Other creatures and biodiversity

For a list of all threatened species in Indonesia, see:

http://www.animalinfo.org/country/indones.htm which is based on the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Red List. As well as orangutans, the list includes the Javan and Sumatran rhinoceroses, Asian elephant, Sumatran tiger, the clouded leopard and Asiatic golden cat, several species of monkeys, civets, squirrels, shrews, and otters, plus countless rats and bats. It is a breathtaking inventory of rare and beautiful creatures en route to oblivion, which deserves consideration and contemplation.

Indonesia, which occupies a biodiversity hotspot known as the Sunda subregion, is renowned for its vast range of species. On just 1.3% of the world’s landmass, we find 300,000 animal species – approximately 17% of Earth’s fauna. Regrettably, Indonesia also has the world’s fastest rate of deforestation (in 2007), and is home to 850 endangered species (the world’s fourth-highest number, behind Ecuador, the USA and Malaysia). The World Conservation Union lists 146 mammals, 116 birds, 27 reptiles, 33 amphibians, 111 fish, 28 other invertebrates, and 386 plants as threatened species in Indonesia.

Indonesia has twice the number of breeding birds as North America in only one fifth of the land area. About 164 species of these birds are endemic (characteristically confined) to the Sunda subregion, and some live only on one or two tiny islets. Almost half of Indonesia’s 436 mammal species are endemic, which is an unusually high rate. 146 Indonesian mammal species are on the 2007 endangered Red List – by far the world’s highest number: most countries have between 3 and 10.

From turtle satay in Bali to smuggled parrots in Papua, Indonesia is struggling with a great diversity of problems facing its wildlife. Animal welfare advocates (from within Indonesia and internationally) are calling for awareness programs and law enforcement to be comprehensively carried out in order to prevent further extinctions.