Recent Discoveries in the Heart of Borneo
The 'ninja slug'.
The WWF report, Borneo’s New World: Newly Discovered Species in the Heart of Borneo, details 123 new species discovered since February 2007.
Highlights of the report include:
- the world’s largest stick insect -- a 1.8 foot monster known as ‘Chan’s mega stick;’
- the 'ninja slug,' which makes use of so-called ‘love darts’ in courtship to inject a hormone into its mate that may increase its reproductive chances;
- a Bornean flat-headed frog that has been known about for a while but was just discovered to be the world’s first lung-less frog, breathing entirely through its skin.
- a flame-colored snake and a color-changing flying frog.
The rate of discovery since the foundation of the Heart of Borneo is more than three new species per month, providing ample justification for the decision to protect the region.
The Heart of Borneo, an “island within an island” is home to 10 species of primates, more than 350 birds, 150 reptiles and amphibians and a staggering 10,000 plants that are found nowhere else on Earth, the report says. Explorers have been visiting Borneo for centuries, but vast tracts of its interior are yet to be biologically explored. The island’s wildlife and forests are under increasing threat from logging, conversion of forests for pulp, paper and palm oil, and illegal wildlife trade.
The world’s largest stick insect.
Two independent vets have launched a podcast to help owners strengthen their bond with pets. Dr Maggie Roberts and Dr Vanessa Howie, who have worked in both veterinary practice and major charities, are keen to use their experience to enable people to give pets a better life.
