The animal and plant life is strongly influenced by the fact that Indonesia lies between the Asian mainland and the Australian continent. The dividing line between these two, the Wallacea line, runs from the east of Borneo in the north and to the east of Bali in the south, and in a marginal zone there is a mixture of Asian and Australian animal species, mainly in Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi and the Moluccas. West of this line are Asian species such as rhinoceros, tigers, elephants, tapirsand orangutan, on the east side there are Australian species such as cockatoos, birds of paradise and various species of marsupials.
Animal species
Many species are only found on one or a few islands, such as the orangutan and Komodo dragon. Unfortunately, several species are threatened with extinction, mainly due to human intervention in their natural habitat. Several national parks have now been created where these animals can live in peace, but time will tell if this is enough.
Plant species
The country also has a very varied plant life, with more than 40,000 species, of which 3,000 different types of trees and 5,000 species of orchids. The most distinctive plant is probably the smelly Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower. It blooms only rarely and has a strong smell of rotting flesh. Tropical rainforest still covers a sizable portion of the country, but as in other tropical areas, unchecked timber extraction poses a serious threat to the diversity that these forests represent.
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/boys-outdoor-thailand-baby-mammal-1807545/
