The Sumatran rhino The Sumatran rhino is a two-horned rhino weighing 1000 - 2000 kg (2200 - 4400 lb) and sparsely covered with long, coarse hair. It is found mainly near water in forested areas, often in hill country, where it climbs well. It appears to favour secondary forest where the upper canopy is broken and the smaller shrubs and vines on which it feeds are more numerous. It feeds mostly during the night, browsing on a wide variety of plant material including fruit, leaves, herbaceous growth, shrubs and saplings. Much of the day is spent in wallows. In some areas it exhibits seasonal movements, staying in the hills when the lowlands are flooded and descending when the weather has become cool near the end of the rains. The Sumatran rhino is solitary. Females have relatively stable home ranges, which are large and partially overlapping. Males are more nomadic and wander along stream beds and game trails.
Saltwater crocodile Crocodile: "Crocodile" derives from two Greek words for "pebbles" and "worm," with a meaning of "worm in the pebbles." Location: Southeast Asia, Indonesia and northern Australia. Habitat: Aquatic, semi terrestrial. River mouths, brackish lakes and ocean waters and sea inlets, but also found in fresh water rivers. Description: This species has a large head with four large dermal scutes on the nape of its neck, and a fairly long snout with a straight bony projection in front of the eyes. The belly is white. Total length of these animals can reach 20 feet. Behaviour: Perhaps the largest of the crocodiles, this gigantic reptile normally lives in estuaries and shallow coastal waters, especially near mangrove swamps. The diet is extremely varied and is composed of fish, crustaceans, birds, and mammals. Like the Nile crocodile, it sometimes kills domestic mammals and drags them under the surface. It holds the animal underwater and begins a death-roll, which drowns the animal. It may wait days for the large carcass to decompose so that it can eat it. Reproduction: The female lays eggs in an enormous mound of humus near the waters edge, where the rotting vegetation produces heat to help the eggs develop. Note: The saltwater crocodile is extremely aggressive, and poses such a threat to man that extreme caution is necessary when entering the water.
Malayan Sun Bear Bear: "Bear" is from the Old English word for the animal, "baer." Location: Southern China and Southeast Asia. Habitat: Terrestrial. Mostly tropical forests and woodland. Description: The smallest member of the bear family, this bear is black. On the chest there is a yellowish ringlike or horseshoe-shaped design. The tongue is long and extensible. The head and body is about four feet long. They weigh about 130 pounds. Behaviour: Of all the bears this is the most agile climber. It spends a great deal of its time in trees, where it often builds a nest and feeds on fruit and leaves. It will eat insects, especially termites. This solitary bear is mainly active at night, and spends the day basking in the sun and sleeping. Reproduction: The duration of the gestation period in the wild is not known, but in captivity it is said to have ranged from 95 to 240 days.
Yellow-lipped sea snake Location: West Malaysia and Singapore. Habitat: Theyinhabit two worlds, the sea and the land. They feed in the sea on eels. This highly venomous snake returns to land for digestion of food, sloughing their skin, mating and laying eggs. This is the largest species of sea snake and occurs in high densities on small tropical islands. Description: Yellow-lipped sea kraits are large (to 1.5 m, 2 kg). Their mean duration of time on land fits well with the time required for sloughing and digestion. These snakes maintained relatively high and constant body temperatures both while on land and in the water. Different age and sex groups were active in different places and at different times of day. Behaviour: The snakes moved about at night, engaged in courtship during the morning and were inactive during the afternoon. Thus, snakes were frequently found in courting groups during the morning, but most were solitary at night.
Reticulated Python Description: The largest of the pythons, this is a long and slender snake. Large specimens can attain considerable mass and bulk, specimens over 300 pounds are reported. The record length slightly exceeds 33 feet. Re tics (as they are known) have big heads that are distinctly wider than the necks. Most specimens have orange eyes. Location: Its distribution includes coastal Southeast Asia, from Burma and the Nicobar Island east to Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, and most of the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia.
Moon rat, Raffle’s gymnure Moon rat: "Moon rat" probably refers to the rat-like appearance, but that is just a guess. "Gymnure" is unknown. Location: Southeast Asia. Description: A narrow animal the size of a house cat, with a long pointed muzzle, the moon rat has a long and short limbs. It fur is short and soft. Head and body length is 10 to 18", and it weighs about 1 to 3 lbs. Habitat: Terrestrial. Tropical lowland and foothill forests. Behaviour: This strictly terrestrial animal shelters among tree roots, in hollow logs, or under rocks, and frequents moist areas such as stream edges. It is solitary and active both day and night. The moonrat is notorious for its characteristic onion or rotten-garlic odour, produced by an anal glandular secretion. Reproduction: Little is known of its reproductive habits.
Black (melanistic) leopard Black Panther: The term Melanistic is derived from the word ’melanin’, a dark coloured skin and hair pigment. Location: South-East Asia Habitat: Melanistic leopards are more commonly found in dense tropical rain forest of S.E Asia - here it is thought that the dark colouration acts as better camouflage in the low sun light conditions of the forest floor, giving the cat an advantage in hunting.
Binturong Binturong: "Binturong" may be a Malay word, but this is unknown. Location: Southeast Asia. Habitat: Arboreal. Tropical and subtropical forest. Description: The long, shaggy black coat has no markings and appears somewhat tousled. The long shaggy tail has a prehensile tip. The binturong resembles a small bear. The length of the head and body is about three and a half feet. The weight is about 30 pounds. Behaviour: The binturong is well adapted for life in the trees, but on the ground it seems awkward. It moves slowly through the trees, and it will not let go with its tail until it is quite sure it has a firm grip with its feet. When moving it emits grunts or hissing noises. Its diet consists of fruit and some animal matter. It has small teeth and flat molars for crushing food. It is solitary and nocturnal. Reproduction: There seem to be two reproductive periods, in spring and fall. The gestation period lasts for three months and there are one or two young in each litter.
Pope’s Pit-viper Location: From India, Bangladesh and Burma, through Thailand and Indochina to West Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. Habitat: A species of forested hills, Pope’s Pit Viper is generally found at night above an elevation of 800 metres, however the specimen shown here was at around 50 metres on Gunung Belumut, Malaysia. Description: The dorsal surface of this species is green and the ventral scales pale green. The first row of body scales are white, creating a body stripe which extends from the head to the tail. When active this venomous species should be approached with caution as it may attempt to bite. Beautiful green arboreal pit-viper with a vibrant red tail. Their underside is uniformly yellow. Behaviour: These animals locate their prey by utilising heat-sensing pits positioned on the front of their head. Their long fangs inject a potent venom that renders their prey (usually small birds, lizards, or frogs) defenceless. A gripping bite allows them to hold on to the prey while eating. Reproduction: These animals are oviparous, meaning that they give birth to live young which have developed within the eggs retained inside the body of the female parent. They can produce 6-35 neonates in a single clutch.
Reticulated Python
Moon rat, Raffle’s gymnure
Black (melanistic) leopard
Binturong
Pope’s Pit-viper