Tempo.Co, Jakarta – Papua is a province known as the land of gold with its natural riches containing beautiful fauna. The word Papua comes from Malay, this word represents the original native physique where people have curly hair.
In 2004, Papua was officially divided into two provinces by the Indonesian government. In the eastern part, it is called Papua. Meanwhile, you can call the western part West Irian Jaya or West Papua province.
The wealth of animals in Papua is very diverse compared to other provinces. However, the area of Papua's forests continues to decrease due to illegal logging and conversion to oil palm plantations, which has resulted in the number of these animals decreasing.
Here are the 7 typical Papuan animals that are almost extinct:
1. Labi-labi Moncong (Snouted Labi-Labi)
The snouted labi-labi is a typical Papuan animal. This animal is a type of freshwater turtle with a soft shell. However, the omnivorous snouted labi-labi has a nose like a pig's snout. This Papuan turtle is threatened with extinction due to its uniqueness. To survive, snout labyrinths like to hunt mice, fruit, and more.
2. Dingiso
Dingiso is a typical Papuan animal protected by the Lorentz Papua National Park. This national park is at an altitude of 3,200-4,400 meters above sea level. Dingiso is said to be a sacred endemic animal and the ancestor of the Moni tribe, Papua. Dingiso likes trees as a place to rest and play.
The Papuan animal dingiso, first discovered by Dr Tim Flannery in 1994, is now a rare animal. This fairly large animal is often compared to the tree kangaroo in the way it walks. He is also quite large and almost 1 meter tall with an average weight of 14.5 kg.
3. Spotted Carpet Shark
This Papuan animal, which has skin like a brown carpet pattern with black spots, is a safe, non-aggressive shark. The growing body of the spotted carpet shark only reaches an average of 46 cm. If you dive in the waters below Raja Ampat Island, you can find this Papuan animal attached to the beautiful white coral reefs. Talking about species, the spotted carpet shark has many species, some of which have been declared rare. Papuan sharks are able to survive in sea waters that are low in oxygen and are active at night.
4. Waigeo Couscous
This comfortable habitat is threatened by humans and the presence of the much-hunted Papuan Waigeo cuscus has put this small animal on Waigeo Island on the red list. The Waigeo Couscous or Waigeo Spotted Couscous is an endemic mammalian marsupial species from the Phalangeridae family. Both males and females are whitish with black spots. Then, the tail is long. The cuscus's pupils have vertical slits and have beautiful eyeballs.
5. Single Wattle Cassowary
The Single Gelambir Cassowary is also called the Golden-necked Cassowary (Casuarius Unappendiculatus) which is endemic to North Papua. This bird is very beautiful with its colorful feathers. The body is predominantly black, but from the head to the neck you will be surprised by the mixed colors of orange, blue, yellow or turquoise. This single-glazed cassowary belongs to the superorder Paleognathae. Where he prefers to live alone. Meanwhile, they will pair up when the mating season arrives
6. Bondol Arfak
It is predicted that Papuan animal birds in the form of songbirds will become extinct or vulnerable (VU) due to humans. In fact, several international animal monitoring agencies such as the IUCN state that there are no more than 10,000 Papuan vultures in the wild.
Bondol has its native habitat on Mount Arfak, West Papua. Then, it spread to the Vogelkop Peninsula which is still an area of Papua. The color of the bondol bird is dominated by white. Meanwhile, the head, nape, beak and throat tend to be gray. The eyeballs, on average, are also gray and there are other combinations of colors on the body which are characteristic of Bondol Arfak Papua.
7. Cendrawasih (Bird of Paradise)
The beautiful bird which is the incarnation of Papuan paradise, Cendrawasih, which means the bird of paradise, can often be found in nature reserves on tours. Cendrawasih is included in the animal group Paradisaeidae and the Ordo Passeriformes. In the wild, these birds of paradise live in the mountainous forests of Papua Island, the Torres Strait, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. Officially, Law Number 5 of 1990 and PP Number 7 of 1999 protect this bird of paradise.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1886388/7-typical-papuan-animals-that-are-almost-extinc