KUCHING, Jan 3: Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) is featuring the rare ‘sea bunny’ called Jorunna Parva, a type of soft-bodied marine slug, for its 2023 angpao packets design to usher in the Year of the Rabbit in an effort to promote Sarawak’s priceless biodiversity.
Bearing an uncanny resemblance to a rabbit due to the little flaps on its head and fluffy-looking ‘coat’, the 1cm long rare sea bunny can be found at Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park in Miri.
STB chief executive officer (CEO) Sharzede Salleh Askor said the sea bunny angpao design will be the sixth edition to STB’s angpao series which features flora and fauna unique to Sarawak.
“We look forward to creating new and truly Sarawakian angpao designs every year to make it a collectible while promoting Sarawak’s priceless biodiversity and wildlife to the world.
“The rise of ecotourism has seen a surge in demand for eco-retreats, with Sarawak’s natural beauty and sustainable outlook.
“As we welcome another year of great discovery, we invite visitors to explore Sarawak’s unique Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festival offerings filled with exciting green tourism activities such as deep-sea diving, caving, biking, hiking and many more,” she said in a media release today.
Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park is the second largest offshore national park in Sarawak with 33 identified dive sites.
It is considered to be one of the popular dive destinations due to its abundance of pristine patch reefs and its incredible marine life and the breeding ground for 800 species of hard and soft corals.
It lies at depths ranging from 7-30 metres with an average visibility of 10-30 metres where divers can discover a variety of underwater species such as Gorgonian sea fans, bubble corals, barracudas, Napoleon wrasse and butterfly fish.
Some popular diving sites include Eve’s Garden, Belais, Sunday Reef, Anemone Garden, Siwa Reef, Kenyalang Wreck.
The best time recommended to dive here is from March till October.
The limited 2023 angpao packets will be available for collection at STB’s visitor information centres in Kuching, Sibu and Miri from tomorrow (Jan 4) onwards, while stock lasts.
For more information about Sarawak, log on to Sarawak Tourism Board’s website at https://sarawaktourism.com. — DayakDaily
