Borneo

                                                 Beauty of Borneo
The island is divided among three countries: Brunei and Malaysia on the north, and Indonesia to the south. Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. In the north, the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, along with the federal territory of Labuan, make up about 26% of the island. The sovereign state of Brunei, located on the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo's land area. Borneo is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world.

                                                          Ecology

• The Borneo rainforest is 130 million years old.
• There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps),
•  221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo.
• There are about 440 freshwater fish species in Borneo.

                                                                                                        

(Hornbill one of the most beautiful bird that lives in borneo rainforest)

                                                   Example of   Endangered species

(Orangutan)

(Borneo pygmy elephant)                                                                                                                             

       

  

(Borneo rhino also known as sumatran rhino)                                                                                                 

                     

(Bornean clouded leopard)        

(Rhinoceros hornbill)                                                                                                                      

(Proboscis monkey)                                                                                                                       

           Beauty of Borneo

                

                 

            

                                                               

(Mount Kinabalu)

*Mount Kinabalu has been accorded UNESCO World Heritage status.

    (Rafflesia-one of the largest flower in the world)

                          

Preserve our Borneo

•     Illegal logging has to be stopped.                       

•    Over planting oil palm has to be stopped.

•    Illegal poaching has to be stopped .

                                                                           

                                                                                                                 

                                                             

Tiger subspecies

                                                          TIGER

Tiger is known as (Panthera tigris),is the largest cat species reaching a total body length of up to 3.3 m (11 ft) and weighing up to 306 kg (670 lb).

Subspecies

Bengal tiger-
lives in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and is the most common subspecies, with populations estimated at less than 2,500 adult individuals.

Indochinese tiger - Found in Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam. These tigers are smaller and darker than Bengal tigers. Males weigh from 150–195 kg (330–430 lb), while females are smaller at 100–130 kg (220–290 lb). Their preferred habitat is forests in mountainous or hilly regions.

  Malayan tiger -     Exclusively found in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, was not considered a subspecies in its own right until 2004. The new classification came about after a study by Luo et al. from the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity Study, part of the National Cancer Institute of the United States. According to official government figures, the population in the wild may number around 500 individuals, but is under considerable poaching pressure. The Malayan tiger is the smallest of the mainland tiger subspecies, and the second-smallest living subspecies, with males averaging about 120 kg (260 lb) and females about 100 kg (220 lb) in weight.

Sumatran tiger -   Is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and is critically endangered. It is the smallest of all living tiger subspecies, with adult males weighing between 100 and 140 kg (220 and 310 lb) and females 75 and 110 kg (170 and 240 lb). Their small size is an adaptation to the thick, dense forests of the island of Sumatra where they reside, as well as the smaller-sized prey. The wild population is estimated at between 400 and 500, seen chiefly in the island's national parks.  

Siberian tiger -  Also known as the Amur tiger, inhabits the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in far eastern Siberia.It ranks among the largest felids ever to have existed, with a head and body length of 160–180 cm (63–71 in) for females and 190–230 cm (75–91 in) for males, plus a tail of about 60–110 cm (24–43 in), with adult males weighing between 180 and 306 kg (400 and 670 lb) and females 100 and 167 kg (220 and 370 lb). The average weight of an adult male is around 227 kg (500 lb). Siberian tigers have thick coats, a paler golden hue, and fewer stripes.The heaviest wild Siberian tiger weighed 384 kg (850 lb), but according to Mazák, this record is not reliable. In 2005, there were 331–393 adult and subadult Siberian tigers in the region, with a breeding adult population of about 250 individuals.

South China tiger- Also known as the Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is the most critically endangered subspecies of tiger, and is listed as one of the 10 most endangered animals in the world. One of the smaller tiger subspecies, the length of the South China tiger ranges from 2.2–2.6 m (87–100 in) for both males and females. Males weigh between 127 and 177 kg (280 and 390 lb) while females weigh between 100 and 118 kg (220 and 260 lb). From 1983 to 2007, no South China tigers were sighted.

Extinct subspecies

Bali tiger-  Was limited to the Indonesian island of Bali, and was the smallest subspecies, with a weight of 90–100 kg (200–220 lb) in males and 65–80 kg (140–180 lb) in females.Bali tigers were hunted to extinction—the last Bali tiger, an adult female, is thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima, West Bali, on 27 September 1937. There is no Bali tiger in captivity. The tiger still plays an important role in Balinese Hinduism.

Caspian tiger-  Also known as the Hyrcanian tiger or Turan tiger was found in the sparse forest habitats and riverine corridors west and south of the Caspian Sea and west through Central Asia into the Takla-Makan desert of Xinjiang, and had been recorded in the wild until the early 1970s. The Amur tiger is the genetically closest living relative of the Caspian tiger.   

   Javan tiger-   Was limited to the island of Java, and had been recorded until the mid-1970s. Javan tigers were larger than Bali tigers; males weighed 100–140 kg (220–310 lb) and females 75–115 kg (170–250 lb). After 1979, no more sightings were confirmed in the region of Mount Betiri  

Hunting and diet

In the wild, tigers mostly feed on large and medium-sized animals, with most studies indicating a preference for native ungulates weighing 90 kg (200 lb) at a minimum. Sambar, chital, barasingha, wild boar, gaur, nilgai and both water buffalo and domestic buffalo, in descending order of preference, are the tiger's favoured prey in India. Sometimes, they also prey on other predators, including other large species, such as dogs, leopards, pythons, sloth bears, and crocodiles. In Siberia, the main prey species are manchurian wapiti and wild boar (the two species comprising nearly 80% of the prey selected) followed by sika deer, moose, roe deer, and musk deer. In Sumatra, sambar, muntjac, wild boar, and Malayan tapir are the predominant prey. In the former Caspian tiger's range, prey included saiga antelope, camels, Caucasian wisent, yak, and wild horses. Like many predators, they are opportunistic and will eat mcauch smaller prey, such as monkeys, peafowl, other large, ground-based birds, hares, porcupines, and fish.

Common Prey 

Fishing

What is Fishing?

Fishing is a common human activity which pertains on getting fish from certain bodies of water. Fishing can be done either on aquatic or marine bodies of water like the ocean/sea, rivers, lakes, and a lot more.Fishes can be caught in the wild or either in the domestic fisheries. There a lot of techniques on how to catch fishes successfully and these are like the trapping, angling, and netting, spearing, and as well as hand gathering.

What are the basic gears for fishing?

(Fishing reels)

  (Fishing rod)

(Sinker and hook)

(Fishing bait)

(Fishing line)

Video on HOW TO SETUP FISHING ROD.....                                                       

Examples of fish :

                                         (arapaima largest fresh water fish)

                                                        (Tuna)    

                                                 (Sailfish)                                                    

                                                 (Catfish)

Why Catch and Release?
With the cost of a typical fishing trip, the uncertainties of success, and the appeal of a fish dinner, why should anglers want to adopt the practice of catch and release? Aside from certain regulations, such as bag limits or size limits, there are a number of good reasons for releasing a portion of the catch alive.
First, catch and release offers a sensible way to extend the fishing trip after a reasonable or legal catch limit has been reached. If the trip involves a guide or charter service, catch and release can prolong an enjoyable recreational opportunity, giving anglers more value for their money.
Second, several recent studies have suggested that as anglers gain expertise in a particular fishery or fishing technique, they often develop an interest in "limiting their kill instead of killing their limit."

Why Do Hooked Fish Die?
Fish that are caught and released may die for several reasons, but the two primary causes are stress and wounding. Stress results from the fish fighting after being hooked. Internally, the physical exertion causes an oxygen deficit in the tissues, forcing the muscles to function anaerobically (without oxygen). This causes lactic acid to build up in the muscle tissue, and then to diffuse into the blood. Lactic acid acts as an acid in the blood, causing the pH of the blood to drop. Even slight changes in pH can cause major disruptions of the metabolic processes, ultimately killing the fish. If the fish is quickly released, its blood pH usually returns to normal and the fish will be unaffected. Some fish, after a long tow, may appear to live once released, but the imbalance in the blood chemistry may kill them as late as three days after being caught. In most cases, the means of preventing this type of mortality is to not keep the fish in action for a long period of time, unless the intent is to keep it.
The other primary cause of mortality is wounding by the hook. Injuries caused by hooks can range from very minor to lethal. The degree of injury is dependent on the location of the hook wound. Higher mortalities will occur in fish that are hooked in the gill or stomach areas, while lower mortalities occur in fish that are hooked in the lip, jaw, or cheek areas. Baited hooks are more likely to result in a gill or stomach hooking that artificial lures. Treble hooks, for obvious reasons, will result in more puncture wounds and subsequently higher mortalities. Barbless hooks facilitate release and decrease "out-of-water" time, but for reasons yet unclear, may not significantly reduce mortality, especially when used with bait.

There are other kinds of physiological stress that can lead to higher mortalities in released fish. Fish may not be able to adjust to changes in pressure or to higher surface water temperatures. Also, when a fish is handled or comes in contact with dry surfaces, such as landing nets or dry hands, its mucous layers – commonly called slime layers – may be partially removed, presenting an opportunity for bacteria or pathogens to invade the skin.

Rainforest

What is rainforest?
Rainforests are the Earth's oldest living ecosystems. 
They are so amazing and beautiful.

These incredible places cover only 6 %of the Earth's surface but yet they contain MORE THAN 1/2 of the world's plant and animal species! 

A Rainforest can be described as a tall, dense jungle.  The reason it is called a "rain" forest is because of the high amount of rainfall it gets per year.  The climate of a rain forest is very hot and humid so the animals and plants that exist there must learn to adapt to this climate.

As many as 30 million species of plants and animals live in tropical rainforests. 

(Right:rafflesia a type of flower only can be found in rainforrest)

Beauty of rainforest

Why are rainforest important?

THEY PROVIDE A HABITAT FOR PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Tropical rainforests took between 60 and 100 million years to evolve and are believed to be the oldest and most complex land-based ecosystem on earth, containing over 30 million species of plants and animals. That's half of the Earth's wildlife and at least two-thirds of its plant species!

Because most tropical rainforest grows in warm and steamy environments, it contains a huge variety of plants. One hectare of lowland rainforest may contain 1000 trees with up to 300 species. Compare this to the UK's forests which are likely to have only 5-10 species per hectare: that's 30 to 60 times more species in a hectare of rainforest! These plants in turn provide food and shelter for many rare animals that depend on the rainforest for their survival. There are many more thousands of rainforest plants and animals species still waiting to be discovered.

THEY REGULATE OUR CLIMATE

Rainforests store water like a huge sponge. In fact, it is believed that the Amazonian forests alone store over half of the Earth's rainwater! Rainforest trees draw water from the forest floor and release it back in to the atmosphere in the form of swirling mists and clouds.

Without rainforests continually recycling huge quantities of water, feeding the rivers, lakes and irrigation systems, droughts would become more common, potentially leading to widespread famine and disease.

Did you know that we also depend on trees to cleanse our atmosphere? They absorb the carbon dioxide that we exhale, and provide the oxygen we need to breathe. When rainforest trees are burnt they release carbon dioxide, which pollutes the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. Deforestation is in fact considered the second major driver of climate change (more than the entire global transport sector), responsible for 18-25% of global annual carbon dioxide emissions.

THEY HELP TO PREVENT SOIL EROSION

Surprisingly, soil in the rainforest is very poor in nutrients. This is because the nutrients are stored in the vast numbers of trees and plants rather than in the soil. Tree roots bind the soil together, while the canopy protects the soil from heavy rains. When a tree dies and its trunk falls to the forest floor, it decays and the nutrients it contains are recycled. However, if trees are removed from the forest, the nutrients are removed with it, along with the protection provided by the tree roots and the forest canopy. The unprotected soil is then simply washed away in heavy rains, causing blockages and floods in lowland rivers, while leaving upland rivers dry.

THEY PROVIDE A HOME FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Many indigenous people have been living in harmony with the rainforest for thousands of years, depending on it for their food, shelter and medicines. When oil and logging companies come to remove vast areas of forest, they bring diseases which the indigenous people have no resistance to, threatening their survival. Often they are also forced to move away from their homes to unfamiliar places, sometimes even being killed in the process.

RAINFOREST PHARMACY

It may surprise you to know that more than 25% of our modern medicines originate from tropical forest plants. Even so, we have only learned how to use 1% of these amazing plants, so imagine the possibilities if we could experiment with the other 99%!

For example, the rosy periwinkle, found in Madagascar, is used to cure leukemia, while the anti-malarial drug quinine is taken from the bark of the Andean cinchona tree. The rauvolfa shrub found in Asian and African forests is used to cure high blood pressure and mental illness. Rainforests and the native populations who discovered these medicines could hold the cure to many more diseases if we would only nurture the forests and allow their people to show us.

OTHER IMPORTANT FOREST PRODUCTS

  Many foods we consume today such as nuts, bananas, coffee and spices, and industrial products such as rubber, resins and fibres, were originally found in tropical rainforests.