World Endangered Species Day 2021

Happy World Endangered Species Day!  

As of today, the rapid loss of species we are seeing globally is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. To put this into context, if there are 100,000,000 different species on Earth, an extinction rate of just 0.01% will mean that at least 10,000 species become extinct each year. Thus, on World Endangered Species Day every year, we are committed to our critically endangered flora and fauna in hopes of spreading awareness and drawing attention to the importance of preserving and protecting these endangered species and their natural environment. Moreover, it gives us the opportunity to increase our knowledge about Malaysia’s local wildlife as well as plants and trees, and how we can take key steps towards saving them.  

Bornean Orangutan

One of the most endangered fauna in our forests now is the Bornean Orangutan. Currently labeled as critically endangered, the Bornean Orangutan typically has orange-red hair and long arms, which are advantageous for traveling through the canopy. They grasp with both their feet and hands, which suits their arboreal life. Bornean Orangutans typically exhibit different characteristics as males and females. The males have an average height and weight of 970 mm and 87 kg respectively, while females average at 780 mm and 37 kg. Males also develop large cheek pads known as flanges, and develop a sagittal crest where large temporal muscles attach. There are three (possibly even four) subspecies of Bornean orangutan: Pongo pygmaeus morio, Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, and Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii.   

YSD’s 10-year commitment of RM25 million for a reforestation project in collaboration with the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) on 5,400 ha of highly degraded orangutan habitat within Northern Uu Segama had resulted in the trend of Orangutan sightings in the area improving over the years, according to studies conducted by WWF Malaysia; with rare sightings now becoming more common. YSD is also proud that support for the reforestation project had assisted SFD to successfully advocate for the reclassification of the Northern Ulu Segama Forest Reserve (now known as Bukit Piton Forest Reserve) to a Class 1 Protection Forest Reserve or Totally Protected Area status in 2012, from its original status as Class 2 Commercial Forest Reserve. This milestone achieved enables this important orangutan habitat to be even more protected in the long run.  

To further the conservation and preservation of this precious endangered species, YSD is in another collaboration with PONGO Alliance towards harmonious co-existence between humans and orangutans in their landscapes; with research, education, awareness workshops, and the development of best management practices within plantations on co-existing with Orangutans.   

Malayan Tiger 

The other critically endangered fauna within our forests is the Malayan Tiger, a creature that instills awe in many. The scientific name of the Malayan tiger is Panthera tigris jacksoni. Jacksoni, in its scientific name, refers to a British man named Peter Jackson who was a notable tiger conservationist. A Malayan Tiger has orange fur on its back, tail, head and face along with a pattern of black stripes. This big cat also has long whiskers and piercing yellow eyes. Its tongue is covered with small flexible spikes called papillae, which exist to scrape the fur or feathers off prey captured by the tiger so that it does not have to swallow these as it consumes prey. A male Malayan Tiger grows to be around 8 feet long from head to tail, while females grow to be around 7 feet long. The males weigh around 90 to 136 kilograms while females weigh around 77 to 108 kilograms. Malayan Tigers are actually the smallest subspecies of mainland tigers.  

Since 2017, YSD has been sponsoring on-ground boots for patrolling in the Royal Belum in Perak, to boost anti-poaching enhancement efforts. These patrollers are known as the Perak State Parks Corporation (PSPC) rangers, with a significant number of them being Orang Asli from the area. Through the rangers’ hard work and dedication, alongside YSD’s support, the protection of fauna and flora in the Royal Belum State Park will be enhanced, especially those of our tigers and their prey.   

Asian Elephant

Also decreasing in population with as little as 2,100 to 3,100 left in the wild is the Asian Elephant - the only living species of the genus Elephas found in Asia. The Borneo pygmy elephant, the subspecies of the Asian elephant, is found in northeastern Borneo. Although Asian elephants are not quite as big as their African cousins, they are the largest living land animal in Asia and are easily distinguished by their smaller, rounded ears. 

Female elephants usually cohabitate in herds with their female relatives. In contrast, the males prefer to live alone, although they may sometimes form coalitions with other males. The Asian elephants are highly intelligent animals, displaying a wide array of social behaviours including compassion, mimicry, grief, altruism, and self-awareness. Their most unique feature is the trunk, which is composed of the nose and upper lip that contains over 40,000 different muscles, and has several uses including being sensitive to scents, breathing, communicating, drinking and as a self-defense tool. 

To move towards evidence-based management and conservation of wild elephants in Peninsular Malaysia, YSD has been supporting the Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME) since 2012. The current project phase aims to increase capacity-building and tolerance among communities, smallholders and plantations as well as to promote human-elephant co-existence on a national scale towards enhancing protection of wild elephants and their habitats. 

Sea Turtles

Did you know that Malaysia is blessed to be home to four types of marine sea turtles out of seven in the world? They are the Green (Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), and Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles. Maintaining a healthy habitat for these turtles is important as female turtles require nesting beaches to lay eggs, feeding grounds such as coral reefs and seagrass beds to forage, and migratory pathways for these turtles to move between feeding grounds and nesting beaches.  

Marine turtles play an important role in our ocean ecosystems by maintaining healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs. Green turtles graze seagrass beds, which in turn, increases the productivity of the seagrass ecosystem. Hawksbill turtles on the other hand, forage on a variety of marine sponges and this changes the species composition and distribution of sponges in the coral reef ecosystem. These turtles are, unfortunately, regarded as endangered or critically endangered as the Leatherback turtle population in Malaysia has declined by more than 99% since the 1960s, while Olive Ridley turtles have declined by more than 95%.  

To combat this, YSD is working with the Marine Research Foundation (MRF) to conserve large marine megafauna in Malaysia. The first phase of the collaboration focused on saving sea turtles by operationalizing Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in Sabah. The project successfully reduced turtle bycatch in Sabah by equipping 60 shrimp trawling vessels with TEDs, organised 13 capacity-building workshops for 510 local fishermen and 15 Department of Fisheries Sabah (DOFS) officers, and contributed to the TED National Plan of Action (NPOA). 

The second phase will focus on expanding the usage of TEDs on shrimp trawling vessels throughout the whole of Peninsular Malaysia. This phase also extends our conservation efforts to other large marine megafauna such as sharks, rays and dugongs. With YSD support, MRF is working on collecting various bycatch data by using electronic monitoring cameras to improve conservation and fisheries’ management strategies within state and national action plans. 

Flora of Malaysia

Malaysia’s tropical landscape has been experiencing devastating effects from vast changes in environment and climate over the years causing it to become threatened and endangered. Realising the importance of combatting these effects, YSD is in collaboration with the Tropical Rainforest Conservation & Research Centre (TRCRC) to develop the two Tropical Rainforest Living Collections; at Merisuli in Lahad Datu, Sabah, as well as at Banun in the Amanjaya Permanent Forest Reserve, Perak; which involve the collecting, germinating, planting and propagating endangered, rare, and threatened (ERT) tree species. Aside from planting and maintaining precious ERT species in degraded forest areas, these projects also increase important ERT species seed stock for future restoration and reforestation projects for a longer-term impact.     

With YSD support throughout, the Sime Darby Plant-A-Tree (SDPAT) programme kickstarted in 2008, and expanded into Sime Darby’s Jentar Estate in Temerloh, Pahang in 2013. A total of 136,036 trees were planted, which comprised of 60 species of threatened tropical forest trees, of which 35 are critically endangered. These ERT trees were planted across 3 hills in the Jentar Estate, covering an area of 136 ha situated close to the Krau Wildlife Sanctuary. The planting of these forest trees created an arboretum and gene bank of ERT tree species, in hopes of providing seedlings of the precious tree species to everyone to plant so that they do not become extinct.   

Together, we can work towards educating ourselves and creating a more harmonious environment for our endangered species and their habitat. With our joint effort, we will be able to continue cohabitation and our future generations will also be able to appreciate and value these endangered species for many years to come. Find out more about YSD’s flora and fauna conservation efforts here: https://www.yayasansimedarby.com/our-projects/environment.