Crocker Range Park 克洛克山脈國家公園

                             Crocker Range Park 克洛克山脈國家公園

Explore the Wonders of Sabah Malaysia

Keningau is a sprawling timber and agricultural town and district located in the Interior Division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the island of Borneo. It is the oldest and largest district in the interior part of Sabah. The name Keningau is derived from that of the Javanese cinnamon tree (Cinnamomun burmannii) which is abundant in the area. The tree is also known as ‘Kayu Manis’ in Malay and it has also been referred to as the ‘king of spice’. The bark of this tree was collected by the British North Borneo Company (Syarikat Inggeris Borneo Utara) to be sold as spice, 144 kilometers away from Kota Kinabalu is the Crocker Range National Park (CRNP), situated in the Crocker Range, Sabah. The Crocker Range Park is located 13 kilometers from Keningau town, approximately 25 minutes away by car. The Crocker Range was designated to be a forest reserve in 1968. In 1984, Crocker Range Nature Park was then established in order to protect the water catchments area which was supplying clean drinking water to the West Coast and the interior of Sabah. It was renamed Taman Banjaran Crocker (Crocker Range Park) in 1996 and is managed by the Sabah Parks. The Rafflesia Pricie, one of the three species of Rafflesia that can be found in Sabah, is the world’s largest flower and can be found in the Crocker Range National Park. It is a parasitic plant that gets its food from the Tetrasigma vines on which it grows. The flower can grow up to 38cm across with the largest of the Rafflesia being 100cm across and weighing 10kilos. It has no leaves, roots or a stem of its own and buds take several months to grow before the five petaled flower opens, and after only a few days of being open, the flower dies. The flower has the look and smells of rotting meat hence its local names which translate to “corpse flower” or “meat flower”. The vile smell that the flower gives off attracts insects such as carrion flies, which transport pollen from male to female flowers. Orchids, Rhododendrons and Pitcher Plants are also widely dispersed throughout the Park. At least five species of primates can be found in the Crocker Range National Park such as the Orang Utan, Gibbons, the tiny Tarsier with its enormous button-like eyes, and the long-tailed and pig-tailed Macaque. The Clouded Leopard, Wild Bearded Pigs, Sun Bears, Civet and Marble Cats, Porcupines, Squirrels and Tree shrews can be found in this area as well as a rich variety of birds including hornbills, pheasants, and partridges.Located in the heart of Crocker Range Park, the newly developed Sabah Park’s facility which opened in February 2004 is ideal a place for meetings, camping, jungle trekking and outdoor educational activities. Among the attractions to found in the Crocker Range Park are the Rafflesia sites, trekking courses, and camping ground. The rising concern for protecting its rich biodiversity and rare species of flora and fauna had been the prime propellant in the initiative to gazette it as a national park.