I was there in 2001 for an expedition up the legendary Gunung Tahan…by that time a wasn’t into any angling activities yet…
…before getting started me and friends take a chance to visit the Kelah Sanctuary as suggested by our guide…it was later discovered that the sanctuary project was keep maintained by UPM ( Uni Putra Malaysia )…
at 1030am we took our ride there in a pickup 4wd traversing from undulating small tarred track from one to another…we sat at the back so it really feels like riding on a roller-coaster wao !!
…15 minutes later, we jump out and took a 5 minutes walk to the site..we had to make our move through the small jungle alley and a hanging bridge…
…after a while..destination reached. an officer greet us and he had ourselves briefed bout the sanctuary, the purpose, the vision, the fishes…but of course Kelah was the topic…
UPM since 2000 had begun their research and conservation project on preserving Kelah and some other species habitate…and the charted scale of population had increase since 2000 till date…
Bla-..bla..bla… nad bla…and at last here is the final showdown…been waited for this…as the guide had told be that maybe we are able to feed the Kelahs…and i was so exited that time…
They even gave us a snorkling-google and a bottle ( Soy Ketcup Botle ) filled with pallets ( sort like dedak ) …the officer then did a demonstration on how to fed the kelah…he asked us to do as he did…
And so here i come…
oh by the way, there is something i do wanna share here…it is the method that they were using to call the fish… its bell-ringing method…the officers staff started to dangle an ice-cream bell left and right …so loud…an guess what ? within 3 minutes the 'lubuk in front of us started to splash…i shouted !! wow !!
It was a huge shoal of Kelah !! I swear it…from the size of an adult’s arm to the size of 3 years old child…
Maybe i am wrong bout the sizing as fishes size differs from both under and above water vision…
So i did what the guy did…i dive in to the water slowly submerging my self and only stop at breathing level…underneath in fron of my eyes…hundreds of kelah waiting to be fed…i squezeed the botle and the pallet got all over and i was stunned when a mega kelah swam gracely before my eyes…wow
i got my bottle refilled for 5 times before we all get back to our camp site…there is an expedition to catch…
Bravo UPM…you r our kelah saviour…i wish Kelah and the other endangered species of freshwater fish would make it till the very last of our generation…
CINTAI KELAH…care for CnR
Salam.
