DINGISO

The Dingiso, Dendrolagus mbaiso also known as Bondegezou is a species of tree-kangaroo native and endemic to Western New Guinea of Indonesia.

The Dingiso has a distinctive pattern of black and white fur; it has a white belly, and a black head, back and limbs. Unlike other tree kangaroos, it spends little time in the trees.

The Dingiso is most common in the western part of Irian Jaya because it is protected by members of the Moni tribe, for whom it is an ancestor. The species epithet, mbaiso, means "the forbidden animal" in Moni. It remains common in the west because of the protection conferred on it by the Moni people. For many Moni, it is an ancestor which must never be harmed.

The Dingiso was described and named in 1995 by Australian Museum zoologist Tim Flannery, Indonesian zoologist Boeadi and Australian anthropologist Alexandra Szalay.

DUGONG

The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century. It is also the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of at least 37 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific, though the majority of dugongs live in the northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay. In addition, the dugong is the only strictly-marine herbivorous mammal, as all species of manatee utilize fresh water to some degree.

Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hindlimbs, instead possessing paddle-like forelimbs used to maneuver itself. It is easily distinguished from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail, but also possesses a unique skull and teeth.^[5] The dugong is heavily dependent on seagrasses for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats where they grow, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels and the lee sides of large inshore islands. Its snout is sharply downturned, an adaptation for grazing and uprooting benthic seagrasses.

The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years, often for its meat and oil, although dugong hunting also has great cultural significance throughout its range. The dugong's current distribution is reduced and disjunct, and many populations are close to extinction. The IUCN lists the dugong as a species vulnerable to extinction, while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species limits or bans the trade of derived products based on the population involved. Despite being legally protected in many countries throughout their range, the main causes of population decline remain anthropogenic, and include hunting, habitat degradation, and fishing-related fatalities. With its long lifespan of 70 years or more^{[citation needed]}, and slow rate of reproduction, the dugong is especially vulnerable to these types of exploitation. In addition, dugongs are threatened by storms, parasites, and their natural predators, sharks, killer whales, and crocodiles.

SUNDA PANGOLIN

The Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica), also known as the Malayan Pangolin, is a species of pangolin found in South-East Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Borneo and the Lesser Sunda Islands), the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and Malaysia and Singapore.

The skin of its feet is granular although there are pads on its front feet. Its tail has 30 scales.

It is closely related to the Chinese Pangolin, although the Malayan species is larger, lighter in colour and has shorter foreclaws.

The Sunda Pangolin's main predators are the Tiger and the Clouded Leopard.

BINTURONG

The Binturong (Arctictis binturong), also known as the Asian Bearcat, the Palawan Bearcat, or simply the Bearcat, is a species of the family Viverridae, which includes the civets and genets. It is neither a bear nor a cat, and the real meaning of the original name is lost, as the local language that gave it is extinct. Its natural habitat is in trees of forest canopy in rainforest of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

It is nocturnal and sleeps on branches. It eats primarily fruit, but also has been known to eat eggs, shoots, leaves, and small animals, such as rodents or birds. Deforestation has greatly reduced its numbers. When cornered, the Binturong can be vicious. The Binturong can make chuckling sounds when it seems to be happy and utter a high-pitched wail if annoyed. The Binturong can live over 20 years in captivity; one has been recorded to have lived almost 26 years.

ANOA

Anoa are a subgenus of buffalo comprising two species native

to Indonesia: the Mountain Anoa (Bubalus quarlesi) and the Lowland Anoa (Bubalus depressicornis). Both live in undisturbed forest, and are essentially miniature water buffalo, are similar in appearance to a deer, weighing 150–300 kg (330–660 lb. They live in deep rainforests.

Both are found on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia; the Mountain Anoa is also found on the nearby island of Butung. They apparently live singly or in pairs, rather than herds, except when the cows are about to give birth. One young is born per year.

Both species of anoa have been classified as endangered since the 1960s and the population continues to decrease. It is believed unlikely that there

are more than 5000 animals of each species remaining. Reasons for the decline of the anoa include hunting for hide, horns and meat by the local peoples (though they were rarely hunted in their native range before the introduction of modern firearms); and loss of habitat due to the advancement of settlement. Currently, hunting is the more serious factor in most areas.

Mountain Anoa are also known as Anoa de Montana, Anoa de Quarle, Anoa des Montagnes, Anoa Pegunungan, and Quarle's Anoa. Lowland Anoa are also known as Anoa de Ilanura or Anoa des Plaines. They are also called sapiutan (or sapi utan).

Lowland Anoa stand but little over a yard at the shoulder, and is the most diminutive of all wild cattle. It is most closely allied to the larger Asiatic buffaloes, showing the same reversal of the direction of the hair on the back. The horns are peculiar for their upright direction and comparative straightness, although they have the same triangular section as in other buffaloes. White spots are sometimes present below the eyes, and there may be white markings on the legs and back; and the absence or presence of these white markings may be indicative of distinct races. The horns of the cows are very small. The nearest allies of the anoa appear to be certain extinct buffaloes, of which the remains are found in the Siwalik Hills of northern India. In habits the animal appears to resemble the Indian buffalo.

SUNDA FLYING LEMUR

The Sunda Flying Lemur (Galeopterus variegatus), also known as the Malayan Flying Lemur, is a species of Colugo. It is one of only two species of flying lemur, the other being the Philippine Flying Lemur which is found only in the Philippines. The Sunda flying lemur is found throughout Southeast Asia in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The Malayan Flying Lemur is not a lemur and does not fly. Instead, it glides as it leaps among trees. It is strictly arboreal, is active at night, and feeds on soft plant parts such as young leaves, shoots, flowers, and fruits. After a 60-day gestation period, a single offspring is carried on the mother's abdomen held by a large skin membrane.

TARSIUS

The Lariang Tarsier (Tarsius lariang) is a recently described tarsier occurring in the western part of the central core of Sulawesi. Six museum specimens of this species are known, two of which have been misidentified as the Pygmy Tarsier before their correct identity came out. This species has been named after the Lariang River, an important river in the part of Sulawesi where this species occurs.

This species has darker fur than the other Sulawesi tarsiers. The dorsal fur is greyish brown. The blackish tail ends in a dark pencil-like point. There is a clearly discernible dark ring around the eyes. The third digit on the hands is very long. It's the second largest tarsier; only the Sangihe Tarsier is larger; published body weights are 67 to 117 g.

LUTUNG

The Silvery Lutung (Trachypithecus cristatus), also known as the Silvered Leaf Monkey or the Silvery Langur, is an Old World monkey with grey tips on dark brown or black fur, although the groin and ventral side of the tail are yellowish in color. Females range from 46-51cm with an average weight of 5.7kg and a tail length of 67-75cm. Males are 50-58cm with an average weight of 6.6kg and a tail length of 67-75cm. When born this monkey is orange, developing its adult coats around three months. It has a highly complex, large stomach to digest the cellulose found in its herbivorous diet. This species is the type of its species group.

The Silvered Leaf Monkey is arboreal, living in coastal, mangrove, and riverine forests from Burma to Indochina and Borneo. Groups range from 9-30 individuals with one adult male and many adult females communally caring for infants. The adult male protects his group and territory from competing males, communicating his dominance to other males via vocalizations and fighting.

SIAMANG

The Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) is a tailless, arboreal, black furred gibbon native to the forests of Malaysia, Thailand, and Sumatra. The largest of the lesser apes, the Siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons, reaching 1 m in height, and weighing up to 23 kg. The Siamang is the only species in the genus Symphalangus.

The Siamang is distinctive for two reasons. The first is that two fingers on each hand are fused together (hence the name "syndactylus"). The second is the large "gular sac" (found in both male and female of the species), which is a throat pouch that can be inflated to the size of its head, allowing the Siamang to make loud resonating calls or songs.

There may be two subspecies of the Siamang. If so, they are the nominate Sumatran Siamang (S. s. syndactylus) and the Malaysian Siamang (S. s. continentis, in peninsular Malaysia).^[3] Otherwise, the Malaysian individuals are only a population. The Siamang is the only gibbon which occurs sympatrically with other gibbons; its two ranges are entirely within the combined ranges of the Agile Gibbon and the Lar Gibbon.

The Siamang can live up to 30+ years in captivity.

While the illegal pet trade takes a toll on wild populations, the principal threat to the Siamang is habitat loss in both Malaysia and Sumatra. Palm oil production is clearing large swathes of forest, reducing the habitat of the Siamang, along with that of other species such as the Sumatran Tiger.

SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS

Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It is the smallest rhinoceros, standing about 120–145 centimetres (3.9–4.8 ft) high at the shoulder, with a body length of 250 centimetres (98 in) and weight of 500–800 kilograms (1100–1760 lb). Like the African species, it has two horns; the larger is the nasal horn, typically 15–25 centimetres (6–10 in), while the other horn is typically a stub. A coat of reddish-brown hair covers most of the Sumatran Rhino's body.

Members of the species once ranged throughout rainforests, swamps and cloud forests in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. They are now critically endangered, with only six substantial populations in the wild: four on Sumatra, one on Borneo, and one on peninsular Malaysia. Their numbers are difficult to determine because they are solitary animals that are widely scattered across their range, but they are estimated to number around 300. The decline in the number of Sumatran Rhinoceros is attributed primarily to poaching for their horns, which are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine, fetching as much as US$30,000 per kilogram on the black market.[4] The rhinos have also suffered from habitat loss as their forests have been cleared for lumber and conversion to agriculture.

The Sumatran Rhino is a mostly solitary animal except for courtship and child-rearing. It is the most vocal rhino species and also communicates through marking soil with its feet, twisting saplings into patterns, and leaving excrement. The species is much better studied than the similarly reclusive Javan Rhinoceros, in part because of a program that brought 40 Sumatran Rhinos into captivity with the goal of preserving the species. The program was considered a disaster even by its initiators, with most of the rhinos dying and no offspring being produced for nearly 20 years, an even worse decline than in the wild.

BABIRUSA

The Babirusa or pig-deer, Babyrousa babyrussa, is a pig-like animal native to Sulawesi and surrounding islands of Indonesia. It has two pairs of large tusks; enlarged canine teeth. The canines in the maxilla penetrate the top of the snout, curving back toward the forehead. This is a threatened species.

The common and scientific names are various transcriptions of its local name, which quite literally means "pig-deer" (from Malay babi "pig" + rusa "deer") in reference to the huge tusks of the male suggestive of a deer's antlers - and in fact used for a similar purpose.

The Babirusa is native to the large eastern Indonesian island of Sulawesi and surrounding islands. Its habitat is the underbrush of tropical forests and canebrakes, and the shores of rivers and lakes. Its mostly-hairless, mottled-grey-and-brown hide provide it with a degree of camouflage. The babirusa is known for its two pairs of tusks; both its upper and its lower pairs of canine teeth are greatly enlarged, and curve up and back towards the head. The upper canines of the male babirusa are so curved and enlarged that they emerge through the flesh, by way of holes, to pass through the top of the snout.

This species is on the endangered list.

Because it is split-hooved and has a three-chambered stomach (and was thus thought to be a ruminant for a long time), there was some dispute in Halakha (Jewish law) as to whether the babirusa pig is, in fact, kosher (permitted according to Jewish dietary laws). Eventually it was found that the animal is not a true ruminant, and thus remains 'trefe' like other pigs.

ORANG UTANS

The orangutans are two species of great apes known for their intelligence, long arms and reddish-brown hair. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, they are currently found only in rainforests on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, though fossils have been found in Java, Vietnam and China. They are the only surviving species in the genus Pongo and the subfamily Ponginae (which also includes the extinct genera Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus). Their name derives from the Malay and Indonesian phrase orang hutan, meaning "man of the forest".^[2][3] The orangutan is an official state animal of Sabah in Malaysia.

Orangutans are the most arboreal of the great apes, spending nearly all of their time in the trees. Every night they fashion nests, in which they sleep, from branches and foliage. They are more solitary than the other apes, with males and females generally coming together only to mate. Mothers stay with their babies until the offspring reach an age of six or seven years. There is significant sexual dimorphism between females and males: females can grow to around 4 ft 2 in or 127 centimetres and weigh around 100 lbs or 45 kg, while flanged adult males can reach 5 ft 9 in or 175 centimetres in height and weigh over 260 lbs or 118 kg.^[7]

The arms of an orangutan are twice as long as their legs. Much of the arm's length has to do with the length of the radius and the ulna rather than the humerus. Their fingers and toes are curved, allowing them to better grip onto branches. Orangutans have less restriction in the movements of their legs unlike humans and other primates, due to the lack of a hip joint ligament which keeps the femur held into the pelvis. Unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, orangutans are not true knuckle-walkers, and walk on the ground by shuffling on their palms with their fingers curved inwards.^[8]