Kinabatangan River (Malay: Sungai Kinabatangan) is a river in Sandakan Division, northeastern Sabah of Malaysia. Lower Kinabatangan floodplain is known for its high-biodiversity habitats for wildlife, and also becomes a tourist attraction of Sabah.
Kinabatangan River is the second longest river in Malaysia with a length of 560 km from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah, to its outlet at the Sulu Sea, east of Sandakan.
In 1997, 270 square kilometers of the lower Kinabatangan floodplain were declared a protected area which provides a variety of habitats for fauna such as proboscis monkey, orangutan and elephant.
For tourists, the best way to see the wildlife here is staying overnight in the forest, and joining the boat trips provided by the travel agent.
The lower Kinabatangan area has been subjected to commercial logging activities and developed into cocoa and palm oil plantations since the 1950s, posing a big risk to the wildlife here.
