Cute or Creepy: Top Southeast Asian Animals

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Travelling around South-East Asia you get to see a bunch of mind-blowing things, from breath-taking landscapes to perspective changing culture. But as a biologist you can bet it is the local fauna that has me captivated! Imagine trudging through the dense Bornean rainforests, the air hot and humid, a chorus of wildlife buzzing all around, when a giant cloud-like butterfly glides gracefully above your head – more of a mirage than reality. It doesn’t flap its wings, instead it simply floats, levitating. After a day of hard work, you crawl into bed under your bug net, only to have a firefly rest inches from you, a tiny light in the pitch-black rainforest.

Southeast Asia is the place to be to see next-level wildlife, and today I bring to you my 10 favourite fauna friends that I made on my own travels. 

10. Old-World Porcupine (Hystricidae)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Hystrix_brachyura%2C_Malayan_porcupine.jpg
Where to find: Throughout Europe, Africa and Eurasia. I met my porcupine friends when I was treking through the caves of Mulu National Park, and our guide suddenly stopped short and urged us to be quiet. Sticking their little noses out of a hole in the cave wall was a family of baby porcupines. 
Awesomeness rating: 20/100
Class: THE CUTE/The creepy/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: Some porcupine quills can grow up to 30cm long, and most porcupines will have well over 10,000 quills!

9. Brahman Cattle (Bos indicus)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahman_cattle




Where to find: All over the world as meat processing cattle. I met some of these cows when on a cycle through the farming villages in the outskirts of Yogyakarta.
Awesomeness rating: 38/100
Class: The cute/The creepy/The cool/THE WERID
Fun Fact:

8. Spiders of Dark Cave (Psechridae)

https://hiveminer.com/Tags/macro%2Cpsechridae

Where to find: South East Asia, in forests, rocky areas and caves. When I went walking through Dark Cave in Malaysia, I was not impressed when the guide suggested we avoid touching any of the millions of webs lining the path, as the venomous spiders are motion sensitive and will jump into action when a passerby knocks into a web. Extra useful knowledge when the lighting is so lacking that you cant actually see the webbing on the paths. Its not called Dark Cave for nothing.
Awesomeness rating: 43/100
Class: The cute/THE CREEPY/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: These spiders form elaborate webs and have a nasty bite!

7. Pygmy Squirrel (Exilisciurus)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25872797@N02/42477819992

Where to find: Asia. This little guy darted across my footpath on my way to Deer Cave in Mulu, and I have never been so in love with something so tiny!
Awesomeness rating: 48/100
Class: THE CUTE/The creepy/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: One of the two species of pygmy squirrel in Malaysia are actually the smallest squirrel species in the world!


6. Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronchocela_cristatella#/media/File:Green_Crested_Lizard_(Bronchocela_cristatella).jpg

Where to find: Found all throughout Southeast Asia. Speedy little guy, I spied him darting across our campsite in Mulu, all legs and tail. 
Awesomeness rating: 49/100
Class: The cute/The creepy/THE COOL/The weird
Fun Fact: The tail on these lizards can make up over 75% of its total body length! 

5. Ants of Mulu  

https://pixabay.com/en/ants-insects-borneo-brown-nature-469150/
Where to find: Literally everywhere! At least three times the size of any ant I've seen at home, in the rainforests you just have to look down and you'll see hundreds of the little guys scuttling about!
Awesomeness rating: 50/100
Class: The cute/THE CREEPY/THE COOL/The weird (depends on who you ask)
Fun Fact: 790 species (compared to <70 in the UK)


4. Bats of Mulu

https://kktang1217.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/cave-adventure-deer-cave-langs-cave-and-bats-exodus/
Where to find: Most places! If you catch Deer Cave at around sundown, you will be able to see the famous bat exodus. Millions of bats leaving a cave all at once, forming a spectacular wave formation as they fly. Trust me, its not one to miss. 
Awesomeness rating: 53/100
Class: The cute/The creepy/THE COOL/The weird
Fun Fact: Every evening millions of bats of over 12 different species fly out of Mulu's 'Deer Cave'. It is estimated that each bat eats around 5g of insects, adding u to 9 tonnes of bugs entering bat bellies every evening!

3. Crab Eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)


Where to find: Southeast Asian Jungles. These funny little guys can be found all over the entrance to Batu Caves, causing chaos and stealing from tourists! I had one try to jump into my skirt, thinking it was a bag!
Awesomeness rating: 63/100
Class: THE CUTE/The creepy/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: The 'Crab Eating Macaque' actually doesnt eat that many crabs - over 50% of its diet is actually made up of seeds, fruit and nuts - unless you're talking about the Batu Caves monkeys which typically live off a diet of stolen sandwiches and pinched picnics. 

2. Forest Nymphs (Idea stolli)

http://www.butterflycircle.com/checklist/showbutterfly/53
Where to find: Southeast Asia, mostly in West Malaysia. I was enchanted as I was 4 hours into one of the most challenging hikes of my life, hot and sweaty and going mad, when a pair of these magical butterflies floated down from the skies like a dream. If it wasn't for the fact that they have a Wikipedia page, I could easily believe I had hallucinated the vision of natural beauty. 
Awesomeness rating: 75/100
Class: THE CUTE/The creepy/The cool/The weird
Fun Fact: These butterflies are named after the way that they move, gliding like fairies on the wind. However when they need to move, they can kick their wings into action and move like any other butterfly. 

1. Fireflies (Lampyridae)

https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/are-there-more-fireflies-year.html

Where to find: Everywhere-  but particularly fond of temperate, marshy climates. My personal experience was when one such creature landed happily on my tent, glowing happily at the end of a long day of trekking. It really felt like he was there to welcome us to the jungle! If you're used to fireflies then this may not be your own number one, but for me it was a magical experience!
Awesomeness rating: 88/100
Class: The cute/The creepy/THE COOL/The weird
Fun Fact: Not all fireflies glow, and the ones that do may glow in yellow green or orange light!


So there you have it, my top 10 Southeast Asian animal friends! And if you want to make some friends of your own, or try to track down some of the rarer wildlife such as wildcats, deer, boar and orangutans, then get yourself over to Southeast Asia, home of some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world! Until next time...

 Happy Travelling!

 Vicky

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