*** Welcome to piglix ***

Wildlife of Malaysia


The wildlife of Malaysia is some of the most diverse on earth, with Malaysia being a megadiverse country. Most of the country is covered in rainforest, which hosts a huge diversity of plant and animal species. There are approximately 210 mammal species, 620 bird species, 250 reptile species and 150 frog species found in Malaysia. Its large marine territory also holds a great diversity of life, with the country's coastal waters comprising part of the Coral Triangle.

Malaysia is estimated to contain 20% of the world's animal species, and includes some of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. High levels of endemism are found in the diverse forests of Malaysian Borneo's mountains, as populations are isolated from each other by lowland forest.

There are about 210 mammal species in Malaysia.Peninsular Malaysia holds four big cats: the Indochinese tiger, the Malayan tiger, the Indochinese leopard and also the clouded leopard. Another major predator is the sunbear. Large prey exists, such as the Sumatran rhinoceros, the Malayan tapir, mouse deer,barking deer, sambar deer, wild boar and Bornean bearded pigs.

Gaurs and Asian elephants can also be found. Lowland animals such as these also can be found at higher altitudes, along with animals specialised for mountain living, such as siamang gibbons, red squirrels, and lesser moon rats. East Malaysia lacks the tigers of the Peninsula, leaving clouded leopards, sunbears and Sunda otter civets as the primary predators. Rhinoceroses and elephants are also found there, along with Bornean orangutans, Mueller's gibbons, macaques, proboscis monkeys,silvered leaf monkeys,langurs and slow lorises.


...
Wikipedia

...