Adorable ‘sea bunny’ highlighted in STB 2023 angpao design to promote Sarawak’s unique biodiversity

STB Chinese New Year angpao 2023 design featuring the 'sea bunny', a type of soft-bodied marine slug which can be found at Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park.

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 ā€˜coatā€™, 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 STBā€™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 Sarawakā€™s priceless biodiversity and wildlife to the world.

ā€œThe rise of ecotourism has seen a surge in demand for eco-retreats, with Sarawakā€™s natural beauty and sustainable outlook.

“As we welcome another year of great discovery, we invite visitors to explore Sarawakā€™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.

Sharzede (centre) with team members from STB posingĀ with its Chinese New Year 2023 angpao.

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 Eveā€™s Garden, Belais, Sunday Reef, Anemone Garden, Siwa Reef, Kenyalang Wreck.

The best time recommended to dive here is from March till October.

Discover the wonders of the underwater world when diving at Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park.

The limited 2023 angpao packets will be available for collection at STBā€™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 Boardā€™s website at https://sarawaktourism.com. ā€” DayakDaily