At least 100 new species — from monkeys to mussels — have been found in Myanmar over a decade, revealing “astonishing biodiversity,” conservationists have said.
Beginning in 2010 with the identification of the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey, a small black primate known as the “sneezing monkey,” researchers have made an “incredible sequence of discoveries,” International wildlife group Fauna and Flora International said.
Over 10 years, during which Myanmar’s generals eased their stranglehold on power, scientists from all over the world made a beeline to the country to explore rainforests, delve into cave systems, wade through rivers and pick their way across majestic karst rock formations.
Photo: AFP / FFI / AUNG KO LIN
“Myanmar harbors biological riches that most countries can only dream of. Its remaining tracts of forest are home to some of the most spectacular wildlife in mainland Southeast Asia,” the group said in a statement.
However, the organization raised fears over a “barrage of threats,” including from illegal logging, hunting, agriculture, infrastructure development and quarrying.
The group early last year tallied the list of 100 new species, but before it could celebrate, the Burmese military seized power in the country in February last year.
With field operations already suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Ngwe Lwin, the groups acting manager for Myanmar, said that the team was focusing on existing conservation programs with its local partner, the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association.
He said that a decade of openness had afforded researchers a rare chance to travel into remote areas of the country, some of which had previously been heavily restricted and conflict-torn.
However, that does not mean the discoveries came easily.
In 2010, Ngwe Lwin and colleagues traveled to the forests of northern Kachin State near the border with China, looking for a new monkey species.
Local residents had seen the monkeys and said they were easy to track, particularly in the rain, because their upturned noses collect water causing them to sneeze.
They told the conservation team to head through the dense forest to a spot near their village. “Actually that was about one day’s walk,” Ngwe Lwin said. “They said it’s very easy, but for us, it was really hard.”
After days of fruitless searching, they were presented with a single dead monkey that local hunters had accidentally captured in an iron trap meant for black bears.
“Unfortunately, the snub nosed monkey got trapped,” Ngwe Lwin said, adding that a conservation area had now been set up there, and local people were far less likely to use traps or target the critically endangered creatures.
Fauna and Flora said it was crucial to involve local communities in preservation efforts, adding that many people in the country were dependent on natural resources for survival.
The UN Development Programme has estimated that nearly half of Myanmar’s 55 million population would be living below the national poverty line this year.
Other species found in the past decade include a cave dwelling crab, a carnivorous snail and 17 species of freshwater mussels. Scientists also discovered 37 gecko species living in isolated pockets of karst limestone habitat in eastern Myanmar — in many cases restricted to a single cave or hilltop.
In one instance, a two-week expedition yielded 15 new species, conservation biologist Aung Lin said.
“One day, one new species,” Aung Lin added.
Lee Grismer, a biology professor at La Sierra University in Riverside, California, whose team found the majority of the geckos, described his expeditions in Myanmar as “one of the most remarkable experiences ever.”
He said the chances of finding more new species were “extremely high.”
He was confident that he would return to Myanmar to look, Grismer said.
In the meantime, the international conservationist group proposed one karst area be designated as a “key biodiversity site” that would be safe from the cement companies that are destroying other similar formations.
However, Grismer said that was not his main concern.
“The people are being hurt, not the habitats,” he said.
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