Endangered animals in Malaysia

 Malaysia is a country known for it ecosystem and mesmerizing floras and faunas. Containing an estimated 15,000 species of vascular plants, 306 species of mammals, 742 species of birds, 242 species of amphibians, 567 species of reptiles, over 449 species of freshwater fish, over 500 species of marine fish and more than 150,000 species invertebrate. Malaysia is undoubtedly a perfect habitat for all sorts of animals. 

Unfortunately not all animals are as fortunate as others. some are hunted as prize, poached for money, kill for skin or other body parts. Some are even endangered through deforestation and pollution.

Here are some of the animals that had fallen victim to mankind cruelty:

1) Black shrew

     Black shrew also know as (Suncus ater) is a white toothed shrew native in Mount Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to habitat loss and a restricted range. It is the smallest shrew of its kind measuring about 100mm. Black shrew are really rare to spot so if you did think of yourself as the luckiest person in the world.

Characteristic:

Black shrew has a long snout, a beautiful fur that starts with a light brown slowly fading into black the further the skin goes (refer to the picture). 

2) Malayan tapir 

     Malayan tapir is the largest of extant tapir and the only  remaining tapir from the Old World. Its also know as (Acrocodia indic). Malayan tapirs live in southern and central parts of Sumatra (Indonesia), and on the Asian mainland in Peninsular Malaysia. The Malayan tapir was first listed as endangered in 1986, due to an ongoing decline from loss of available habitat, fragmentation of remaining habitat and increasingly hunting pressure. Population declines are estimated to be greater than 50% in the past 3 generation (36 years) driven primarily by large scale conversion of tapir habitat to palm oil plantations and other human dominated land use.

Characteristic:

Malayan tapir has a distinctive black and white colouration and the young looks way different than an adult with its crazy spots and beautiful decorative. Tapir also have a flexible proboscis and grow between 90-110 cm tall. They typically weigh around 250-540 kg.

3) Sumatran rhino

    Also known as (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) Sumatran rhin0 is the smallest living rhino and the only asian rhino with two horn. Sumatran rhino have long hair and are the closest relative to the  extinct woolly rhino. A sumatran rhinos calves are born with dense covering that turns reddish-brown in young adults and becomes sparse, bristly and almost black in older animals. Currently all Sumatran rhino in Malaysia are extinct. Due to the low population of these amazing creatures the reproductive rate also decreased exponentially to almost 80 individuals that habituates Indonesia. 

Characteristics: 

Sumatran rhino are about 1- 1.5 meters tall and weighing around 1320- 2090 pounds. They are also 2-3 meters in length. Calves are born with a dense covering that turns reddish-brown in young adults and becomes sparse, bristly and almost black in older animals. Sumatran rhinos have two horns that are dark grey to black in colour. In the wild they are usually very smooth and form a slender cone that is curved backwards.

4) Malayan tiger

     Know as (Panthera tigris jacksoni) it is the smallest subspecies of tiger from mainland tiger. Malayan tigers are usually solitary except during breeding season. They also  live in the lush green forest of Malaysia. Just like all tiger species the Malayan tigers are carnivores and hunt down smaller animals such as cattle, deer and even sun bear.

Characteristics:

Malayan tiger just like other tiger species has beautiful orange fur with black stripes that acts as camouflage during hunting. Malayan tigers are usually 2-3 meters in size and can live up to 20 years in the wild. It has a litter size of 2-5 cubs.

5) Orangutan

Also know as (Pongo abelii/ Pongo pygmaeus).The name orangutan means "man of the forest" in the Malay language. In the lowland forests in which they reside, orangutans live in solitary. Orangutan usually consume fruits and figs. They even make their bed using leaves on top of trees. A fully grown male orangutan can weight up to 200 pounds. Males have a prominent cheek called flanges and throat sac to make loud and long calls but there are also unflanged male that doesn't have the prominent cheek and they look like an adult female. In a unique biological phenomenon among primates an unflanged male can turn into flanged male for unknown reasons. There are 3 different species of orangutan which are Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli. The tapanuli is the most endangered of them all with 800 individuals in the wild. (the picture above is the Bornean orangutan)

Characteristics:

Orangutan has shaggy red fur and grasping hands and feet. They have powerful arms and legs reaching and astounding length of 2 meters. There are two different types of adult male orang-utan: flanged and unflanged. Both males and females have a hanging sac from their throats. As males mature, their throat sacs become much larger. The throat sacs are inflated to make their vocalizations carry further. Some male vocalizations have been documented to carry up to 80 m in distance. An adult orangutan is about 1.2-1.4 m and weight around 50-100 kg.

6) Proboscis Monkey

    Known scientifically as (Nasalis larvatus). Proboscis monkey are known worldwide because of their unique nose size. This nose is used to attract mates. Scientist think that the nose creates an echo chamber to impress females and intimidate males. Proboscis monkey are great swimmers, too great that they have evolved webbed legs and hand to even outpace crocodiles. These monkeys are among the largest of Asia's monkey species. Proboscis monkeys survive mainly on a diet of leaves, seeds, and unripe fruits but will occasionally consume insects as well. They have complex, chambered stomachs that rely on a host of symbiotic bacteria for digestion.

Characteristics:

Proboscis monkey has a coat of light brown fur that turns red around the head and shoulders and gray at the arms, legs, and tail. Males usually weight around 50 pound and female only attain half that size. Proboscis monkeys are 0.6-0.7 m in height. They are also omnivores meaning they eat both plants and insects. A proboscis monkeys most notable feature is its giant nose.

 

7) Sunda Pangolin

  Scientifically know as (Manis javanica) sunda pangolin are critically endangered. This species was poached to extinction for their meat and scales that was know to cure diseases (but they were all nonsense). A pangolin skin is made out of keratin (same substance that create human fingernails) for protection for predators. If they feel threatened they will roll into a ball. A pangolin has a long snout and tongue. They also have strong and sharp  claw to break into an ant or termite mound. They then use their sticky tongue to slurp up all the ants. Sunda pangolin are nocturnal animals ( meaning they become active at night).

Characteristics:

Sunda pangolin weight around 11-15 pounds and 55 cm in length. This creature has a scaly armor made out of keratin. it has two massive claws at the front. It also has an impressively long tongue used to slurp its favorite meal, ants.

8) Borneo pygmy elephant 

    This elephant as the name suggest is smaller than any other elephant type in the world. Know scientifically as (Elephas maximus borneensis) it is 30% smaller than the Asian elephant with the height about 8.2 to 9.8 feet. Though it is considered the smallest species of elephant in the world it is still the biggest mammal on the island. A Bornean elephant has a straighter tusks and long tails. These creatures inhabit the northeastern Borneo. Bornean elephants were determined by WWF to be genetically different from other Asian elephants. DNA evidence proved that these elephants were isolated about 300,000 years ago from their cousins on mainland Asia and Sumatra.

Characteristics:

Bornean pygmy elephant are the smallest elephant species in the world with the height about 2- 2.9 m. They have smaller ears and keep them in constant motion to cool themselves. They also have a single 'finger' on the upper lip of their trunks as opposed to African elephants, which have a second one on the lower tip. Their skin colour ranges from brown to dark grey with patches of pink on forehead, ears, trunks and chest.

9) Large spotted civet

    Large spotted civet (Viverra megaspila) is a mammal that resembles a dog. This creature lives in the evergreen rainforest. A female can have 2-3 babies in a litter. These creatures are nocturnal, meaning they move around and hunt for food at night. The reason there was a sudden decline in the quantity is because of the poacher who hunt them down for their musk. Moreover, farmers kill them because they target livestock like chickens are a food source. Currently there are about 250 individuals in the wild making them critically endangered.

Characteristics:

This civet can be identified by its dull grayish white coat with black spots and vertical stripes. The tail has five white rings, black bands and a black tip. The large-spotted civet weighs around 8-9 kg and is 76-85 cm in length. 

10) Indochinese Leopard

     Indochinese Leopard (Panthera pardus delacouri) is one of the rarest big cat inhabiting the Southeast Asia and southern China. The Indochinese leopard population has decreased over 80% during the past two decades with 400–800 total individuals remaining and with only 175–350 breeding adults. This big cats main reason for declination is the snaring that is taking place in forests across the region. This snaring crisis is leading to an unprecedented and rapid defaunation (reduction in abundance and local extinction of a species) of wildlife from the forests of Southeast Asia, and is a greater threat to wildlife than deforestation. 

     

Characteristics:

The Indochinese Leopard has rusty-red in ground colour but paler at the sides. It has small rosettes that were mostly 3.8 cm × 3.8 cm in diameter and so closely set that it looked dark. The fur was short with less than 2.5 cm long hair on the back. Females typically weigh 21 to 60 kilograms and males usually weigh around 36 to 75 kg. Male leopard is 30–50% larger in body mass than female. An adult Leopard is 100- 190 cm.