As Malaysians were in total lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic, a sweet-natured baby elephant named Sahabat was found wandering near an oil palm plantation. Nearly blind from severe eye infections, he had become separated from his herd. In Malaysia’s Sabah state, the Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) swooped to the rescue. Thousands anxiously followed Sahabat’s story […]
Tag: proboscis monkey
In Malaysian Borneo’s rainforests, powerful state governments set their own rules
Famed for its caves and karst ecosystems, Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysian Borneo’s Sarawak state is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to more than 81 mammal species, 270 varieties of bird and more than 130 reptiles and amphibians. In 2018, a wave of protest erupted when the public learned that the Sarawak government […]
Palm oil processors top plantations in destroying proboscis monkey habitat
JAKARTA — The oil palm processing industry has become the biggest threat to the iconic and endangered proboscis monkeys of Indonesian Borneo, a new study has found. The study, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, analyzed the loss of habitat of the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) in Balikpapan Bay, home to one of […]
Blobfish voted world’s ugliest animal
The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus), a species that lives at great depths and is rarely seen but resembles a marine Jabba the Hut, has been voted the world’s ugliest animal. More than 3,000 votes were cast in the online competition, with 795 for the blobfish. The campaign, run by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society to decide […]