it one of the most popular parks in Sarawak. Given below are some pictures of the park.

Gateway to Bako National Park

Bako National Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations

The park is famous for several streams

Great view of the Bako National Park

Pitcher Plants in Boko National Park, Borneo, Sarawak

There are quite a few species of pitcher plants found in Bako National Park and other parts of Sarawak. These are of the species  Nepenthes albomarginata.

An ant crawling over the edge of the lid (operculum)

It s a climbing plant with the stem reaching upto 4 metres, The pitcher itself can be upto 15 cm long and 5 mm in diameter, as you can see from the size compared to the small ant crawling on it. It depends on termites for it food and is one of the few carnivorous plants in existence. 

The white ring below the opening (peristome), which is what termites come to feed on

Contrary to what I used to think, it does not trap the insects, but rather relies on them falling into the pitcher. The termites graze on the rim and as they do some will fall into the pitcher. The rim of white trichomes just below the opening (peristome), is a distinguishing feature of this species.