Sabah Wildlife Populations 2026 — Orangutan, Elephant & More
The latest estimates are about 10,300 orangutans (9,558 in the 2014–2017 survey plus ~800 in the Lower Kinabatangan), about 1,000 Bornean elephants (Endangered, IUCN 2024), at least 5,907 proboscis monkeys, about 750 Sunda clouded leopards and about 500 Bornean banteng. The Sumatran rhino is extinct in Malaysia since 2019.
Estimates come from different surveys and years: orangutan 2014–2017, proboscis monkey minimum estimate in the 2019–2028 action plan, elephant IUCN 2024, clouded leopard 2017, banteng 2024.
Source: Simon et al. 2019; Proboscis Monkey Action Plan 2019–2028; IUCN 2024; Cardiff/Oryx 2017; Sabah Wildlife Department via Borneo Post 2024
How many orangutans are there in Sabah?
The Sabah-wide aerial and ground survey of 2014–2017 estimated 9,558 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio; 95% range 6,815–15,129) in the main forest populations, and separate studies counted about 800 more in the Lower Kinabatangan, giving about 10,300. The 2002–2003 survey had put the total at about 11,000. More than 70% live within totally protected areas, and the Deramakot and Segama forests in the centre of the state hold about 6,000 (Simon, Davies and Ancrenaz, PLOS ONE, 2019).
How many Bornean elephants are left?
The IUCN estimates about 1,000 Bornean elephants, around 400 of them breeding adults, mainly in Sabah with a small population in Kalimantan, and reclassified them as Endangered on 27 June 2024. It says about 60% of their forest habitat was lost in 40 years, mostly to logging and oil palm. Tracking of females found home ranges of about 250–400 km² in unbroken forest and up to about 600 km² in fragmented forest (Alfred et al., PLOS ONE, 2012).
Proboscis monkeys
The proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) is found only on Borneo. The Proboscis Monkey Action Plan for Sabah 2019–2028 uses a minimum population estimate of 5,907. In Sabah the species lives mainly in mangroves and riverside forest, and the Lower Kinabatangan is the best-known place to see it.
Other threatened mammals
- Bornean banteng: about 500 in four isolated groups; the Sabah Wildlife Department calls it the state's most endangered large mammal (Borneo Post, 29 October 2024).
- Sunda clouded leopard: about 750 in Sabah, from six years of camera trapping in eight protected areas (WildCRU, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Panthera and Danau Girang; published in Oryx, 2017).
- Sumatran rhino: extinct in Malaysia. The last one, a female named Iman, died in Sabah in November 2019.
- Sun bear and pangolin: both are threatened, but we have not found a published population estimate for Sabah, so we do not give one.
Frequently asked questions
Q How many orangutans are left in Sabah?
Q How many Bornean elephants are there?
Q Is the Sumatran rhino extinct in Sabah?
Q How many proboscis monkeys live in Sabah?
Q What is Sabah's most endangered large mammal?
Q Where is the best place to see orangutans in Sabah?
Sources & References 6 sources
Last verified: 28 September 2026
Population estimates
- Simon, Davies & Ancrenaz (2019), Changes to Sabah's orangutan population in recent times: 2002–2017, PLOS ONE 9,558 (95% CI 6,815–15,129) in 2014–2017; ~800 more in Lower Kinabatangan; ~11,000 in 2002–2003; more than 70% in totally protected areas.
- IUCN, June 2024: Borneo elephants now classified as Endangered About 1,000 elephants, ~400 breeding adults.
- Cardiff University, 2 November 2017: Less than 800 Sunda clouded leopards in Sabah About 750, from six years of camera trapping in eight protected areas (published in Oryx).
- Borneo Post, 29 October 2024: Bornean banteng now Sabah's most endangered large mammal About 500 in four isolated sub-populations (Sabah Wildlife Department).
- Proboscis Monkey Action Plan for Sabah 2019–2028 Minimum population estimate of 5,907.
- Alfred et al. (2012), Home range and ranging behaviour of Bornean elephant females, PLOS ONE Home ranges of about 250–400 km² in non-fragmented forest and up to about 600 km² in fragmented forest.