Krau Wildlife Reserve
Our project takes place in Krau Wildlife Reserve in Peninsular Malaysia. The reserve contains over 62,000 hectares of rainforest and was designated as a reserve in 1923.
The reserve is drained by three rivers and there is a very large mountain, Gunung Benom, in the northwest of the reserve, so overall the altitude ranges from 43 m to 2,107 m. The five bat study sites are all located in the lowland areas in the southern half of the reserve. This year we will be working at Kuala Lompat which is the meeting point of two rivers, the Krau River and the Lompat River.
Map of Southeast Asia to show the location of Peninsular Malaysia (created in Google Earth)
Satellite map of Malaysia to show the location of Krau Wildlife Reserve
Satellite image of Krau Wildlife Reserve with the reserve boundary traced in yellow. The five study sites used in the bat study are shown as yellow squares. This year we will be working at Kuala Lompat in the east of the reserve.
The climate is hot and humid, with mean annual rainfall at Kuala Lompat (of c. 2000 mm in with two noticeable peaks in April and November. Mean daily
minimum and maximum temperatures at Kuala Lompat are 23°C/73ºF and 33°C/91ºF. The research team has to be prepared for high humidity and temperatures, and a general tendency to feel hot, damp and slightly moldy.
Krau Wildlife Reserve is a bat paradise, with over 72 species recorded so far. Thats more species in a single place than any other location in Southeast Asia. It’s such a special place for bats that we even gave a named a new species of Kerivoula after the reserve — Kerivoula krauensis
Krau is also home to an incredible 150 species of mammals, including many species that are becoming rare and threatened over most of Southeast Asia, such as the wild dog, clouded leopard, leopard, tiger, Malayan tapir, Malayan sun bear, gaur, and serow. The mammal fauna also includes nine species of civet, 19 species of squirrel and flying squirrel, mouse deer, pangolin mustelids including the yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula) and otters (Lutra spp). There are seven species of primates, including siamang, whitehanded gibbon, banded-leaf monkey, dusky-leaf monkey, and slow loris. Many of these mammals are now very shy, but we regularly hear gibbons and siamangs singing in the morning, and watch the macaques foraging in the trees and the flying squirrels gliding between them at Kuala Lompat.
At least 298 bird species have been recorded, including helmeted hornbill
(Rhinoplax vigil), short-toed coucal (Centropus rectunguis), masked finfoot (Heliopais personata), Malaysian peacock pheasant (Polyplectorn malacense) and crested argus (Rheinardia ocellata).
The forest is also home to a wealth of less appealing creatures – particularly irritating are the leeches and mosquitoes.
You can learn more about how scientists have been studying the small carnivores at Krau here
