Malaysian Nature Society Kuching Branch

07/06/2026

A landmark study has confirmed that the endangered Bornean ferret badger (Melogale everetti) is found only in Sabah, making it one of the world’s most geographically restricted carnivores and a unique component of the State’s natural heritage.
The study, published today in the journal Ecology and Evolution, represents the most comprehensive assessment to date of the elusive species.

Full Story:
https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/282651/bornean-ferret-badger-found-only-in-sabah/

04/06/2026

MNS Kuching Branch organised an educational visit to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre in May 2026 to learn about the biology, ecology, habitat, distribution and threats of the Critically Endangered Orang Utan, which is at the highest risk of extinction.

The group was lucky to see Edwin, the dominant male Orang Utan.

The Orang Utan's nesting behaviour involves the bending of branches, and sometimes, breaking them. This shows they need a big area to survive as they sleep in different nests every night.

The trip served as an enriching and meaningful experience and the importance of conservation and environmental protection for our precious Orang Utans.

02/06/2026

A growing international black market threatens one of Brazil’s most iconic endangered species: the golden lion tamarin.

A recent investigation reveals how sophisticated criminal networks are preying on these tiny, golden-furred monkeys, snatching them from their native forests to feed an illegal global trade where collectors pay up to $100,000 per animal. Intercepted shipments in Togo, Suriname, and across the Brazilian Amazon expose organized networks moving wildlife across international routes, including a grueling 40-day Atlantic crossing on a sailboat where 20 tamarins were subjected to horrific conditions alongside rare Lear’s macaws.

The sudden escalation has caught conservationists off guard. “It is frightening in the sense that [tamarin trafficking] is a threat we believed was relatively under control,” says Luis Paulo Ferraz, executive secretary of the Golden Lion Tamarin Association.

Beyond overt smuggling, traffickers exploit policy loopholes within the CITES treaty to disguise wild-caught animals as captive-bred, effectively laundering wildlife into legitimate supply chains. While conservation efforts since the 1990s helped wild populations bounce back to an estimated 4,800 individuals, this sudden surge in organized poaching threatens decades of hard-won progress.

Read the full investigation 👉 https://mongabay.cc/2J7qhI

01/06/2026

29/05/2026

Investigators are still searching for what caused the recent deaths of a mother and her calf, but conservationists say the animal’s shrinking habitat may be the first place to look

27/05/2026

If you think primates are just cute jungle animals, think again because some of them are basically living tanks covered in fur. These creatures don’t just climb trees and eat fruit. They bend branches, crush resistance, and survive battles that would overwhelm most predators.

Start with the gorilla. The undisputed heavyweight. A silverback can weigh over 180 kg and is built like a walking fortress. Its upper body strength is so extreme that it can bend and tear thick vegetation like paper. Some estimates suggest they could move or lift over 800 kg in rare conditions. Yet here’s the twist. Despite the raw power, gorillas are mostly peaceful herbivores who rely on intimidation, not constant fighting.

Now meet the orangutan. The silent acrobat of the forest. With arm spans over 2 meters, they move through trees like slow-motion giants with insane grip strength. They can support their entire body weight with one arm while calculating their next move like jungle engineers.

Then there’s the chimpanzee. Small but explosive. Pound for pound, one of the strongest primates on Earth. Their fast twitch muscle fibers give them shocking speed and pulling power. Chimps are also strategic hunters and can coordinate in groups with precision that feels almost military.

And don’t underestimate the mandrill and baboon. Mandrills bring size, sharp teeth, and dominance displays that look straight out of a survival documentary. Baboons bring aggression, bite force, and adaptability that lets them survive almost anywhere in Africa.

What makes all of them fascinating is not just strength, but intelligence layered on top of it. They don’t just fight. They think, plan, and adapt.

In the primate world, power is not just muscle. It is mind plus muscle. And that combination is what makes them some of evolution’s most dangerous survivors

24/05/2026

24/05/2026

A bird that hammers wood at insane speeds without getting brain damage has a tongue that literally wraps around its skull like built in safety gear.

Yes, you read that right. Nature gave the woodpecker a tongue so long and strangely engineered that it loops around its entire skull to help protect its brain every time it drills into trees like a tiny biological jackhammer.

Woodpeckers can strike wood around 15 to 20 times per second. Each impact creates massive deceleration forces that would seriously injure most animals. So how does this bird survive what looks like constant self inflicted head trauma?

The answer is a combination of skull design, muscle control, and one of the weirdest tongue systems in the animal kingdom.

Instead of stopping in the throat like in most birds, the woodpecker’s tongue extends far beyond its beak. It travels around the back of the skull, looping through specialized channels and wrapping between bones before reconnecting near the beak.

Think of it like internal seatbelt wiring that supports the entire head structure.

This wrapping system helps distribute force and reduce vibration when the bird is pecking. At the same time, the woodpecker’s skull is compact and spongy in specific areas, acting like a natural shock absorber. Even the beak is slightly asymmetrical, which helps redirect impact forces safely through the body instead of straight into the brain.

And there is a reason for all this extreme engineering.

Woodpeckers are not just drilling for fun. They are searching for insects hidden deep inside wood, carving nesting cavities, and communicating with other woodpeckers through loud drumming patterns that echo through forests.

So every peck is a high speed biological mission.

What looks like chaos is actually one of the most precise survival systems in nature.