Unique Flora & Fauna of Southeast Asia

Throughout Southeast Asia there is a diverse amount of plant and animal life. Here are some of the types of exotic animals and plants you would find:

Rafflesia Arnoldii: 

The Rafflesia Arnoldii is a flower in Southeast Asia that is the largest flower in the world. This flower doesn’t have any roots; instead it has this woody stem and uses the roots of its host. This flower doesn’t smell very good, some say it smells like rotting flesh. They thinks this is the reason because this is how they attract the carrion flies that pollinate it. This plant is  about 3 feet wide being one of the largest flowers in the world.

“Rafflesia Arnoldii (corpse Flower).” Plants & Fungi: Rafflesia Arnoldii (corpse Flower). Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Rafflesia-arnoldii.htm&gt;.

Rafflesia+arnoldii+bengkulu+november+2011.jpg. 2011. Photograph. Web. <http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Rafflesia-arnoldii.htm&gt;.

Nepenthes Ventricosa

The nepenthes is a rare carnivorous pitcher plant that lives in the rain forests of the Philippines. It uses leaves to lure bugs to it, then traps them with its pitcher like-substance.  It then uses rainwater that falls into the pitcher to digest the bug. These plants can grow to be several feet tall. These plants are not uncommon in the jungle filled islands, but are only found there.

“Nick the Nepenthes.” Nepenthes. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://mycarnivore.com/nepenthes.php&gt;.

“Nepenthes.jpg” Photograph. “Nepenthes Pitcher Plant.” World Travel Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://travel.mongabay.com/pictures/0199_Nepenthes_pitcher_plant.html&gt;.

Irrawaddy Dolphin

There is a small isolated population around Southeast Asia. They are mainly threatened by fishermen, and habitat degradation. These dolphins are either a slaty blue to a slaty gray color. They can be found in Indonesia, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines. They like to eat fish and crustaceans. It is said that the Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River and in the Malampaya Sound in the Philippines and such, may become extinct. They are mainly threatened by fishermen, and habitat degradation.

Author: Rowell

Sources:

Buddy Press. “Relive Earth.” Relive Earth. Buddy Press, 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://relivearth.com/members/relivearth/&gt;.

WWF. “Irrawaddy Dolphin.” WWF: Irrawaddy Dolphin. WWF. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/cetaceans/about/irrawaddy_dolphin/

Asian elephants were historically found throughout the continent. This giant mammal, formerly occurring over three and a half million square miles, is now extinct in West Asia, Java, and most of China, and survives in isolated pockets scattered across grasslands and tropical forests in                            thirteen Asian countries. Asian elephants are herbivores that subsist on a diet of leaves, stems, fruit, grasses, and the bark of many trees and other plants. Asian elephants, only the males have tusks. Male Asians can weight over 5 ton unlike female elephant which can weight less than 3 ton.

“Asian Elephant.” – Saving Wildlife. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.wcs.org/saving-wildlife/elephants/asian-elephant.aspx&gt;.

Asian Elephante. 2010. Photograph. True Wild Life. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://true-wildlife.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html&gt;.

25 Apr This entry was written by sbaker4ecspress and published on April 25, 2012 at 2:24 pm. It’s filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.