In May 2019, the last Sumatran rhino in Malaysia named Iman, died of cancer. The death of animals caused the extinction of the rhino species in our country, leaving only the tail 80 more in its native Sumatra, Indonesia – the place where his name is also taken.
The incident raises the question of the author of faith is the rhinoceros; what would the fate of this animal species that carry the name of our country at the moment?
1.Malayan Tapir
The Malayan Tapir species of the tapir are the largest species in the world, which can only be found in Asia; whether in Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Sumatra islands.
The name of the species is ‘Tapirus indicus,’ classified as endangered when this amount is due to the relatively low – only about 2,500 are estimated to still live in Asia, 1,500 of them in our country.
The study of tapirs quite difficult to implement, because of the nocturnal way of life. Malayan Tapir adult has a height of 1 meter but only approaching its weight can reach 350 kg per head.
2. Malayan Peacock
The uniqueness of the Malayan peacock pheasant or in the local language, peacock mounds during the bird with beautiful species to another, is its smaller size and shorter tail.
In terms of scientific, peacocks mounds known as ‘polypectron malacensis.’ Various characters name Transformers series name.
Multiply around peninsular Malaysia until the Kra Isthmus in Thailand, spread unevenly because this bird is believed to move further than its original location.
These mounds peacock population are dwindling, though at one time very easy to find. It is estimated that approximately 7,000 species living around the forests in our country as well as some other groups in Thailand.
3. Malayan Flying Frogs
Among the unique species of frog that has the ability to float in the air in limited duration, or Malayan flying frog ‘Malayan flying frog’ has a considerable size.
Frog females can reach up to 7.6 cm long, while males are smaller around 6.2 cm. Has a bright green color with red spots, Malayan flying frog lives in Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra.
Classified scientifically for the first time in 1924 under the name of the species ‘Zhangixalus prominanus’, the old name of this frog is the Johore Flying Frog before changed to ‘Malayan’ to indicate their location more accurately.
So far, the distribution of the population is not yet categorized as endangered.
4. Malayan Tenggiling
Blamed as the main cause of the spread of Covid-19 at first, Malayan pangolin is a type of endangered animals that face one major problem – the meat hunted for food.
Placed under the category of critically endangered animals as well as faced a significant drop remaining amount, pangolins are found in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Following a broad distribution that is, Malayan pangolin is also referred to as ‘the Sunda pangolin’ or ‘anteater Java’, in conjunction with the scientific name ‘Sweet Javanica.’
Did you know that pangolins not have good eyesight, but have the ability to sniff that allows identifying something really well? In addition, the mother anteater will also bring their children to go with her mother to cling to the tail along the way.
5. Malayan Tiger
Not many people know that the Malayan tiger, the symbol of our country’s pride, has only been declared a different species than other tigers since 2004.
Initially, researchers classified tigers in Peninsular Malaysia as part of the species panthera tigris corbettie or Indo-Chinese tigers, before the DNA study conducted successfully identified the differences.
Following the discovery, our government through the Zoological and Aquaria Parks Association of Malaysia (MAZPA) sent a report to propose the introduction of a new name for the Malayan tiger species, ‘panthera tigris malayensis’ to be recognized by world researchers.
Sources: Tapirday.org, datazone.birdlife.org, Tenggiling Malaya, Ecologyasia.com, CNN Indonesia, Mycat.com
