More than just growing tea
Published on: Sunday, February 26, 2023
By: Mohd Izham bin Hashim
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The deer ranch is slowly taking shape.
“We are always about evolving and trying something new,” said Sabah Tea Resort General Manager, Ismail Martin Kong, who was more than happy to shed light on the new plan.
On a 30-acre site, less than three-minute drive from the resort’s tea cottages, a small herd of deer run free on a wide-open hilly field before they disappear into the thickets of rubber trees to rest from the midday sun.
Not far from the rustic makeshift shack, chickens scour the area for a quick meal while a pair of geese were on patrol, ready to honk or bite to prevent illegal entry of unwanted invaders such as snakes and monitor lizards.
“Welcome to our very own deer ranch,” beamed Ismail, greeting the park’s first visitors at the door. Already, the group was impressed and thrilled at the sight of free roaming animals in the gated area. As if he understood, Ismail noted the idea was to offer visitors with the experience of hand-feeding deer at the ranch which was built and designed as close to their natural habitat as possible.
The herd of deer getting curious and up close for a quick snack.
A picturesque view of the animals at the deer ranch at Sabah Tea Resort.
“Right now, they’re still a bit wary but they’re allowing us to get closer each day. This is a good sign,” he said, optimistic that the herd will get used to being around humans in due time.
According to Ismail, allocating a generous amount of space was something he resolutely believed in, noting it was a different approach that sets the resort apart from other similar establishments because animals are not trapped in a ‘small pitiful enclosure’ like a zoo.
On top of it all, Ismail is also a passionate animal lover and he felt it was important for animals to be allocated with sufficient space to roam and thrive.
Must protect: A goose stands guard over a brood of ducklings.
“I didn’t want to see them stressed from being constrained to a small enclosure or area, the more space means the healthier the animals will be,” he said.
Ismail believes tourists especially foreigners would appreciate the great deal of effort it took for the resort to ensure the welfare of animals are protected. And much of the effort was also thanks to Daud Gingarong and Gerry Protong, the regulars left in charge of taking care and feeding animals at the ranch — twice a day, early morning and just before dark.
“Pet… Pet…” Daud called out to the herd and they hurried down to feed on chopped up jackfruit at the ranch entrance – the area where visitors may likely get their chance to feed deer themselves. Later, he explained the reason the deer responds to ‘Pet’ was because the word mimicked the sounds they make while communicating with each other.
Ismail having a chat with Daud at the deer ranch.
“The plan was to get visitors from the accommodation to a site where they can collect the feed, before they can proceed to feed deer and other animals at the ranch,” said Ismail.
Furthermore, he noted experience of feeding animals by hand can instill awareness on the importance of conservation, as well as passion and love for animals.
Furthermore, Ismail said he also plans to have students visit the ranch on a 3-day 2 night stay at the resort grounds to give them a slice of experience living in rural areas.
“I think it will be a fantastic way for young students, including those from the cities, to experience rural life for themselves, which will definitely be something worth remembering!” he said, recounting his own childhood years while growing up in a similar setting in his hometown at Beaufort.
“Sabah Tea is a really huge place, I think dedicating a piece of land for the deer ranch will open up amazing new opportunities as new possible attractions at the plantation grounds are being explored,” he said, noting the resort had spent time during the pandemic to rethink of new strategies for tourism which had been hit hard by the pandemic.
Ismail noted the resort’s deer ranch was still in its early stages, and revealed plans were underway to develop proper facilities such as a visitor centre, car park, vegetable garden, boardwalks, feeding stations and walking trails, for the convenience of visitors. The first thing that comes to mind of a place that likely resemble what Ismail had in mind was the Kasuga Taisha, a famous Shinto shrine in Nara Park, Japan, where tourists get to hand-feed friendly deer and even reach out to pet them.
However, the deer ranch at the resort once received a visitor but it was not the human kind. “This morning, one of the workers spotted a huge wild deer buck outside and he was trying to enter the gated area,” laughed Ismail, adding he felt pleased at how quickly the animals had adjusted to their new home.
He explained a herd of deer was typically led by a dominant male such as ‘alpha one’ seen at the ranch which was accompanied by females, a few juvenile males and two young fawns. Apart from deer, the ranch was also populated by a pair of geese, chickens and will soon welcome a herd of goats, as well as a raft of ducklings.
The herd at the ranch was led by a single dominant male accompanied by 12 females, a few juvenile males and two fawns. Apart from deer, the ranch was also populated by a pair of geese, chickens, and will soon welcome a herd of goats and ducklings.
“In Kundasang and Ranau, there are rabbit and goat villages, so I thought why not a haven for our very own native deer?” quipped Ismail. For operations at the ranch to remain sustainable, Ismail also instructed workers to grow various forage crops such as Madre de Agua (Trichantra Gigantea), which is not only protein-rich but also highly productive and maintenance-free.
“Unlike other establishments, our tea plantations strive to coexist with the rainforest which brings as much challenges as its opportunities,” said Ismail, underlining Sabah Tea maintains a strict code and any kind of pesticide use or harmful chemicals are banned at its plantations.
As a result, he noted there were regular sightings of wildlife at the plantation such as mousedeer, reptiles, birds as well as a plethora of uniquely shaped and brilliantly colored insects – many of which are endemic to Borneo.
“All these are priceless attractions for tourism, gifts from the wilderness that offer a much-needed motivating boost to Sabah Tea Resort’s efforts towards ecotourism here,” said Ismail but maintaining the policy comes with a challenge.
Due to global warming, he said excessive rainfall exposed tea plantations to fungus diseases due to hillside erosion.
“In spite of this, we abide by our ruling of not using any kind of fungicide or pesticide which is hard thing to do,” he said, noting erosion had exposed the roots of tea crops to fungal disease.
To maintain its no-pesticide ruling, he said workers would try to remove as much of the infected plant as they can together and dispose contaminated soil to break the disease cycle.
“It takes a great deal of work and effort to remain 100 percent organic and free from harmful chemicals but we never stop trying,” he said.
In addition, Ismail pointed the key driver of the tourism market is the state are none other than local Sabahans however there are signs that foreign tourists and Malaysians from the peninsular are returning to spend their time at Sabah.
“In the endemic phase of the pandemic, local tourists from Sabah are making up a huge bulk of the tourism market,” he said.
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