MALAYSIAN WILDLIFE
Explore the intriguing species of the Malayan tigers' forest, including the Malay tapir, the wrinkled hornbill and the marbled cat illustrated by children from Singapore. Some Peninsular Malaysian species are also resident in Singapore and India.
Each of these species plays a vital role in its ecosystem. Like humans, they live their lives according to their needs. Imagine what their eyes have seen in the forests of the Malayan tigers.
Many of these beautiful animals are threatened with extinction. It is up to all of us to protect and cherish them. Learn more about each species with information provided by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and other sources:
MAMMALS
MALAYAN TIGER
Panthera tigris jacksoni
Conservation status: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (LOCALLY); ENDANGERED (IUCN Red List)
Population: 150, DECREASING
Drawing: B, high school student, Singapore
Singapore Wildcat Action Group/Malayan Tiger:
"The Malayan tiger, Panthera tigris jacksoni, is named after renowned tiger conservationist Peter Jackson, in honour of his years of work for tigers. The sub-species, previously included as Indochinese tiger Panthera tigris corbetti is, now divided into two groups: one in northern Indochina and the other in the Malay Peninsula, which encompasses the southern end of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia...This unique species has once roamed the land in Singapore, but is now locally extinct since 1930 due to direct human impact." Read the complete description: swagcat.org/malayan-tiger
MALAY TAPIR
Drawings: Ayan, high school student, Singapore (infant tapir); Mr Koltutsky, teacher, Singapore (adult tapir)
Malaysian Wildlife/Malay Tapir:
"The Malayan Tapir is one of the most iconic animals found in Malaysia. And it is the only surviving member of its species in Asia. Its distinctive ‘white coat’, from shoulders to stubby tail, make it a characteristic species throughout the Malaysian landscape. They have 14 toes in total: four on the front and three at the back. Hence, they are classified as perissodactyles (odd-toed ungulates), a group of herbivores that include horses, zebras and rhinos." Read the complete description: malaysianwildlife.org/animal-species/please-slow-down-for-malayan-tapir/
FLAT-HEADED CAT
Drawing: Ryann, high school student, Singapore
"The flat-headed cat is considered one of the most unique and unusual members of the cat family, with their long narrow head, flattened forehead, and eyes that are unusually far forward and close together. Thought to be most closely related to the leopard cat and fishing cat, they have a short, tubular body with relatively short, slender legs and a stubby tail. These felines come in various shades of brown with facial markings and banding on their legs and belly and soft dense fur..." Read the complete article: panthera.org/blog-post/small-cat-spotlight-flat-headed-cat
MARBLED CAT
Drawing: Jules, high school student, Singapore
Thai National Parks/Marbled Cat:
"The marbled cat is a small wild cat of South and Southeast Asia...The marbled cat was once considered to belong to the pantherine lineage of "big cats". Genetic analysis has shown it to be closely related to the Asian golden cat and the bay cat, all of which diverged from the other felids about 9.4 million years ago." Read the complete description: thainationalparks.com/species/marbled-cat
COMMON PALM CIVET
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
Drawing: high school student, Singapore
Thai National Parks/Common Palm Civet:
The Asian palm civet is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia...In Indonesia, it is threatened by poaching and illegal wildlife trade; buyers use it for the increasing production of kopi luwak, a form of coffee that involves ingestion and excretion of the beans by the animal...The Asian palm civet's long, stocky body is covered with coarse, shaggy hair that is usually greyish in colour. It has a white mask across the forehead, a small white patch under each eye, a white spot on each side of the nostrils, and a narrow dark line between the eyes." Read the complete description: thainationalparks.com/species/asian-palm-civet
SUNDA FLYING LEMUR
Drawing: Vihan, high school student, Singapore
Thai National Parks/Sunda Flying Lemur:
"The Sunda flying lemur, also known as the Malayan flying lemur or Malayan colugo, is a species of colugo. Until recently, it was thought to be one of only two species of flying lemur, the other being the Philippine flying lemur which is found only in the Philippines...The Sunda flying lemur is not a lemur and does not fly. Instead, it glides as it leaps among trees. It is strictly arboreal, is active at night, and feeds on soft plant parts such as young leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits." Read the complete description: thainationalparks.com/species/sunda-flying-lemur
BIRDS
WRINKLED HORNBILL
Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus
Conservation status: ENDANGERED (IUCN Red List)
Population: UNKNOWN, DECREASING
Drawing: S, high school student, Singapore
Thai National Parks/Wrinkled Hornbill:
"The wrinkled hornbill or Sunda wrinkled hornbill is a medium-large hornbill which is found in forest in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo.The wrinkled hornbill is around 70 cm long, and has a very large bill that is fused to the skull. It has mainly black plumage, a blue eye-ring, and a broadly white or rufous-tipped tail. The male and female have different head and bill patterns. Males have bright yellow feathers on the auriculars, cheeks, throat, neck-sides and chest, but these areas are black in the female, except for the blue throat. The bill of the male is yellow with a red base and casque, and a brownish basal half of the lower mandible. The bill and casque of the female is almost entirely yellow." Read the complete description: thainationalparks.com/species/wrinkled-hornbill
LONG-TAILED PARAKEET
Drawing: H, high school student, Singapore
Singapore Bird Group/Long-tailed Parakeet:
The Long-tailed Parakeet is a social bird found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sumatra, Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. In Singapore it a common parakeet, easily recognised by its long tail and loud screeching..." Read the complete article: singaporebirdgroup.wordpress.com/tag/long-tailed-parakeet
GREEN BROADBILL
Calyptomena viridis
Drawing: high school student, Singapore
Thai National Parks/Green Broadbill:
"The green broadbill also known as the lesser green broadbill is a small bird in the family Calyptomenidae... The bird is about 17 cm long, plumaged in brilliant green with a black ear patch, widely gaped bill, rounded head, short tail and three black bars on each wing...It is often overlooked, as it sits motionless inside the canopy or just below, quickly flying to a new location if disturbed. Its foliage-green color provides excellent camouflage." Read the complete description: thainationalparks.com/species/green-broadbill
REPTILES
MALAYSIAN GIANT TURTLE
Drawing: N, high school student, Singapore
Malaysian Biodiversity Information System/Malaysian Giant Turtle:
"Malaysian Giant Turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in Southeast Asia. It’s native to Indonesia and Malaysia. It inhabits large lakes, swamps and slow flowing rivers. This species can be identified by the massive head, the mushroom-shaped vertebral scutes and the absence of greatly enlarged scales on the limbs." Read the complete description: mybis.gov.my/sp/21392
AMPHIBIANS
ABAH RIVER FLYING FROG
Population: UNKNOWN, DECREASING
Drawing: Priyali Kamath, Singapore
Thai National Parks/Abah River Flying Frog:
"Wallace's flying frog or the Abah River flying frog is a moss frog found at least from the Malay Peninsula into western Indonesia...Its limbs are very long, and its fingers and toes are webbed right to the tips. Together with a fringe of skin stretching between the limbs, this flying frog can parachute to the forest floor from high in the trees where it is normally found." Read the complete description: thainationalparks.com/species/rhacophorus-nigropalmatus