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which grow in mud and are resistant to sea
water. Beach and dune forests, which grow along
these same coasts above the high tide line,
consist of palms, hibiscus, casuarinas and other
tree varieties which can withstand high winds
and occasional storm-sent waves.
The country's most famous flora includes an
incredible array of fruit trees, over 25,000
flowering species, a variety of tropical
hardwoods and bamboo. Of the latter, considered
one of Asia's more renewable plant resources,
Myanmar may possibly contain more species than
any country outside China. One pure stand of
bamboo in Rakhine State extends over 7770 sq km.
Cane and rattans are also plentiful.
Myanmar holds 75% of the world's reserves of
Tectona Grandis; better known as teak to
English speakers, Kyun to the Burmese. This
dense, long-wearing, highly prized hardwood is
one of Myanmar's most important exports, for
which the biggest consumers are Hong Kong,
Singapore, Thailand and India.
Fauna
The most comprehensive wildlife survey
available today was undertaken by the Bombay
Natural History Society between 1912 and 1921
and published as the Mammal Survey of India,
Myanmar and Ceylon. In Myanmar, the Wild Animals
of Myanmar, published in 1967, is the most
recent work available and even this volume
simply contains extracts from various surveys
carried out by the British between 1912 and
1941, with a few observations dating to 1961.
As with flora, Myanmar's wildlife variation
is closely affiliated with geographic and
climatic differences. Hence the indigenous fauna
of the country's northern half is mostly of
Indo-Chinese origin while that of the south is
generally Syndic (i.e. typical of Malaysia,
Sumatra, Borneo and Java). In the Himalayan
region north of the Tropic of Cancer, fauna
shares the Indian realm with areas of
north-eastern India. The large overlap area
between zoogeographical and vegetative zones -
extending from around Myitkyina in the north to
the Bago Yoma in the central region - means that
much of Myanmar is a potential habitat for
plants and animals from all three zones.
Myanmar is rich in bird life, with an
estimated one thousand resident and migrating
species. Coastal and inland waterways of the
delta and the southern peninsula are especially
important habitats for South-East Asian
waterfowl.
Distinctive mammals of renown - found in
dwindling numbers within the more heavily
forested areas of Myanmar- include leopards,
jungle cats, fishing cats, civets, Indian
mongoose, crab-eating mongoose, Himalayan bear,
Asiatic black bears, Malayan sun bears, gaur
(Indian bison), banteng (wild cattle), serow (an
Asiatic mountain goat), wild boar, sambar,
barking deer, mouse deer, tapirs, pangolin,
gibbons, macaques, dolphins and dugongs.
An estimated 2000 tigers are thought to
inhabit the primary forests, about four times as
many as in Thailand. Around 10,000 Asiatic
elephants - roughly a third of all those
trotting the planet - are widely distributed in
Myanmar. Among these are 6000 pachyderms that
make up the world's largest herd of working
elephants, most of which are used in logging and
agriculture. It's encouraging that this number
exceeds by a thousand that tallied by English
scholar F T Morehead in his 1944 treatise The
Forests of Myanmar.
Both the one-horned rhinoceros and the Asiatic
two-horned rhinoceros are believed to survive in
very small numbers near the Thai border in the
Kayin State. The rare red panda (or cat bear)
was last sighted in northern Myanmar in the
early 1960s but is still thought to live in
Kachin State forests above 2000 meters.
Herpeto/ Herpetic-fauna include four
sea-turtle species along with numerous snake
varieties, of which an astounding 52 are
venomous. These include the common cobra, king
cobra, banded krait, Malayan viper, green viper
and Russell's pit viper. |
