Rhinoceros and Seladang — Malaya's Vanishing Species

Abstract

The two animals most seriously threatened by development in the Malay peninsula are the Sumatran rhinoceros and the seladang. The author, who has extensive knowledge of the peninsula, puts the rhinos at ten known individuals, with a probable total population of thirty, but many areas are still unexplored and information is far from complete. The seladang or Malayan gaur, the huge wild ox standing as high as six feet at the shoulder, is even more vulnerable than the rhino. Seladang unfortunately prefer habitats that are suitable for cultivation, and since the war some herds of thirty or more animals have completely disappeared. Two projected dams, which will destroy the greatest concentration of salt licks in Malaya, are a new and serious threat to the seladang.