Marine Flora and Fauna in Tioman

Pulau Tioman, a giant apostrophe shaped island situated in the South China Sea, is the largest island off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The island, which is located in the Malaysian state of Pahang, once served as an important stopover point for sailors, fishermen and traders who habitually refueled and restocked their supplies on the island before continuing their onward journeys.

Today, the island is home to several village communities and is a popular destination with divers, snorkelers, sun worshippers and island hoppers. Pulau Tioman, hence accordingly hosts a wide range of accommodation options on its many beautiful beaches. However, in order to protect and preserve its rather fragile marine ecosystems, Pulau Tioman and its eight surrounding islands have been classified as a wildlife reserve. The island and its environs received this classification in 1972, as the Malaysian government wanted to ensure that the island’s native marine flora and fauna would not be disturbed or destroyed by tourism, fishing and other human activities.

Pulau Tioman is believed to have been once a part of Peninsular Malaysia, though it was thought to have broken away from the mainland more than 10,000 years ago. Pulau Tioman, is today overrun by ancient rain forests, which are estimated to date back to the ice age. The topography of the island consists of both hilly and flat areas and visitors to the island actually enjoy walking along the island’s various trails to explore the diversity of its terrain. Apart from the rain forests, the landscape of Pulau Tioman also features volcanic, plutonic and metamorphic rock formations along with sandy beaches, lush river systems and a few mangrove ecosystems, which are largely concentrated on the western half of the island.

Pulau Tioman’s incredibly diverse terrain thus hosts a rather large repository of endemic marine flora and fauna. It is believed that the island is home to 45 species of mammals including several protected species like the long-tailed macaque, the giant black squirrel, the mouse deer, the giant red flying squirrel, the palm civet amongst others. Aside from mammals, the island also hosts 138 species of birds like two different types of swiftlets, the hill myna and more. Additionally, the island also hosts a sizeable population of reptiles and twenty-five species of snakes have been recorded on the island. The  King Cobra, the common black cobra and the reticulated python along with relatively harmless species like the common green grass snake and the reed snake have all been spotted on the island.

 Pulau Tioman’s marine animal and plant life also includes several species of fish like catfish, crabs, coral reef fish as well as turtles, sharks and giant clams. These marine creatures reside in the live coral reefs that envelop the island and constitute huge draw for scuba divers and snorkelers.