Kei Besar
Out of the two main islands of the Kei archipelago Kei besar is the wildest, with the last remaining patches of primary forest, the rugged terrain and the high elevation makes it really hard to deforest and create gardens and farms, resulting in very rich biodiversity and the best place in the archipelago to observe birds.
In the rainy season the many waterfalls appear and you can jump from high elevations into water holes, making it a very fun activity for the children.
Kai besar is the only place on earth where you can find the Kei besar White-eye a rare bird endemic to the island.
The fauna in Kei besar is really diversed with many marsupials including the common spotted cuscus, sugar gliders, 3 species of bandicoot and the Dusky pademelon a endangered wallaby found only in Kei besar, Aru and Papua.
Here the famous coconut crab.
The Kei besar giant rat (Uromys siebersi) was described in 1923 but has never been found again since its discovery. It was endemic to Kei besar and lived in the forests at high elevations. In 2024 I searched for it with locals because they told me it was still out there. I placed camera traps in remote parts of the island and searched for it at night with flash lights but didn't find anything... I
In Kei besar many places are sacred therefore you can't walk anywhere whiteout asking permission to the locals.
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