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Mammals of Fraser's Hill WILDLIFE Mammals of Fraser’s Hill Fraser’s Hill is a well-known location for studying birds and insects. Equally exciting, but lesser known, is the mammal life. Celine Low sheds some light on the subject. Text by Celine Low raser’s Hill (in Malay, Bukit Fraser), which straddles the states of Pahang and Selangor in Peninsular Malaysia, is part of the for- ested Titiwangsa Mountain Range and Frises to 1,310 m elevation. Fraser’s Hill is covered and surrounded by sub-mon- tane primary rainforest, and has cool temperatures of 17–25º C year round (Strange, 2004). The World Wide Fund For Nature– Malaysia gives the number of mammals Red-cheeked Squirrel was formerly Red-cheeked Ground Squirrel. It is not common but is sometimes seen on or near the ground along for Fraser’s Hill as 52 species. From my the roads. Photo Tan Heok Hui records, at least 10 more species can be added to the list, but some are not sub- stantiated. Work is currently under way The two little squirrels of Fraser’s Hill to compile a complete checklist; for the time being this anecdotal visual presen- Two small squirrels in the Sundasciurus genus occur at Fraser’s Hill, so look tation will have to do. Fraser’s Hill is covered and surrounded by sub-montane primary rainforest, and has closely if you spot one of those. Both the Slender Squirrel S. tenuis and Low's cool temperatures of 17–25º C year round. Photo Morten Strange. Among the commonly seen mam- Squirrel S. lowii have been collected from Fraser's Hill and confirmed recently Himalayan Squirrel, Tamiops mcclel- in photographs, but they are difficult to distinguish in the field. mals of Fraser’s Hill the White-thighed The Slender is definitely more slender with a relatively longer tail and Langur (or Leaf Monkey) is one of the landii) being abundant and the Pallas’s the belly is greyish, while Low's has an unmistakably white underside, clearly most conspicuous, although the Dusky Squirrel (previously Mountain Red- demarcated. The fur of Slender appears more rufous, while Low’s is dark Langur also occurs, see Nature Watch bellied Squirrel, Callosciurus erythraeus) brown. Low’s tends to move low in the under-storey or even on the ground, 19(2) for more information about also common. The Grey-bellied Squirrel while Slender is often higher in the trees. the leaf monkeys. Southern Pig-tailed and the Red-cheeked (Ground) Squirrel To make matters even more complicated, the Slender Squirrel at Fraser’s Macaque is a fairly shy monkey that is are less numerous. See box regarding Hill is of the subspecies Sundasciurus tenuis tahan which is restricted to high- the small Sundasciurus squirrels. As we Low’s Squirrel. Photo Tan Heok Hui lands in Peninsular Malaysia. It sometimes seen along the access roads; has been found to be genetically whilst the bolder Long-tailed Macaque know, most mammals in the tropics are distinct and is likely to be elevated has come up to the hill in recent years. nocturnal, and among those the Masked to species level in the very near The daily call of the Siamang rouses Palm Civet appears to be the most com- future, S. tahan. It is our opinion feelings primeval, but good views are dif- monly seen at Fraser’s. that Sundasciurus tenuis and S. ficult. The related White-handed Gibbon tahan do not co-exist, and that only (Hylobates lar, not illustrated here) occurs Some animal stories S. tahan can be found at Fraser’s I have started visiting Fraser’s Hill regu- Hill, although other observers have lower down the hill near the Gap. reported both subspecies. This Other diurnal mammals include the larly since December 2006, when my needs to be confirmed. For the Eurasian Wild Pig, the photograph on companions and I discovered a charm- Western Striped Squirrel is a very common time being, and for the purpose the poster was taken near the garbage ing colonial bungalow with plenty of mammal at Fraser’s Hill. Here one is feed- of the poster, we have included The Slender Squirrel at Fraser’s Hill is of ing on a cicada near the Jelai Highlands the subspecies Sundasciurus tenuis tahan. character and a view of the kind that Low’s Squirrel has a distinct white belly the Slender Squirrel here as dump, and of course the squirrels, with Resort, famous for its bird activity at dawn. seen well from this angle. Photo Nick Baker Photo Morten Strange the Western Striped Squirrel (previously must have enraptured Louis James Fraser Photo Morten Strange. Sundasciurus tenuis. 8 Nature Watch Jul - Sep 2011 Jul - Sep 2011 Nature Watch 9 when he decided to build his home Another one of my travel compan- obligingly showed us the spot where she somewhere near the hill that was later ions described a mammal he had seen had seen the Tiger lying down one fine REFERENCES named after him. behind one of the bungalows when he morning, while she was practicing taiji. Francis, C.M. (2008). A Field Guide to the Mammals of South-East Asia. New Holland, London. The caretakers who used to run the was taking photographs of butterflies, It was at the boundary of the forest and Strange, M. (2004). Birds of Fraser’s Hill: An Illustrated bungalow told us that animals regularly and I surmised it to be a Yellow-throated her vegetable garden, and it had prob- Guide and Checklist. Nature’s Niche, Singapore. came to raid the peas they grow in the Marten when he mentioned it stood up ably gone there to rest for the day. She garden, and sure enough, one morning on its hind legs to look at him. I have immediately scooted off into the house in September 2008, three White-thighed since, very diligently, sneaked around when she saw the Tiger, locking all the Langurs descended in our garden and that very same bungalow every time I doors. Her gardener’s dog was tied up gorged on the peas. After their legumi- went to Fraser’s Hill, but to no avail. by the vegetable garden, tail tucked in nous breakfast, they sat on the garden As if Lady Luck were taunting me, between its legs, shivering with fright. bench and luxuriated in the delight- when my companions and I were assidu- It was cowering, trying to be as incon- ful morning breeze, entranced by the ously applying our efforts to look for spicuous as possible, as quiet as a mouse. zephyr softly fingering the fur framing wildlife, traipsing about one afternoon Fortunately, the Tiger did not have a their thoughtful faces. We jostled for in December 2008, and we had left one palate for dogs and left it alone. prime viewing spots, trying to blend of our travel mates resting on a bench Fraser’s Hill is ‘peppered’ with an Binturong. Photo Celine Low into the curtains while taking photo- because he was not feeling well, she exotic plant called Piper aduncum, feeding on the infructescence of the of New Years Present as it did not occur graphs, and our simian visitors even cheekily sent a pair of Yellow-throated which has invaded Peninsular Malaysia plant. It seems it is not only humans to me that it was a Binturong. Later, who have a taste for exotic and non- when I caught up with a friend who was native fruits and vegetables. walking ahead and showed him my pho- 2009 must have been my lucky tograph, he identified it as a Binturong year, for having waited ten years to see and we were so excited we went back to a Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) ogle at it like star-struck teenagers at a The author on the left with some friends at in the wild, I saw three of them in that celebrated idol. Fraser’s Hill covering all the angles. Photo same year. After I saw the first one, a The very next night, which was Vilma D’Rozario. friend joked that my curse had been a full moon night, we were walking Celine Low is a keen naturalist and the broken, and true enough, I saw the next along the same road again, hoping secretary of the NSS Vertebrate Study two within a short span of time, both of that the Ghosts of New Years Yet To Group. When she is not out looking for those were at Fraser’s Hill. Come would indulge us with a repeat animals, she is a sales executive in the I have also been very fortunate to see performance. Of course, the Binturong pharmaceutical industry. one of our modern day unicorns, the had other ideas and had made itself Bats are common at Fraser’s Hill but pho- rare Binturong. It was the night before scarce. I was rewarded though, with a tographs are hard to come by and more New Year’s Eve in 2009, and my com- sight so magical, my heart soared with Editor’s note to the poster on pages studies of the species are need. This is a Great Roundleaf Bat Hipposideros armiger panions and I were walking along one the giant flying squirrel (Petaurista sp.), 12-13: We compiled and edited a selection photographed inside one of the bungalows of the roads, spot lighting, while slivers which floated from a tall tree to another, of photographs of mammals taken at Fraser’s by Nick Baker. of mist caressed our faces like Ghosts of right above me. The squirrel covered a Hill, some by the author of the article, oth- New Years Past.
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