Malaysia: Mud pool draws hordes of wildlife and people

New Straits Times 24 Feb 12;

A rare phenomenon is attracting a beeline of "visitors" at the mud volcano in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu.

Visitors at the mud volcano in Tabin Wildlife Reserve, Lahad Datu, where its pool has overflowed to about the size of a football field, three times bigger than its normal size. Pic by Lano Lan

Volcanic mud has been spewing at least twice to three times more actively than normal since last week. This has created an overflow of the sulphuric substance that has spread over an area as big as a football field. Apart from excited guests at the nearby Tabin Wildlife Resort, the number of wild animals, too, appears to have increased at the mud pool.

(Volcanic mud is believed to contain curative properties with iodine, bromine, calcium and magnesium. According to Wikipedia, since the mud solution has no significant toxic substance, it is used as a curative agent for mud baths at spas. Mud baths have existed for thousands of years and can now be found in high-end spas in many countries of the world.)

The mineral-rich pool serves as a salt lick for animals at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, including endangered species such as the Sumatran rhino and the pygmy elephants.

On a normal day, mud would continuously spew from within the pool and dry up in a day or two once it spills over.

Last week, however, according to a wildlife ranger who declined to be named, it was rather active judging by the overflow.

"Earlier last week, we saw it to be more active and when we returned a few days later, the mud had flowed over a big area," he said, adding that people and animals had suddenly started coming to the reserve in droves.

Nestled amid 120,500ha of dipterocarp rainforest and tropical plants, some of which are rich in medicinal and therapeutic values, the reserve is a popular haunt for bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts.

Besides the rhinoceroses and elephants, it is also home to the clouded leopard, sambar deer, exotic wild birds and the orang utan.