World Wildlife Fund WWF Travel Blog

The opportunities to engage on a cultural level with local communities may seem less prominent as wildlife is often the focal point of the WWF trips. But it's often the local communities and guides who can spot the rare bird hidden in the thick of the forest canopy. It's the community that is bound tight to the history of their landscape; they know the stories that illustrate how nature has shaped their culture or perhaps how culture has shaped nature. It is almost impossible to understand and appreciate wildlife without also understanding the people and cultures that live under the same expansive sky.

Our photo slideshow highlights eight WWF trips that engage with the keepers of this intimate knowledge.

In between voyages, expedition leader Mike Fogg answered our questions about Borneo and WWF’s Faces in the Forest expedition.

WWF Travel: What do you think most surprises visitors to Borneo?
Mike Fogg: Most people have a mental image of Borneo being the land of head-hunters and orangutans. What surprises most is the diversity of habitats, depth of culture and a history that is both complex and interesting.

Her early years were spent under a thatch roof hut in one of the wildest corners of the planet. Eyes constantly peeled for poachers and leeches alike, Biruté Mary Galdikas quickly got used to her surroundings in the Bornean rain forest, where she has resided for most of the past four decades to study orangutans.

Where: Deep in the rain forests of Central Borneo in the Tanjung Puting National Park.

What’s there: A full-service research center where visitors can observe ex-captive orangutans that have been returned to the wild but are not entirely independent. In the 1970s and 1980s, Camp Leakey also served as a rehabilitation center. Currently, orangutans who need medical or other care after being confiscated from homes, black markets, the entertainment industry or abusive zoos are taken to the Orangutan Care Center, just outside of Tangung Puting. The orangutans we’ll see are the last of those rehabilitated at Camp Leakey, as well as their offspring and possibly wild orangutans as well.

Why it’s notable: Camp Leakey was established by orangutan researcher Biruté Galdikas in 1971. The camp is named for famed paleo-anthropologist Louis Leakey, who funded Galdikas’ orangutan studies. (Leakey also funded Jane Goodall’s work with chimpanzees and Dian Fossey’s mountain gorilla studies.)

How you’ll get there: During our Borneo: Faces in the Forest voyage, you’ll disembark the ship and transfer to traditional covered riverboats called klotok. The guided motorboat ride up the mangrove-lined Sekonyer River takes 2 ½ hours, with fascinating wildlife—including long-tailed macaques, proboscis monkeys and a profusion of birds—along the way.

Keep your eyes peeled for: You’re almost sure to see orangutans at feeding platforms; camp staff supplements the diet of the free ranging orangutans with fruit. Guides will be on hand to offer interpretation, perhaps even Galdikas herself.

Visit Camp Leakey during WWF's Borneo Voyage.

No trip to China is complete without a visit to see the giant panda, the country's unofficial symbol.

But dozens of other wildlife species are found in China too, including these five that you may spot while on a WWF tour.

Red panda: The bear-bodied, thick-furred species has little resemblance to its distant cousin except for the false thumb it both possesses, which is actually an extension of the wrist bone. The skillful, acrobatic animal stays predominantly in trees, using its tail for balance, and descends to the ground headfirst.

Asiatic black bear: Also known as the moon bear, the Asiatic black bear is easily recognizable thanks to a patch of whitish fur in a crescent-shape on its chest. The species has seen a precipitous decline in its population because of poaching—bear organs are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Yellow-throated marten: The yellow-throated marten looks similar to its relative the weasel, but is distinguishable by its gold and black hair. It can be found both on the ground and in treetops.

Sichuan takin: A goat antelope, the Sichuan takin has a thick golden coat and upturned horns. It makes its home in the mountains during the summer—when it forms large herds—and moves to lower elevations in the winter—when it breaks up into smaller groups.

Blue eared pheasant: The blue eared pheasant has a striking red face, gray-blue feathers, and distinctive white “ears.” This large, hardy bird does well in mountainous forests and is found throughout China. 

Travel to China with WWF.

"One of the reasons I wanted to go to Borneo was to see orangutans—and see them we did! We saw ones of all ages engaging in various behaviors. I like this particular photo, which I took at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, because of the lighting. While it's easy for humans to project their feelings onto animals, I can only say that if these orangutans weren't having a great time, then I know little about life."

See orangutans on a WWF tour to Borneo.

10. One of 43 landlocked countries in the world, Bhutan is about half the size of the state of Indiana.

9. The word “Bhutan” translates to “Land of the Thunder Dragon.” It earned the nickname because of the fierce storms that often roll in from the Himalayas.

8. Bhutan is the first country in the world with specific constitutional obligations on its people to protect the environment. Among its requirements: At least 60 percent of the nation must remain under forest cover at all times.

7. One-third of Bhutan’s population is under the age of 14; its median age is 22.3 years.

6. Thimpu is one of just two capital cities in Asia that does not have a single traffic light. (The other is Pyongyang, North Korea.) There was such public outcry when local officials installed a single signal that it was quickly removed, and a traffic officer was re-assigned to the intersection.

5. Bhutan is the only nation in the world where the sale of tobacco is banned.

4. At 24,840 feet, Gangkhar Puensum is the highest point in Bhutan—and the highest unclimbed mountain in the world.

3. Bhutanese manners dictate that you are to refuse food whenever it’s offered to you. The tradition is to say the words “meshu meshu” and cover your mouth with your hands. You can give in, though, after two or three offers.

2. Anyone found guilty of killing a highly endangered and culturally sacred black-necked crane could be sentenced to life in prison.

1. Bhutan is one of the last countries in the world to introduce television to its people. The government lifted a ban on TV—and on the Internet—only 11 years ago.

Travel to Bhutan with WWF.

WWF's Dan Winter accompanied our most recent Borneo tour. We caught up with him to get his thoughts on the otherworldy destination.

What was your favorite animal sighting?
We saw so many great animals, both large and small, that picking a favorite is hard!  But I must say that seeing a wild orangutan as we headed up the Kinabatangan River was a thrill.  That great big male orangutan eating fruit high in a tree was a joy to see.

What was your favorite moment of the trip?
One afternoon at Sepilok, we saw a red giant flying squirrel glide between trees.  The group oohed and aahed like it was a fireworks display!

What surprised you most about Borneo?
Borneo has some of the finest resorts anywhere in the world!  We were truly in the lap of luxury in Kota Kinabulu.  And the Borneo Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley was a close second to that, which is all the more impressive given that it is a long way from the nearest town.

Number one piece of advice for future travelers?
Get your sleep now! There’s so much to see in Borneo that you won’t want to sleep much when you’re there.

What did you take away from this trip?
Seeing the work of WWF make a positive impact on wildlife and communities was very gratifying.  Even more so was seeing that conservation is important to the people of Borneo; the tradition of protecting nature goes back to the founding of Malaysia.

Logging and agriculture are two conservation concerns in Borneo. Did you see evidence of those threats during the trip?
Flying from Kota Kinabulu to Mulu we could see great swaths of forest cleared for agriculture, and our lodge on the Kinabatangan River abutted an oil palm plantation.  We also saw logging trucks on our way into Danum Valley. In the latter case we knew that the logging concession in the Danum Valley represented sustainable logging which supported conservation work in the reserve. Finding a balance between commercial activity and nature is a very tricky problem, and we could see many examples of that on our trip.

Travel to Borneo with WWF.

The Philippines is a cluster of more than 7,000 islands, lying north of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. From north to south, the archipelago extends more than 1,850 kilometers. The Philippines are of volcanic origin; a large part of the terrain is mountainous, with fertile soils and spectacular landscapes.

It is generally accepted that the Philippines terrestrial and marine habitats contain some of the richest biodiversities of flora and fauna, and its waters are considered a part of the biodiverse Coral Triangle. Further, many of these organisms are endemic to the Philippines. For example, of the 580 recorded birds, more than 35 percent can only be found in the Philippines. More than 60 percent of the 167 different species of mammals and 65 percent of the 10,000+ species of plants are endemic.

Although many of the islands have an incredible assortment of wildlife, no island has more to offer than the island province of Palawan. Dubbed “the Last Frontier” because of the thousands of kilometers of unexplored forests and coastlines, this narrow archipelago between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea is the third largest island in the Philippines.

As the westernmost island in the Philippines, it is actually more closely associated (in terms of geology, flora and fauna) with Malaysia and Southeast Asia than with the rest of the Philippines.

One of the most important events that lead towards Palawan’s high biodiversity happened approximately 10,000 years ago when substantial amounts of the world’s oceans were locked up in glaciers. This resulted in much of the Sunda shelf (which includes Borneo and western Indonesia) becoming exposed.

During this time, it is thought that Palawan had a small, shallow land-bridge to Borneo, and separation with many of the islands in the rest of the Philippine chain was not as dramatic. As a result, Palawan not only showcases many of the flora and fauna associated with the rest of the Philippines, but also has many birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, trees and plants found on the island of Borneo.

It is argued even to this day that the Philippines, particularly around Mindoro and northern Palawan Islands, are the center of the center of marine fish biodiversity. For scholars, it is a question of species per area rather than species per region.

But for us, the joy and awe at gazing at more than 1,600 species of fish, 600 species of invertebrates and 500 species of coral makes the details academic.

Join a WWF snorkeling tour.

India is known, of course, for its tigers, and no tour to natural areas of the vast Asian nation is complete without time spent in tall grasses searching for the majestic and endangered big cat.

But dozens of other wildlife species abound in India’s top national parks. Among the other species most commonly spotted on recent WWF tours in India are these 10.

Sloth bear: Don’t let their ambling, feet-slapping gait fool you: sloth bears are capable of lopsidedly galloping faster than a human can run, and they are masters at tree climbing. Considered a relative of the sloth and not a bear at all, the sloth bear is a masterful hunter of termites and ants, pillaging an anthill with puffs, grunts and a Hoover vacuum-like force.

One-horned rhinoceros: Kaziranga National Park in Assam was created in 1926 as a refuge for the rhino. Once hunted nearly to extinction, today this two ton beast is a conservation success story, rebounding to more than 1,600 individuals.

Guar:The world’s largest species of wild cattle is the guar—also called Indian bison—and is among the largest living land mammal. Males often weigh 2,200 to 3,300 pounds, and only hippos, elephants and rhinos are larger. WWF travelers earlier this year observed a female with a suckling calf that was likely just a few months old.

Kingfisher: A number of species of the brightly colored bird with a cartoonishly oversized head and sharp beak are considered threatened or near-threatened as a result of human activities, including deforestation. Seeing the shy bird with unusual behavior patterns in the wild, therefore, takes on special significance for the birding enthusiast.

Common langur: Nearly 2 ½ feet tall, with grey hair and a black face, this “Old World monkey” species is often seen wandering through open wooded habitat and urban settings alike. Common langurs sleep in trees but spend much of waking time on the ground, usually in medium- to large-sized groups led by an alpha male.

Barasingha: The endangered swamp deer is seen in the Kanha Tiger Reserve, which is home to the world’s last population of the spotted mammal. It strikingly possesses up to 14 points on its antlers, making it an attractive species to hunt or poach. However, an increase in farm land replacing its habitat of tall grasses is probably the main reason for its decreasing population.

Wild dog: Packs of them roam throughout Kanha and other natural areas. In 2009, WWF members watched wide-eyed as a pack of 19 dogs chased an adolescent spotted deer across the dry, grasslands. The deer ran out of sight, leaving the travelers wondering about his fate.

Sambar: Inhabiting much of southern Asia, the dark brown-colored deer wanders Indian grasslands and deciduous forests, feeding mainly on coarse vegetation, grass and herbs. They’re also a favored prey of tigers and crocodiles.

Bengal monitor: Not as fearsome as their counterparts on Indonesia’s Komodo Island, India’s monitor lizards are solitary and shy and tend to avoid contact with humans. They can grow to nearly 6 feet long.

Rhesus macaque: Though notorious as urban pests throughout India, rhesus macaques exhibit more fascinating behavior when studies in their natural habitat. Troops of them can contain up to 180 individuals.

Visit India with WWF.