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This region contains Indochina’s largest block of moist forest, one of its richest plant diversities, and its largest number of mammals. This Global 200 ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests; Kayah-Karen montane rain forests If you're interested in Asian mammals, you should visit the Kayah-Karen/Tenasserim Moist Forests. For here live tigers, Asian elephants, gaurs, and clouded leopards--species that conjure images of dense, gloomy forests. Other species, such as the Fea’s muntjak -- a small deer with prominent, vampire-like canine teeth -- are rarely found anywhere outside of these forests. In the evenings a host of different bats, ranging in size from small to tiny, will begin to flit through the sky feasting on the large variety of insects, while white-bellied rats scurry across the ground.
These forests contain a tremendous diversity of plant species. This is partly because these forests stretch across a broad geographical area. They contain a mix of plants usually found in temperate regions such as the Himalayas, oriental regions such as Vietnam and eastern China, and Malaysian regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia. These forests also include coastal, lowland, and mountainous forests, all of which house different types of plants and animals. Because of the high diversity of habitats in this ecoregion, many species can live side by side, exploiting numerous niches in the forest.
Look out for the spectacularly colored Lady Amherst's pheasant, the Hume's pheasant, the silver pheasant, and even the rare green peafowl that scratch in the underbrush searching for insects and seeds. Pairs of great hornbills -- large black and yellow birds with thick beaks -- squawk raucous duets. If you don't see a secretive Gurney's pitta, a shy forest bird, you may come across its domed nest on the ground or in the understory. These forests are also home to the slow loris, a small slothlike monkey that seldom stirs until night.
Past logging and land clearance for farms and rubber plantations have already destroyed extensive sections of these forests. Today, both legal and illegal logging continue, altering habitat and, in the case of large-scale clearcutting, causing soil erosion. Dams, highways, and other development pressures are also a concern in these forests.
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