A Wild Boar shows up in a Mosque

A Wild Boar shows up in a Mosque

First came news of a wild elephant showing up one morning in a canteen at a school in Sabah. Now comes news of a wild boar showing up in a mosque in Selangor. The boar entered Sungai Plong Mosque in Sungai Buloh on a recent evening. Probably alarmed at the…

SAM: Stop the Wanton Deaths of Wild Elephants

SAM: Stop the Wanton Deaths of Wild Elephants

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is astounded at the death of yet another wild elephant in Gerik, Perak. The incident occurred on January 3rd when a 40-year-old female elephant was electrocuted by a live wire on a roadwork construction site. Herds of wild elephants come into populated areas while foraging for…

Yet Another wild Elephant Dies, in Gerik

Yet Another wild Elephant Dies, in Gerik

These aren’t good times for Malaysia’s wild elephants. Over the past few months several of them have died, having been poached for their ivory, run down on roads by cars, or gunned down by irate plantation workers. Now yet another elephant is dead. An elderly female pachyderm died after being…

Plastic Waste is a Threat to Sea Turtles

Plastic Waste is a Threat to Sea Turtles

Plastic bottles and bottle caps. Plastic candy wrappers and plastic shopping bags. Plastic cups and plastic boxes. Plastic shoes and plastic flip-flops. Plastic cigarette lighters and plastic toothbrushes. There are billions upon billions of such random pieces of plastic waste floating around in the ocean and marine animals have ended…

Wildernesses are Shrinking Worldwide

Wildernesses are Shrinking Worldwide

Pretty much wherever you look around the planet, wildernesses are shrinking. Well, not everywhere, to be sure, but in places like Borneo forests have shrunk drastically over the past decades. And that is, needless to say, a problem not only for Malaysia but for the entire planet as well. “These…

WWF: Malayan Tigers need all our Help

WWF: Malayan Tigers need all our Help

A half century ago there were still around 3,000 tigers in the wild around Malaysia. Today there may well be as few as 250 left, less than a tenth of that figure. And if we don’t do all we can to save the last few hundred tigers, there won’t be…

Penang Artist showcases Mother Earth

Penang Artist showcases Mother Earth

In one painting titled “Mother Earth Sustains,” a voluptuous woman suckles a young babe in arms while a tiger lounges by her side as if the stately predator was but a pussycat. In another artwork entitled “The Gift,” Mother Earth cuddles a tiger in a lotus-flecked pool beside an orangutan…

Much of Wildlife suffers Even in Canada

Much of Wildlife suffers Even in Canada

Canada. Mention the country’s name, and many people can’t help but instantly picture vast stretches of unspoiled natural bounty with scenic mountains and meadows teeming with wildlife. That’s hardly a surprise. Canada is the second largest country in the world, after Russia, with a whopping 9.984 square kilometers of land…

We must Save our wild Elephants

We must Save our wild Elephants

People cut down forests and plant crops in areas where thick woods once grew. Wild elephants, feeling increasingly hemmed in by human settlements, often have no choice but to venture into populated areas. Once there, however, they risk coming into conflict with local farmers who may not look kindly on…

Pygmy Elephants face an Uncertain Future

Pygmy Elephants face an Uncertain Future

Every now and then reports of orphaned Bornean pygmy elephants being rescued by the Sabah Wildlife Department surface. These baby elephants have become lost while their mothers are nowhere to be seen. In the past seven years 22 baby elephants have been rescued this way. Many of them cannot survive,…

Orangutans are Wonderful Creatures: They even Play Peekaboo

Orangutans are Wonderful Creatures: They even Play Peekaboo

No doubt you’ve seen kids do it: seeking the attention of their pal, they don an old sack and begin larking around. They playfully accost their friend, and when their friend just doesn’t get it, they carry on clowning around inside the sack so as to draw some laughs and…

Earth is undergoing a Mass Extinction

Earth is undergoing a Mass Extinction

Sixty-six million years ago Planet Earth experienced one of the largest mass extinctions in its entire history. Within what counts as a blink of an eye in geological time the dinosaurs, which had ruled the planet for millions of years, died out en masse. Time to brace yourself: we’re experiencing…

A Baby Elephant is Killed on a Highway in Perak

A Baby Elephant is Killed on a Highway in Perak

Malaysia’s beleaguered wild elephants face a variety of daily dangers. They may be poached for their body parts. They may be poisoned by smallholders and plantation owners to keep them off their properties. And they may be killed in road accidents. A young elephant calf has just suffered that fate…