     NAME THARMALINGAM HAS BEEN leading parties of bird-watchers and 
nature enthusiasts to Taman Negara for almost 14 years.  He is 
co-director of Kingfisher Tours, a wildlife tour company based in 
Kuala Lumpur.  Most of his clients are well-heeled Westerners, but 
there is an increasing number of locals.
     The passions that bird-watching can rouse never fail to amaze him 
-- he has known dedicated "birdies" to charter helicopters just to get 
into remote regions where a single rare species might exist.
     "For me, Taman Negara's importance is as one of the premier bird-
watching spots in Malaysia.  There are 350 species within its boundaries 
-- one of the highest counts in the world.  "Of course, there are many 
interesting animals, too, and these days, with rainforests such as you 
find in Taman Negara disappearing fast, the park is their best hope of 
survival.
     "It's very sad that several of the bird species I've seen over the 
year are now probably extinct, or very close to it.  "When I take people 
around the park, I tell them that this is not a tourist spectacle but 
the real virgin forest, exactly as it is.  Their reactions are a bonus 
for me--complete fascination and excitement at the diversity and variety 
of life forms."
     THE 4,343 SQUARE KILOMETRES OF the park are criss-brossed by trails 
that all eventually lead back to park headquarters at Kuala Tahan.  Some 
take just half an hour, while others require more effort.  For example, 
the round trip to the summit of Gunung Tahan, Malaysia's highest peak, 
takes eight days and is suitable only for the fit and hardy.
     In between these extremes are distances to suit all physiques, though 
the going is invariably hot and sticky--humidity rarely drops below 90 
percent.  In fact, the air is so perpetually damp that it hardly seems 
worth carrying waterproofs.
     A great advantage of Taman Negara is that almost as much wildlife 
can be seen close to Kuala Tahan as in the more remote areas.  The last 
sighting of a tiger was on the path by the Tahan River, just 30 minute's 
walk from headquarters.
     A further plus is that wild animals, like most humans, prefer to lead 
orderly lives, which is quite convenient if you want to see them.  The 
flying squirrel leaps from the same tree at the same time every night and 
a certain herd of elephants returns every two months to its favourite 
coconut palms because that is how long it takes the plants to recover from 
being dined upon.  The park rangers, in particular, are a mine of such 
inside information.  Want to see a scorpion?  There's a certain tree 
where one likes to sun himself.  A slow Loris?  Halfway up Teresek Hill 
at about ll pm.  Flying Foxes?  Behind chalet nine at dusk.
     However, in the end, quite what is seen in the park depends very 
much on how you search.  One man's park is full of birds and animals, 
another's is not.  The Wildlife Department guide to Taman Negara lets 
the visitor in on a simple secret--walk slowly and silently.  There are 
no red lights to beat or deadlines to meet in the jungle, so relax and 
linger--what could take two hours should take four.
     Accessible from Kuala Tahan are a number of hides located near 
salt-licks.  These vantage points open up an extra dimension-the 
rainforest by night.  Sambar deer, barking deer and tapir are seen 
often, while elephants, tigers and sun bears are less common.
     To view the animals a powerful flash-light is needed--they 
can be hired from headquarters.  A good pair of binoculars is also useful 
as the hides are generally quite a distance above the salt-lick.  The 
same flashlight is handy for night walks and cave exploration.  There 
are a number of the latter in the park:  each has its own character and 
all have lots of bats.
     Caves are certainly not to everyone's taste but there is a great 
sense of achieve-ment to be had when you make it through the "crawling" 
section of Gua Telinga cave--"crawling" because you do and it is--with 
various small creatures which this particular visitor did not hang 
around to examine closely.
     A less-strenuous activity, and one everyone can enjoy, is a river 
journey.  Perhaps the most atmospheric is the two-hour ride up the 
Tahan River to the rapids of Lata Berkoh.  The water is tea-coloured by 
natural dyes and tannins and huge near trees provide shade for the fish 
to laze in.  This is a jungle river untouched by man.  A lesser fish 
eagle-eyes your boat warily from his favourite perch; a stork-billed 
kingfish-er cries a raucous warning and bolts down-stream while a monitor 
lizard slips quietly into the water.
     The rapids themselves are lovely, and there is a camp site and a 
lodge should you want to stay the night.  The journey up the much larger 
River Tembeling is not quite so peaceful.  The fast-moving choppy waters 
often rise up and drench travellers--prepare to get wet.  But the trip 
is worth the soaking for it opens up a whole new area of the park.
     There are fishing lodges that are rarely visited and some of the best 
bird-watching to be had.  The trails are less well-trodden and it's not 
unusual to spot tracks of tiger, elephant and, with more luck, the rare 
Su-matran rhino.  However, don't build up any hopes for a sighting of this 
highly-secretive beast--no one has ever seen any of the estimated 15 to 
20 individuals that roam the park's more remote parts.
     Much more easily found are the troops of dusky leaf monkeys.  Gibbons 
are plentiful, too, but are usually only heard--theircurious looping 
cries echoing all around but never so much as a shaking leaf to 
ad-vertise their presence.  It is a wariness based on a healthy sense 
of self-preservation as the people of the rainforest, the Orang Asli, 
still occasionally hunt them with blow pipes.  By the trails, tell-tale 
cuts in the rough bark of the era berths tree show where the hunters 
obtain the poison-ous sap for their lethal darts.
     It is a reminder that this is not a zoo.