REMEMBER the world was awe-struck and fascinated after reports of a herd of wild elephants ‘moved out’ of home and wandered for more than a year across built-up China, went viral?
But when least expected it, Chinese elephant specialist, Dr Becky Shu Chen was in Sabah to speak about it on May 27 in a session dubbed “Promoting connectivity through non-linear infrastructures” at the 2nd Asia Parks Congress held in the Sabah International Convention Centre May 24-29. What happened?
The 15-strong herd literally abandoned its wild habitat in its Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve (241,000ha) southwest China in March 2020 and started tromping northwards across villages, crashing into houses, munching crops and, entered cities in Yunan eventually reaching the outskirts of Kunming, a 8.5-million strong Yunan provincial capital city, before turning around to head home.
The whole epic journey lasted 17 months
Virtual fun ride promotes national parks ttrweekly.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ttrweekly.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sabah Parks and Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn Bhd teamed up to organise the Asia Parks Virtual Fun Cycle 2022 from May 28 until June 28 this year in conjunction with the Asia Parks Congress 2022
The Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area (Simca) will now be known as an IUCN Green List Site – the first of its kind in Malaysia, said Reef Guardian, in a statement.
Through the Green List, Simca is now recognised globally as a well-managed Protected Area.
“This historic recognition was announced at the 2nd Asia Parks Congress currently held at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC),” said Reef Guardian, a non-profit company appointed by the State Government to manage Simca.
Simca is the first privately managed marine protected area in Malaysia.
Located within the Sulu Sea region, Simca encompasses 46,317 hectares and includes three islands – Lankayan, Billean and Tegaipil.
Simca is home to at least 500 species of fish, 300 species of corals, two species of sea turtles, six species of giant clams and 26 species of seagrass and algae