Animal, Bird and Fish

Animals, birds and fish of Malaysia's forests, rivers and lakes, many of them found nowhere else in the world. Most are shy and rare, so look for them with licensed guides at national parks, sanctuaries and conservation centres. Keep your distance, never feed wild animals and never buy wildlife products.

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Asian Arowana
The prized dragon fish of Malaysia's rivers and lakes. Endangered. Wild fish are protected, and captive-bred fish can be traded only with permits.
Asian Small-clawed Otter
The smallest otter in the world, living in mangroves, wetlands and streams. Vulnerable. Playful and social, it hunts crabs and shellfish.
Asian Softshell Turtle
A large turtle with a leathery shell and a snorkel-like nose, found in rivers, lakes and ponds across Malaysia. Vulnerable.
Atlas Moth
One of the largest moths in the world, with wings about 25 centimetres across and tips that look like snake heads. Found in forests, and sometimes comes to lights at night.
Banteng (Tembadau) Sabah
A wild forest ox with white socks, called tembadau in Sabah. Endangered. Males are dark, females and calves reddish. Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah is a good place to look for it.
Bay Cat Sabah
One of the rarest wild cats in the world, with a chestnut-red coat, found only on Borneo. Endangered. It is almost never seen and is known mainly from camera traps in forests of Sabah…
Binturong
A shaggy, tree-living animal with a grasping tail, also called the bearcat, whose fur smells like buttered popcorn. Vulnerable. It lives in forests of Malaysia and is rarely seen.
Black Betta
A rare fighting fish of the peat swamp forests of Peninsular Malaysia, which depends on clean, dark, acidic water.
Black-crowned Pitta Sabah
A jewel-like forest bird of Borneo with a black head, red belly and blue wings. It hops on the forest floor, so a local birding guide helps to find it.
Blue-eared Kingfisher
A tiny, jewel-bright kingfisher with a blue back and an orange underside, watching for fish from low branches along forest streams, ponds and mangroves.
Bornean Bristlehead Sabah
A strange songbird found only on Borneo, with a bristly head and a thick, hooked bill. It moves in noisy groups through lowland forest.
Bornean Falconet Sabah
A tiny black-and-white falcon, only about 15 to 17 centimetres long, that hunts insects and small birds from treetop perches in the forests of Borneo.
Bornean Orangutan Sabah
The red-haired great ape of Borneo, whose name means person of the forest. Critically endangered. At the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan, rescued and orphaned…
Bornean Pygmy Elephant Sabah
The smallest elephant in Asia, smaller and gentler-looking than elephants elsewhere, living in the forests of north-east Borneo. Endangered.
Bornean Tarsier Sabah
A tiny, nocturnal primate with huge eyes, living in the forests of Borneo. Vulnerable. It is seen only on guided night walks, and must never be touched or lit with a camera flash.
Brahminy Kite Kedah
A chestnut-and-white bird of prey seen over rivers, coasts and mangroves, and the bird behind Langkawi's famous eagle emblem.
Clownfish Terengganu
A small orange-and-white fish that lives safely among the stinging tentacles of sea anemones. Common on reefs; snorkelling at islands such as Redang and the Perhentians is a good way to find…
Crescent Betta
A small fighting fish of shallow ponds and ditches in the Malay Peninsula, whose males flare their fins to rivals. Seen in the wild only by chance.
Crested Argus Pahang
A very shy pheasant whose male has extraordinarily long tail feathers, living in hill forests of Pahang. Vulnerable. It is heard far more often than it is seen.
Dugong Sabah
A gentle sea mammal that grazes on seagrass, said to have inspired mermaid stories. Vulnerable. It is rarely seen in the waters of Sabah and Johor; never chase or touch one.
False Gharial
A slender-snouted freshwater crocodile of Malaysia's peat swamps and rivers. Endangered. Much shyer than the saltwater crocodile and rarely seen.
Flying Lizard
A small lizard that glides between trees on wing-like skin flaps held up by its ribs, and shows a coloured throat flap when displaying. Found in forests and gardens.
Gaur (Seladang) Pahang
The largest wild cattle in the world, called seladang in Malay, living in forests and clearings of Peninsular Malaysia. Vulnerable. Dangerous if approached, so watch only from a distance.
Great Hornbill Perak
A huge black-and-white hornbill with a yellow casque, whose wingbeats can be heard from far away. Vulnerable. It lives in forests such as Royal Belum and Taman Negara, and across Borneo.
Green Turtle Sabah
A large sea turtle that comes ashore at night to lay eggs on beaches in Terengganu, Melaka and Sabah's Turtle Islands. Endangered.
Hawksbill Turtle
A sea turtle with a pointed, beak-like mouth and a patterned shell, which feeds on sponges on coral reefs. Critically endangered. It nests on a few Malaysian beaches, for example in Melaka.
Helmeted Hornbill
A hornbill with a solid casque, once carved like ivory, and an unforgettable call that ends in a laugh. Critically endangered.
Kelah (Malaysian Mahseer) Pahang
A prized freshwater fish of clear, fast rivers, called the king of the river. Visitors can watch kelah in the river at Kuala Tahan, in Taman Negara.
Kinabalu Pit Viper Sabah
A venomous pit viper known only from the forests of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. Its colours vary from snake to snake. Stay on the trails and never touch a snake.
King Cobra
The longest venomous snake in the world, which can raise the front of its body and spread a hood. Vulnerable. Shy and usually avoiding people; if you see one, back away slowly and call…
Leatherback Turtle Terengganu
The biggest sea turtle, with a soft, leathery shell instead of a hard one. Vulnerable. It once nested in large numbers at Rantau Abang in Terengganu, and has almost vanished from Malaysia.
Lesser Mouse-deer (Kancil)
The tiny, clever hero of Malay folk tales, one of the smallest hoofed animals in the world, about the size of a rabbit. Shy and mostly active at night in forests across Malaysia.
Malayan Colugo
Often called the flying lemur, though it is neither: it glides up to about 100 metres between trees on skin flaps. Active at night and well camouflaged on bark, it lives in forests, parks…
Malayan Partridge Pahang
A shy ground bird of the highland forests of the Peninsula, heard calling at dawn and dusk far more often than it is seen.
Malayan Peacock-pheasant Pahang
A shy bird of the lowland forest floor whose male shows blue-green eye spots on its tail and wings. Vulnerable. It lives in forests of the Peninsula, for example Taman Negara.
Malayan Sun Bear Sabah
The smallest bear in the world, with a golden crescent on its chest, found in forests across Malaysia. Vulnerable. The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre next to Sepilok in Sabah cares…
Malayan Tapir Pahang
A large, shy forest animal with a black-and-white body and a flexible snout. Endangered. Mostly active at night, so sightings in the wild are rare; roads through forest are a danger to it.
Malayan Tiger Pahang
Malaysia's national animal, a smaller tiger found only on the Malay Peninsula. Critically endangered, with an estimated 150 or fewer left in the wild, so sightings are extremely rare.
Malayan Whistling Thrush Pahang
A dark blue-black songbird of the Peninsula's hill streams, known for its whistling song. Look for it near mountain streams in places such as Fraser's Hill.
Malaysian Giant River Turtle
One of the largest freshwater turtles in Asia, living in slow rivers and swamps of Malaysia and Borneo. Critically endangered because of collecting and the loss of its habitat.
Manta Ray Sabah
A huge, graceful ray that glides through open water on wide wing-like fins, filter-feeding on plankton. Vulnerable. Divers meet it off Sabah and at some islands of the east coast.
Mudskipper Selangor
An amphibious fish that walks on its fins across mudflats at low tide. Look for it in mangroves such as Kuala Selangor and Matang.
Proboscis Monkey Sabah
A monkey found only on Borneo, famous for the male's long nose and round belly. Endangered. Watch troops from river cruises on the Kinabatangan, at feeding platforms such as Labuk…
Rajah Brooke's Birdwing
Malaysia's national butterfly, a large black butterfly with bright green markings, named after the first White Rajah of Sarawak. Protected by law; seen in forests and at butterfly parks.
Reticulated Python
One of the longest snakes in the world, patterned in gold and black diamonds, found in forests, farms and sometimes towns.
Rhinoceros Hornbill Sarawak
A big black hornbill with a horn-shaped orange casque on its bill, and the state bird of Sarawak. Vulnerable. It lives in lowland forests of the Peninsula and Borneo and is often heard…
Sambar Deer
Malaysia's largest deer, with a dark brown coat. Vulnerable. Mostly active at dusk and at night in forests and on grassy clearings.
Selangor Silvery Langur Selangor
A grey-silver leaf monkey of the coastal and lowland forests of western Peninsular Malaysia; its babies are bright orange.
Siamang Perak
The largest gibbon, with a throat sac that makes its far-carrying whooping calls at dawn. Endangered. It lives in forests of the Peninsula, for example Royal Belum and Taman Negara.
Sunda Clouded Leopard Sabah
A medium-sized wild cat with cloud-shaped markings, found only on Borneo and Sumatra, and the top predator of Borneo's forests. Vulnerable.
Sunda Pangolin
A shy, scaly, ant-eating mammal that rolls into a ball when threatened. Critically endangered because of illegal trade.
Sunda Slow Loris
A small, nocturnal primate with huge eyes and a slow, careful way of moving. Endangered. It is protected, and its venomous bite and the illegal pet trade make it dangerous and wrong…
Wallace's Hawk-eagle
A small, crested eagle of lowland and hill forests, heard calling above the canopy and rarely seen.
Water Monitor
One of the largest lizards in the world, up to about two metres long, and a strong swimmer found along rivers, canals and mangroves, even in towns. Do not feed or approach it.
Whale Shark Sabah
The largest fish in the world, a gentle filter feeder with a pattern of white spots. Endangered. Divers meet it off Sabah and around Malaysian islands; keep your distance and never touch it.
White-handed Gibbon Perak
A gibbon with pale hands and feet whose paired songs carry through the forest at dawn. Endangered. It lives in forests of the Peninsula, for example Taman Negara and Royal Belum.