DUGONG

Conservation status

Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:             Animalia

Phylum:               Chordata

Class:                     Mammalia

Order:                   Sirenia

Family:                  Dugongidae

Genus:                 Dugong

Species:               D. dugon

Binomial name

Dugong dugong

ABOUT THE DUGONG

These enormous vegetarians can be found in warm coastal waters from East Africa to Australia, including the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Pacific. Dugongs are related to manatees and are similar in appearance and behavior— though the dugong's tail is fluked like a whale's. Both are related to the elephant, although the giant land animal is not at all similar in appearance or behavior.

Underwater Behavior

Dugongs graze on underwater grasses day and night, rooting for them with their bristled, sensitive snouts and chomping them with their rough lips.These mammals can stay underwater for six minutes before surfacing. They sometimes breathe by “standing” on their tail with their heads above water.Dugongs spend much of their time alone or in pairs, though they are sometimes seen gathered in large herds of a hundred animals.

Reproduction and Conservation

Female dugongs have one calf after a yearlong pregnancy, and the mother helps her young reach the surface and take its first breath. A young dugong remains close to its mother for about 18 months, sometimes catching a ride on her broad back. These languid animals make an easy target for coastal hunters, and they were long sought for their meat, oil, skin, bones, and teeth. Dugongs are now legally protected throughout their range, but their populations are still in a tenuous state.

credit to www.nationalgeographic.com

PYGMY ELEPHANT OF BORNEO

Scientific classification

Kingdom:             Animalia

Phylum:               Chordata

Class:                    Mammalia

Order:                   Proboscidea

Family:                 Elephantidae

Genus:                  Elephas

Species:                E. maximus

Subspecies:           E. m. borneensis

Trinomial name

Elephas maximus borneensis

Physical and species description
DNA analysis shows that Asian elephants in Borneo are genetically distinct and may have separated from those in mainland Asia about 300,000 years ago. This discovery highlights the conservation importance of Borneo’s elephants. Due to their small size, gentle nature and relatively large ears, they have been dubbed “pygmy” elephants. Less than 1,500 Borneo Pygmy elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis) are found, mostly in the Malaysian state of Sabah. This makes Sabah home to the world's smallest known sub-species of elephants.
Smaller than other Asian elephants, the Borneo Pygmy has a longer tail that reaches almost to the ground and straighter tusks. Their babyish faces and more rotund shape lend them appeal.

Size
Males grow to a height of less than 2.5 meters compared to other Asian elephants that grow to 3 meters.

Colour
Asian elephants have dark grey to brown skin. Borneo Pygmys are no different.

Interesting Facts
These placid pachyderms can be greedy at times. They love durian and will roll the entire fruit - spikes and all - in mud, then swallow it whole!

Ecology and Habitat

Elephant routes and habitats lost due to forest conversion

Borneo Pygmy elephants are shy and generally avoid people. Because their natural route and former range have been converted, they have to pass near populated areas and plantations. Herds are sometimes seen moving along the banks of the Kinabatangan River in Sabah, making the area ideal for wildlife watching.  Elephants live at greater densities in lowland forests below 300 meters. They move mostly in secondary forests with an annual home range of about 300 sq km. Adult males disperse over relatively small, widely overlapping home ranges.

Social Structure

Elephant societies are matriarchal, led by a female in small groups of around eight individuals, although larger groups can be seen gathering in open feeding grounds, particularly on riverbanks. Family groups consist of mothers, daughters, sisters and immature males. Sometimes an adult male can be associated with a herd. When not in a herd, adult males usually remain solitary. They sometimes gather in small but temporary bull herds. Contact with other family groups at such gatherings is valuable to maintain genetic diversity for their evolution and survival.

Life Cycle

These pachyderms live for up to 60 years in the wild and more than 80 years in captivity.

Breeding

One calf is born at a time and female Asian elephants have about 7 calves in a lifetime. They give birth about every 4 - 6 years, although this period may be extended when conditions are unfavourable for survival, such as during drought. The gestation period is between 19-22 months, almost 2 years! Calves suckle for 3 - 4 years.

Diet

Borneo Pygmy elephants are forest herbivores. One adult can eat up to 150 kg of vegetation per day, feeding mostly on species of palms, grasses and wild bananas. They also appear to require supplementary minerals, which they obtain from salt licks.

credit to www.wwf.org.my

SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS

Conservation status

Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)

Scientific classification 

Kingdom:              Animalia

Phylum:                 Chordata

Class:                     Mammalia

Order:                    Perissodactyla

Family:                  Rhinocerotidae

Genus:                   Dicerorhinus

Species:                 Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

Binomial name

Dicerorhinus sumatrensis


Fact 

The smallest of all rhinos, the Sumatran rhino is rapidly running out of space and time. It currently competes with the Javan rhino for the unenviable title of most threatened rhino species.

There are more Sumatran rhinos than Javan. But there are fewer than 100 and Sumatran rhinos are more threatened by poaching. The species was declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia in 2015.

Physical description

Sumatran rhinos are the smallest of the living rhinoceroses and the only Asian rhino with two horns.

They are covered with long hair and are more closely related to the extinct woolly rhinos than any of the other rhino species alive today. Calves are born with a dense covering that turns reddish brown in young adults and becomes sparse, bristly and almost black in older animals.

The front horn is usually 25-80 cm long, while the posterior horn is usually quite small and often no more than 10 cm. Adult males grow to between 2-4m in length and reach up to 1-1.5m in height. They can weigh as much as 950kg, considerably less than their larger relatives elsewhere in Asia and Africa.

Life cycle

Sumatran rhinos prefer lower altitudes, especially secondary forests where low-growing plants are more abundant. Their habitat ranges from lowland swamps to montane forests, but they generally favour forests with thick vegetation. In the wild, Sumatran rhinos live at low densities and are mostly solitary. Females are thought to be territorial and to avoid one another. Adults of both sexes regularly mark their ranges with scrapes, saplings, faeces, and urine. Females are thought to reach sexual maturity at 6-7 years, while males reach sexual maturity at 10 years.

Sumatran rhinos give birth to one calf at a time, every 3-4 years. Calves are born from October to May, which corresponds with the region's rainy season. Calves gain independence at 16-17 months and may join other juveniles before taking up a solitary lifestyle. Their life span is thought to be similar to other rhinos at around 35-40 years.

The Sumatran rhino is a browser and feeds on fruit (especially wild mangoes and figs), leaves, twigs, and bark. Sometimes the animal will venture into cultivated areas to eat crops.

Population & distribution

The Sumatran rhino once roamed from the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in Bhutan and India, through Myanmar, Thailand, possibly to Vietnam and China, and south through the Malay Peninsula. The species is found now in small populations on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. These scattered populations are mainly confined to Gunung Leuser, Kerinci-Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Parks. A few are also still living in Kalimantan. The species was officially declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia in August 2015. Overall, Sumatran rhino numbers are thought to have at least halved between 1985 and 1995, with the total number of individuals now estimated at fewer than 100.

 Major threats

Habitat loss due to forest conversion for agriculture and human settlements is threatening to push the Sumatran rhino towards extinction. Most populations are very small and isolated - and may not be viable unless connecting corridors are maintained or created.

Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Sumatra in Indonesia, which is now estimated to have the largest single population of Sumatran rhinos, is still losing forest cover due to conversion of forest for coffee and rice production by illegal settlers.

Sumatran rhinos are known to use logged areas where there is an abundance of regenerating plants. However, the construction of logging roads makes areas more accessible to poachers.

And poaching is another major threat to the species. Rhino horn is still used in traditional Asian medicine for the treatment of a variety of ailments, even though the trade is illegal and despite efforts to reduce demand. In Vietnam, rhino horn is also bought as a status symbol.

The third threat comes from the species declining genetic diversity. No single Sumatran rhino population is estimated to have more than 75 individuals, making them extremely vulnerable to extinction due to natural catastrophes, diseases and inbreeding.

credit to wwf.panda.org

PROBOSCIS MONKEY, the borneo 'dutchman'

Conservation status

Endangered (IUCN 3.1)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:             Animalia

Phylum:               Chordata

Class:                     Mammalia

Order:                   Primates

Suborder:            Haplorhini

Infraorder:          Simiiformes

Family:                  Cercopithecidae

Genus:                 Nasalis

Species:               N. larvatus

Binomial name

Nasalis larvatus

FACT ABOUT THE PROBOSCIS MONKEY

It may seem hard to believe, but male proboscis monkeys use their fleshy, pendulous noses to attract mates. Scientists think these outsize organs create an echo chamber that amplifies the monkey’s call, impressing females and intimidating rival males.

Habitat and Behavior

Proboscis monkeys are endemic to the jungles of Borneo, never straying far from the island’s rivers, coastal mangroves, and swamps. They are a highly arboreal species and will venture onto land only occasionally to search for food. They live in organized harem groups consisting of a dominant male and two to seven females and their offspring. Various groups often congregate near water at night to sleep.

Swimming Abilities

Proboscis monkeys are the primate world’s most prolific swimmers, frequently leaping from tree limbs and hitting the water with a comical belly flop. They’ve evolved webbed feet and hands to help them outpace the crocodiles that are some of their main predators.

Size and Appearance

Among the largest of Asia’s monkeys, male proboscis specimens can reach 50 pounds, although females attain only about half that size. Adults wear a coat of light brown fur that turns red around the head and shoulders and gray at the arms, legs, and tail. Only males develop the namesake nose.

Diet

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.

Threats to Survival

Unfortunately, Borneo’s most threatened landscapes are home to these highly specialized primates. The rampant clearing of the region’s rain forests for timber, settlement, and oil palm plantations has depleted huge tracts of their habitat. The fragmentation of the monkeys' range means they are being forced to descend from the trees more frequently and often must travel perilously long distances to find food. Their land predators include jaguars and some native peoples who consider proboscis monkey a delicacy.

Over the last 40 years, proboscis monkey populations have plummeted. They are currently protected from hunting or capture in Borneo.

credit to www.nationalgeographic.com

SUNDA PANGOLIN

Conservation status

Critically Endangered

Scientific classification

Kingdom:              Animalia

Phylum:                Chordata

Class:                     Mammalia

Order:                    Pholidota

Family:                  Manidae

Genus:                   Manis

Species:                 Manis javanica

Binomial name

Manis javanica

Physical

Its body is covered by rows of scales which are formed by a compressed, fibrous hair-like material. The belly, however, lack scales and the animal thus protects its soft underparts by rolling into a ball when feeling threatened.

Size

Head-body length :   up to 65 cm

Tail length :               up to 56 cm

Weight :                     up to 10 kg

Habitat

It is found throughout Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Cambodia, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. It prefers forested habitats (primary, secondary, and scrub forest) and plantations (rubber, palm oil). A large part of its live is spent in trees.

Diet

it feeds wholly on ants and termites, which it locates by its strong sense of smell. It possesses thick, powerful claws which it uses to dig into the soil in search of ant nests or to tear into termite mounds. The insects are gathered with its long, sticky tongue and swallowed whole - the Pangolin has no need for teeth. It is estimated that on average a Pangolin might eat around 200,000 ants or termites per day.

creadit to: www.ecologyasia.com

SUN BEAR

Conservation Status:

Vulnerable

Scientific Classification

Kingdom           : Animalia

Phylum             : Chordata

Class                : Mammalia

Order                : Carnivora

Suborder           : Caniformia

Family               : Ursidae

Subfamily          :Ursinae

Genus               : Helarctos

Species             : Helarctos malayanus

Trinomial Name:

 Helarctos malayanus