overflows its banks and spreads across the flat land of its lower reaches, creating a huge floodplain. Conservation efforts In 1997, of the lower Kinabatangan floodplain were declared a protected area. Much of the deeper river area are protected under the Lower Kinabatangan Sanctuary, a reserve established in 1999 that provides a variety of habitats for flora, especially a freshwater swamp forest, mangroves, palms and bamboo, as well as fauna, such as hose's langurs, proboscis monkeys, orangutans, pig-tailed macaques, gibbons, slow lorises, elephants, sunda clouded leopard, and rhinoceros. In 2001, the lower Kinabatangan floodplain was upgraded into a bird sanctuary area through the efforts of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Following media attention after a decapitated elephant's head was found floating down the river in 2006, the protected area was gazetted as the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary through the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment of 1997 under the purview of the Sabah Wildlife Department in 2009. Since the modern era in the early 1950s until 1987, the lower Kinabatangan area has been subjected to commercial logging activities, and more than of its lowland rainforest has been developed into cocoa and palm oil plantations. This resulted in severe pollution to the river, which greatly affected the lives of villagers who had depended on the river for their livelihood, attracting the attention of the minister for tourism, culture and environment department of the government of Sabah. In 2011, Nestlé launch a reforestation project of the riparian along the Kinabatangan River in Sukau to create a landscape where people, nature and agriculture activities could co-exist harmoniously in their need for water. Most nature tourism is the Kinabatangan River area is concentrated around Sukau since it is accessible by road and offers comfortable accommodation to visitors prepared to pay for well-managed tours. Accessibility The only bridge crossing the river is located at Federal Route Federal Route 13, about from Sandakan. A bridge linking Sukau with Litang and Tommanggong was planned but cancelled in April 2017 after opposition from conservationists, including David Attenborough, due to potential adverse effect on the local pygmy elephant population. The river can be visited all year round, although it is often flooded during the wettest part of the year in December and January. From April to October during the main flowering and fruiting season, the climate is generally fairly dry and a good time to spot many birds and animals. During the northeast monsoon