Plants and animals in Thailand are both unique and
diverse. Thailand’s geography, which stretches from the coasts of the
Malaysian Peninsula to the mountains of mainland Asia, features a variety of
climates and thus a diversity of plant and animal species.
Despite a majority of Thailand having been converted to
agriculture over the centuries, natural forest still covers roughly 25% of
Thailand’s area. Thailand’s woodlands mostly consist of monsoon forest and
rainforest, which are differentiated by the amount of rainfall each receives.
Furthermore, monsoon forests typically consist of deciduous or hardwood
trees, which shed their leaves during the dry season in order to conserve
water. Thailand’s most useful hardwood is the teak.
The rainforest zones are mostly covered with evergreen
trees, although much of Thailand has considerable overlap and it is not
uncommon to find bamboo, coconut palms, and banana trees throughout the
country. Across the in the coastal lowlands, in addition to more
predominately rainforest cover, mangroves and rattan abound.
In addition to the aforementioned Teak, Thailand is famous
for its variety of fruit and flower-bearing trees and plants, the most iconic
of which is the orchid, Thailand’s national flower, which appears in over 27,000
different varieties.
While encroachment on their habitat has reduced the
populations of many exotic animals in Thailand, there are still a great variety
of indigenous species. The most iconic of these is the Elephant, of which
roughly 1,000 remain in the wild, mostly within the National Parks in
Thailand. Among the larger mammals are the tiger, leopard, Malaysian sun
bear, sambar deer, otter, and civet cat. Climbing animals include the gibbon
and many species of monkeys. There are also sheep, goats, oxen, tapirs, wild
cattle, wild hogs, and a wide variety of snakes, including cobra. Crocodiles,
lizards, and turtles are also very numerous and fish abound in the rivers and
coastal waters.
Finally, there are over 900 breeding bird species indigenous
to or that migrate to Thailand. Bird-watching tours are particularly
popular in Sam Roi Yot National Park and Khao Sok, which is home to six species
of hornbill.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น