Huay Kha Kaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand Photograph by Deborah Boyd   Indo-Malay Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   46,100 square miles (119,500 square kilometers) -- about the size of Pennsylvania and Rhode Island combined Relatively Stable/Intact

· Of Mammals Large and Small
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Of Mammals Large and Small

Steep hillsides, overhanging cliffs, and dark caverns cover this rugged ecoregion. The relatively intact rain forests here are considered globally outstanding because of their species diversity. Large, wide-ranging mammals share the habitat with the smallest mammal of them all.

Special Features

Cliffs, sinkholes, and caverns all contribute to the unusual nature of this tropical ecoregion. Although relatively unexplored scientifically, these highland forests are thought to contain untold biological riches. Rainfall is plentiful but varies depending on location, which contributes to the ecoregion’s high-elevation mix of deciduous and evergreen trees. Up here, shady conditions favor woody climbing plants such as strangler figs and the cable-like Gnetum. At lower elevations, the frequency of human-induced fire has led to a woodland savanna habitat full of grasses and dipterocarp trees, as well as small, fire-adapted palms of the species Phoenix acaulis.

	Wild water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) can weigh between 1,500 to 2,600 pounds (700-1,200 kg). No matter where they live, when these large mammals find biting insects insufferable, they often wallow in mud or dust to find relief and protection.

Wild Side

This ecoregion’s large swatches of contiguous habitat have the potential, if protected, to foster healthy populations of Asia’s largest carnivore, the tiger. Here, the tiger shares the rain forest with other threatened mammals, including the Asian elephant, wild water buffalo, banteng, southern serow, Malayan tapir, and Asiatic black bear. But one endangered mammal stands out in size: the Kitti’s hog-nosed bat. Equal in mass to a large bumblebee, the bat is the world’s smallest mammal, with a wingspan that reaches only about 3 inches (8 cm). Unfortunately, its novelty makes it attractive to collectors, who kill and mount the animals for sale to tourists. This ecoregion is also home to 568 bird species, including several species that are indicators of habitat integrity.

Cause for Concern

About a third of this ecoregion has been cleared or degraded, and shifting cultivation remains the main cause of deforestation. Hunting has decimated several large mammal populations, including those of the elephant, gaur, banteng, and tiger. Gibbons and hornbills, which are important for dispersing the seeds of many forest trees, have been severely threatened as well.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.