Critically EndangeredGiant Clam
Tridacna gigas
Asia
Myanmar keeps one of the largest expanses of natural forest in South-East Asia, shaped by the Irrawaddy River, which runs the length of the country from north to south and ends in an immense delta. To the north, the eastern foothills of the Himalaya reach five thousand eight hundred metres at Hkakabo Razi and string together rainforest, temperate woodland and permanent snow, with a fauna that mixes Himalayan and Indo-Burmese elements. The Hukawng valley held the largest tiger reserve in the world by area. In the centre lies a dry zone of deciduous forest and in the east the Shan plateau, with Inle Lake and its floating gardens. To the south, the Mergui archipelago brings together more than eight hundred almost uninhabited islands, with reefs and coastal forests.
National animal: The green peafowl, the national emblematic bird; the chinthe, a mythical lion, is the heraldic symbol
In 2010 a snub-nosed monkey completely unknown to science was described in the northern mountains. Local hunters located it for an unusual reason: its nostrils point upwards, so when it rains water gets in and it sneezes, which gives away its presence. On rainy days the animals sit with their heads between their knees to avoid it.
On the Irrawaddy a cooperative fishery was practised in which the dolphins came at the fishermen's call, made by tapping the gunwale, and herded fish towards the nets in exchange for keeping those that escaped; that relationship, documented for more than a century, is on the point of being lost as the dolphins decline.
Indawgyi between November and February for waterbirds. The upper reaches of the Irrawaddy for dolphins. Mergui in the dry season for reefs and coastal birds.
302 species found
Based on what we already know about Myanmar.
