Malaysia is a wet, tropical country that is home to rainforests and a remarkable array of wildlife species. Its forests spread from the coast right up to the mountains, encompassing coastal mangroves, peat swamps, and montane forests. The country is separated into two major regions by the South China Sea. To the east is the Malay Peninsula, which extends southward from mainland Asia, and to the west is Malaysian Borneo, which includes the states of Sabah and Sarawak. The Malay Peninsula is home to endangered Asian elephant, tiger, gaur, tapir, hornbills, and bearded pig. Sabah and Sarawak shelter proboscis monkey, orang utan, red-banded langur, clouded leopard, and populations of sun bear and sambar. Habitat for many of these species is shrinking, and unsustainable hunting also poses a serious threat to their survival.

WCS has been involved in Malaysia since the 1960s, when conservationist George Schaller conducted pioneering surveys of orang utans in Sarawak. We work in the following key landscapes:

Batang Ai-Lanjak-Entimau Protected Area complex: the largest of its kind in Sarawak, it is home to a Bornean subspecies of orangutan that is jeopardized in other parts of its range by illegal hunting and habitat loss. Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary and Batang Ai National Park are among the richest sites for plants and animals in Malaysian Borneo. There are eight distinct forest types in the protected area, including the rare montane mossy forest. In addition to the orang utan, there are Bornean gibbon, white-fronted langur, binturong, bearded pig, and clouded leopard.

Endau-Rompin landscape: this lowland rainforest is one of three main landscapes in Peninsular Malaysia for Asian elephants and tigers. Covering an area of more than 1,370 square miles, it is home to the second largest national park in the Peninsula: Endau Rompin National Park, located in the states of Johor and Pahang. Partly hilly with some prominent sandstone plateaus, the landscape is a watershed of several rivers. The park and surrounding region are believed to be capable of sheltering at least 60 to 70 tigers.

Maludam National Park: gazetted in 2000, it is one of the largest stretches of protected peat swamp forests left in Sarawak.Currently, the park covers 43,147 ha with another 10,475 ha proposed for park extension. Five species of diurnal primates are found here, including the red-banded langur, which is found nowhere else in the world; they number less than 200, and are now restricted to the remnant patches of tall forests. The proboscis monkey, a Borneo endemic, also occurs here.

Key species that WCS Malaysia is working on are Asian Elephant, tiger, orang utan and red-banded langur.

For more information check out http://www.wcsmalaysia.org/