Since 1938 Malaysia’s Taman Negara has been the
definitive must-see park in Southeast Asia. In fact, Taman Negara simply means
‘national park’ in the Malay language because it is the park.
At 4343 sq km, the park is the largest and finest tract of protected lowland
rainforest in Southeast Asia, and one of the top parks in all of Asia.
Fauna
Taman
Negara is well known for its absolutely pristine habitats and full spectrum of
native animals, including critically endangered Sumatran rhinos and tigers.
Sightings of rhinos and tigers are exceptionally rare, but you can be pretty
sure of catching some of the park’s 400 elephants or maybe an oddly snouted
Malayan tapir or two. The park’s infrastructure includes a series of hides on
stilts that overlook important waterholes and salt licks that increase your
chances of spotting unsuspecting wildlife. Keep your eyes peeled for muntjacs
(barking deer), seladang (wild oxen), serows, sambars, mouse deer and wild
pigs.
When
you’re not staring into the dense jungle in the hope of glimpsing large
mammals, turn your eyes upward to look for monkeys, 1.5kg giant squirrels,
yellow-throated martens or a sampling of the park’s 360 colourful bird species.
You won’t be able to miss the ponderous and remarkably noisy hornbills, one of
the park’s most distinctive animals. Another favourite are the ground-loving
pittas, especially the stunning garnet pitta with its brilliant mix of red and
blue feathers. Meanwhile, bird experts seek out the Malaysian rail-babbler, a
strange forest-floor dweller with no clear taxonomic affinities to other birds.
Flora
The
rainforests of Taman Negara are extremely rich because they have been growing
and evolving without disturbance for over 130 million years. As a result, the
diversity of trees is higher than nearly any other site in the world, with 240
tree species and hundreds of epiphytes counted on a single one-hectare plot.
Taman Negara’s
popularity is both its charm and its curse. While it’s an excellent
introductory park, with numerous accommodation options around the headquarters
and an extensive trail system, seasoned wildlife observers might prefer one of
Malaysia’s lesser known parks in order to avoid the
crowds.
No comments:
Post a Comment