Question 1

True or false: The Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard, lives on the island of Borneo.

Accepted Answer

False. Komodo dragons are native only to a few Indonesian islands, including Komodo, Rinca, and Flores, not to Borneo.

Question 2

True or false: All of Borneo's rivers flow into the South China Sea.

Accepted Answer

False. Rivers on Borneo's eastern side drain into the Sulu and Celebes Seas, not the South China Sea.

Question 3

True or false: Borneo has a species of flying frog that can glide over 50 feet between trees.

Accepted Answer

False. The Bornean flying frog can glide up to 15 meters (49 feet). 'Over 50 feet' falsely implies a distance greater than 50 feet.

Question 4

True or false: Borneo is the only island in the world shared by three countries.

Accepted Answer

True. Borneo is divided among three sovereign states: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. No other island has three internationally recognized countries on it.

Question 5

True or false: The capital city of Borneo is Kota Kinabalu.

Accepted Answer

False. Borneo is not a country; it has no capital. Kota Kinabalu is the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo.

Question 6

True or false: Borneo is home to the only known venomous primate.

Accepted Answer

False. False. Slow lorises are venomous primates, and while they inhabit Borneo, they are also found elsewhere in Southeast Asia (e.g., pygmy slow loris in Vietnam). Thus, Borneo does not have the only venomous primate.

Question 7

True or false: The world's largest flower, Rafflesia arnoldii, grows only in Borneo.

Accepted Answer

False. Rafflesia arnoldii is found in Sumatra and Borneo, so it's not exclusive to Borneo.

Question 8

True or false: Borneo is the third-largest island in the world, after Greenland and New Guinea.

Accepted Answer

True. Borneo covers about 743,330 square kilometers, making it the third-largest island globally, surpassed only by Greenland and New Guinea.

Question 9

True or false: Borneo is the only island in the world that is shared by three sovereign countries.

Accepted Answer

True. Borneo is divided among Indonesia (Kalimantan), Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), and the sultanate of Brunei. No other island has three countries.

Question 10

True or false: The Bornean orangutan is a species of great ape found exclusively on the island of Borneo.

Accepted Answer

True. The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is endemic to Borneo, while its relative, the Sumatran orangutan, lives only on Sumatra.

Question 11

True or false: Borneo was named after the explorer Marco Polo.

Accepted Answer

False. The name 'Borneo' derives from the Malay 'Brunei', not from Marco Polo. Polo visited nearby Sumatra but did not name the island.

Question 12

True or false: Borneo's rainforests are estimated to be 130 million years old.

Accepted Answer

True. Borneo's rainforest is one of the oldest on Earth, dating back to the Cretaceous period, far older than the Amazon.

Question 13

True or false: Borneo's rainforests are estimated to be 130 million years old, among the oldest on Earth.

Accepted Answer

True. The tropical rainforests of Borneo are believed to have existed for about 130 million years, though some other forests, like Australia's Daintree, are older.

Question 14

True or false: Borneo has a mountain taller than Mount Everest if measured from base to peak.

Accepted Answer

False. Mount Kinabalu's elevation is 13,435 ft. Its base is on land near sea level, so total base-to-peak is not significantly greater. Everest's base-to-peak rise from the Tibetan Plateau exceeds 12,000 ft, making it taller by that measure.

Question 15

True or false: Mount Kinabalu on Borneo is the highest peak in Southeast Asia.

Accepted Answer

False. The highest peak in Southeast Asia is Hkakabo Razi in Myanmar (5,881 m). Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m) is the highest on Borneo.

Question 16

True or false: The island of Borneo was once connected to mainland Asia during the Ice Age.

Accepted Answer

True. During Pleistocene glaciations, lower sea levels exposed land bridges linking Borneo to the Asian mainland, allowing animal migration.

Borneo Trivia Questions