Endau-Rompin a focus of discovery
Tuesday February 28, 2006
JOHOR BARU: The exciting discovery of new flora and fauna in the Foja Mountains of Indonesia recently has raised the possibility of similar finding in the Endau-Rompin National Park bordering Johor and Pahang.
Local biodiversity and environment expert Vincent Chow said he was highly optimistic of such discoveries in the 250-million-year-old nature reserve because only 10% of the area was studied by the scientific community.
"There are many surprises awaiting, including the possibility of discovering Bigfoot or Orang Mawas.
"There are still many forests and mountain ranges in the area that are yet to be explored," said Chow, who created a sensation last December when he spoke of the possible existence of a creature similar to Bigfoot in the western part of the park.
Chow was asked to comment on the recent discovery in Foja Mountains of what scientists dubbed the "Garden of Eden" and the possibility of a similar findings in Malaysian jungles.
He said the orang asli community in the Endau-Rompin National Park had claimed they had many times come across animals they could not identify.
The orang asli in Selai, the entry point to the western part of the reserve, once claimed they encountered an animal known as Setontot that creeps on the forest floor.
Chow said that research conducted by him and others at the park since 2002 found fish species that were never recorded and it was probably a prelude to more discoveries.
"We found 92 freshwater species previously unknown in the park," he said.
Among the findings that took the scientific community by surprise was the discovery of a 2cm transparent ancient fish by his team and an expert from the United States.
"Prof Tyson Robert from the American Academy of Science, a renowned South-East Asia freshwater fish expert, had concurred that the species found by our group can be categorised as primitive or fossil fishes," said Chow.
"We are yet to name the species," he said.
The American expert said the fish at one time lived in the Sunda River that existed 15,000 years ago when the South China Sea area was a land mass.
Satellite pictures show that the ancient river had stretched through Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
"That is why the primitive fish can be found in Thailand and Indonesia as well," he said.
He said the state's proposal to set up a scientific committee to study the existence of Bigfoot could be a prelude to the discovery of other flora and fauna. - Bernama
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/2/28/southneast/13432604&sec=southneast