Deer Cave ( ms, Gua Rusa), located near

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Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, is a show cave attraction of

Gunung Mulu National Park The Gunung Mulu National Park is a national park in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The park is famous for its ca ...

. It was surveyed in 1961 by G. E. Wilford of the British Borneo Geological Survey, who predicted that Mulu would yield many more caves in the future. The cave, which is also known as ''Gua Payau'' or ''Gua Rusa'' by the local

Penan The Penan are a nomadic indigenous people living in Sarawak and Brunei, although there is only one small community in Brunei; among those in Brunei half have been converted to Islam, even if only superficially. Penan are one of the last such pe ...

and Berawan people, is said to have received its name because of the deer that go there to lick salt-bearing rocks and shelter themselves.

Description and survey history

The cave was extensively mapped by a Royal Geographical Society expedition in 1978. They produced measurements of wide and high in one section that passed through the mountain for a distance of . The next survey in 2009 increased the acknowledged passage length to and connected Lang Cave, another show cave within the park, to the Deer Cave System. This survey, made by the Hoffman Institute at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

, revealed the maximum cross-sectional area to be in the large southern passage. This was documented at 169 m wide with a ceiling height of . The northern passage registered the greatest ceiling height at with a cross-sectional width of . The main entrance of Deer Cave was measured at .

Geologic history

An explanation of the cave's formation is strongly interconnected with the geological history of the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

itself. Between 40,000,000 BC and 20,000,000 BC, a thick layer of sedimentary rocks known as

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, composed largely of compressed sea shells, developed in lagoons created by coral reefs. The movement of the Asian and Australian

tectonic plates Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...

caused the crust to buckle and elevate the land once more, giving birth to the island of Borneo and the Mulu mountains, around five million years ago. Since then, the landscape was hacked by constant

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

from precipitations and winds. The mountain’s surface is composed mostly of

, which dissolves when in contact with fresh water, and thus has been slowly sculpted into a karst. Rainwater also infiltrates the porous sedimentary rocks after going through the soil and progressively dissolves the limestone, widening the pores and cracks and creating caves of impressive dimensions such as the Deer Cave. This natural process, which is still working, will cause the cave to widen even more in the future.

Access and tourism

Tourism access to the cave (and to the entire park) was opened in 1984. The landscape attracts around 25,000 visitors from countries all over the world every year. To access Deer Cave, one must first enter the Gunung Mulu National Park, by way of

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

or the nearby city of

Miri ) , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = , subdivision_type2 = Division , subdivision_name2 ...

. Malaysian Airlines operates flights of approximately 30 minutes from Miri to Mulu. The park can also be reached by boat from Marudi, but a special booking must be made since no regular boat covers that area. Access to Deer Cave from the National Park entrance is via a plank walkway which passes through regions of lowland and limestone tropical rainforest with immense trees and limestone outcrops. This walk is considered an additional attraction to visitors as it takes them through the rainforest (of about )Malaysia
at Asean-tourism.com and by an ancient Penan Burial Cave. Some artificial lighting is provided within the cave, but flashlights are recommended for personal use in darker areas. Visitor attention may be drawn to a specific formations - unique stalagmites and also to a specific formation near the cave entrance which bears a distinct resemblance to the profile of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. To the northeast the cave opens into the so-called Garden of Eden, an approximately wide, circular depression encircled with tall limestone walls from three sides and a mountain slope from the fourth. The Garden of Eden is a karst valley or

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

with a volume of 150 million cubic meters, its bottom is covered with rainforest.

Fauna

In 2008,

Prince Albert II Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

of Monaco visited the Gunung Mulu National Park to launch a new camera system as part of the Bat Observatory, which is located near the entrance of the Deer Cave. Known as the Bat Cam, the surveillance technology allows visitors and scientists to observe approximately 3 million bats (over 30 species) that live inside the Deer Cave without affecting their habitat or habits, providing a valuable tool for the study of cave fauna. A viewing area has also been built outside, below the cave entrance, so that visitors can view the nightly "bat exodus" as they exit the cave and stream away in tight formation. At least 12 bat species are found in Deer Cave.Hall, Leslie S
The Magic of Mulu
BATS Magazine, Volume 12, Issue 4, Winter 1994. *Cave nectar bat ('' Eonycteris spelaea'') *Greater sheath-tailed bat ('' Emballonura alecto'') *Bornean horseshoe bat ('' Rhinolophus borneensis'') *Philippine horseshoe bat (''

Rhinolophus philippinensis The large-eared horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus philippinensis'') is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, lin ...

'') *Cantor's roundleaf bat ('' Hipposideros galeritus'') *Fawn roundleaf bat ('' Hipposideros cervinus'') *Dayak roundleaf bat ('' Hipposideros dyacorum'') *Diadem roundleaf bat (''

Hipposideros diadema ''Hipposideros'' is one of the most diverse genera of bats, with more than 70 species. They are collectively called roundleaf bats after the shape of their nasal ornament. It is the type genus of the family Hipposideridae. It is divided into s ...

'') *Lesser tail-less roundleaf bat (''

Coelops robinsoni ''Coelops'' is a genus of bat in the family Hipposideridae The Hipposideridae are a family of bats commonly known as the Old World leaf-nosed bats. While it has often been seen as a subfamily, Hipposiderinae, of the family Rhinolophidae, it ...

'') *Lesser bentwing bat ('' Miniopterus australis'') *Naked bat ('' Cheiromeles torquatus'') *Free-tail or wrinkle-lipped bat (''

Chaerephon plicata The wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat (''Chaerephon plicatus'') is a species of bat in the family Molossidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Phili ...

'') Deer Cave derives its name from the sambar deer (''Cervus unicolor''), an uncommon species of deer native to Malaysia, which make their home largely in the immediate area of the cave. Additionally, many other animals such as the

rhinoceros hornbill The rhinoceros hornbill (''Buceros rhinoceros'') is a large species of forest hornbill (Bucerotidae). In captivity it can live for up to 35 years. It is found in lowland and montane, tropical and subtropical climates and in mountain rain forests ...

, bearded pig,

sun bear The sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus'') is a species in the family Ursidae (the only species in the genus ''Helarctos'') occurring in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the smallest bear, standing nearly at the shoulder and weighing ...

, and gibbon are native to the local area.

Surroundings

Deer Cave was believed to be the largest cave passage in the world until the discovery of Sơn Đoòng cave in

Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park Phong may refer to: Computer graphics * Phong shading * Phong reflection model * Blinn–Phong shading model * Bui Tuong Phong - creator of the Phong shading interpolation method and reflection model. Other * Phong-Kniang language * Nam Phon ...

in Vietnam in 2009. It is part of the

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

characterised by amazing caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The Clearwater cave, with approximately of known passages, is considered the longest cave system in Southeast Asia. It is recognised for its clear underground stream, popular with tourists. The Wind cave is located on the same trail leading to Clearwater cave, and is known for its blowing wind. It contains a chamber dubbed King’s Room, a cavern containing huge columns of stone on both the ceiling and the floor. The Lang cave is the smallest of the caves open to the public. However, its size allows up-close opportunities to see some of the common cave inhabitants such as bats and

swiftlet Swiftlets are birds contained within the four genus, genera ''Aerodramus'', ''Hydrochous'', ''Schoutedenapus'' and ''Collocalia''. They form the Collocaliini tribe (biology), tribe within the Swift (bird), swift family Apodidae. The group contain ...

References

External links

{{coord, 4.1319, N, 114.9189, E, source:wikidata, display=title Caves of Sarawak Show caves in Malaysia Tourist attractions in Sarawak