Scientists make stunning discovery after setting up trail cameras on island known for all-night parties: 'Critical habitats'

Known for its pristine beaches and monthly full-moon parties, Ko Pha Ngan is 1 of the crown jewels of Thailand's important tourism industry. Hidden conscionable retired of the show of the festivities are respective important but elusive taxon that a caller survey uncovered. Seeking to update "antiquated" records, researchers acceptable up way cameras to survey the island's wildlife. The results were astonishing.

As the Island Packet reports, 28 mammals were documented implicit the people of the two-year study, and 19 of those were caller records. Some creatures are overmuch much outgoing than others; the long-tailed macaque is well-known for its cheeky property and sticky fingers.

The cameras besides picked up much introverted primates similar the endangered Sunda dilatory loris. The dilatory loris is simply a nocturnal primate that survives successful the chaotic by moving softly astatine night. In Indonesia, they're called malu-malu ("shy").

Primates similar macaques and dilatory lorises play an important relation successful the ecosystem arsenic effect dispersers. Their dietary habits forestall wood overgrowth, and their seed-loaded feces enactment arsenic earthy fertilizers.

The way cameras besides recovered signs of the Sambar deer, which the Australian Deer Association describes arsenic "extremely wary and shy." Their excessive caution is the cardinal to their survival, and they are 1 of the astir hard crippled animals to hunt.

One of the astir breathtaking discoveries was the Sunda pangolin. This scaly critter protects the ecosystem by feasting connected termites and mitigating the harm they do. The Nature Conservancy describes them arsenic "guardians of the forest." Unfortunately, they are 1 of the world's astir trafficked mammals and are critically endangered arsenic a effect (per the World Wildlife Fund).

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The survey shed caller airy connected Ko Pha Ngan's wildlife and underscores the value of knowing and managing the environment. Biodiversity is the cornerstone of a steadfast ecosystem. As the study's authors concluded, the results underline the value of "...preserving nationalist parkland wood areas and limiting further (human) encroachment into these captious habitats."

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