Animals in Malaysia
Malayan Tiger
Panthera tigris jacksoni (now often included in P. t. tigris)
The Malayan tiger is Malaysia's national animal. Two tigers hold up the shield on the coat of arms, the national football team is called Harimau Malaya, and people still call the tiger Pak Belang, Uncle Stripes. It lives only in the rainforests of the peninsula, in places such as Taman Negara and Belum Temengor, but fewer than 150 remain, mostly because of snares, and saving it has become a national cause.
View details→Wildlife in Malaysia
Malaysia is split in two by the South China Sea, with the Malay Peninsula on one side and the northern part of Borneo on the other, about 330,000 square kilometers in all. Most of its roughly 34 million people live on the peninsula, especially along the west coast, while Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo hold far fewer people and much more wild country. Lowland rainforest, mangroves, limestone caves, coral islands and the 4,095 meter peak of Mount Kinabalu all fit within the same hot, wet climate. Rain falls all year, and the northeast monsoon from about November to March hits the east coast hardest, which shapes when reefs and island beaches are at their best for turtles and divers alike.
Rubber and later oil palm reshaped the lowlands, pushing forest animals into smaller areas and bringing them into contact with farms and plantations. Protection also has a long history here. Taman Negara, set aside in the late 1930s, is the oldest national park and covers about 4,343 square kilometers, and Kinabalu and Mulu became World Heritage sites in 2000 for their plant and animal life. A current effort worth following is the national work to remove snares and bring the tiger back from the edge.
Visitors tend to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah or Sarawak for wildlife, or head to Taman Negara or to the islands for snorkeling. River boats on the Kinabatangan at dusk and forest walkways at Sepilok are among the most popular wildlife trips in the country. Wildlife follows these contrasts: big cats, elephants and wild cattle in the deep forest, great apes and monkeys in Borneo, crocodiles in the rivers, and turtles and sharks on the reefs.
Most Dangerous Animals in Malaysia
The animals that hurt the most people in Malaysia are crocodiles, elephants and snakes, and rural communities carry nearly all of the risk. Crocodiles are the deadliest in Borneo. Sarawak reported 164 attacks from 2000 to 2020, about half of them fatal, and Reuters counted 22 deaths there from 2023 to 2025, as people fishing, bathing or working along rivers meet a growing crocodile population. Sabah has fewer, with a university study counting about half as many attacks as Sarawak over a similar period, mostly around Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Tawau and Sandakan.
Elephants cause more financial damage than injuries. The Wildlife Department recorded 4,919 conflict cases on the peninsula from 2020 to 2024, mainly in Johor, Kelantan, Perak and Pahang, with losses of about RM39.4 million. Deaths are rare but do happen, as when an elephant killed a logging worker in Gua Musang in October 2025.
Snakes are everywhere, with about 140,000 snake capture calls to the civil defense force in 2025, and from 2017 to 2021 Sarawak alone logged 1,151 bites. Most bites come from harmless species, though cobras, kraits and pit vipers can cause serious harm. Big cats are now too scarce to be a common danger, and wild boars cause most of their trouble on farms. At sea, sharks and sea snakes share the reefs with divers and fishermen, but fatal encounters are not what they are known for here.
Top 10 Animals in Malaysia
The most famous animals in Malaysia are spread across two very different places, and Borneo is where visitors see the most. Orangutans are the great draw. Sepilok, near Sandakan in Sabah, opened in 1964 as the first center in the world dedicated to returning orphaned orangutans to the forest, and animals living free in the reserve come in to feeding platforms. A few hours away, boats on the Kinabatangan River go out at dawn and dusk looking for monkeys, which are seen on almost every trip, while wild orangutans and elephants take more patience and luck. Bears can be watched at a conservation center right beside Sepilok.
On the peninsula the big animals are much harder to find. Taman Negara and the Belum Temengor forest still hold big cats, elephants, wild cattle, dholes and large deer, but thick forest hides them well, and most sightings come from salt licks, night walks or camera traps. Tourists are far more likely to meet the leaf monkeys and macaques that move through forest edges and even some town parks.
Big snakes turn up in surprising places, since pythons live in drains and gardens as well as in the forest, and they are often in the local news when firefighters are called to catch them. Pangolins are the opposite case, as they come out only at night and are rarely recorded even on camera.
Leopard
Panthera pardus
In Malaysia, leopards live only in Peninsular Malaysia and belong to the Indochinese subspecies, listed as Critically Endangered. Almost all of them are black: camera trap studies south of the Isthmus of Kra found nearly only black leopards, and spotted ones there are a rare find. They live in Taman Negara and the forests of the main range. Borneo has no leopards, only the clouded leopard. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Asian Elephant
Elephas maximus
Malaysia has two separate elephant populations. In Peninsular Malaysia, mainland Asian elephants live in interior forests such as Taman Negara, Endau Rompin and Belum. In Sabah, on Borneo, lives most of the Bornean or pygmy elephant, about 1,000 animals, listed as Endangered in 2024; the lower Kinabatangan River is one of the best places to watch them from a boat. Oil palm expansion is the main threat. IUCN status: Endangered.
Siamang
Symphalangus syndactylus
In Malaysia, siamangs live only on the peninsula, mostly in the hill and mountain forests of the central range, where a study at Krau found them most common between about 700 and 1,000 meters. They are absent from Malaysian Borneo. Pairs sing loud duets most mornings that carry for kilometers through the hills. Lowland forest has largely become plantations, and roads split what remains. IUCN status: Endangered.
Macaque
Macaca spp.
Malaysia has long tailed macaques, southern pig tailed macaques and, in the north of the peninsula, a few stump tailed macaques. Long tailed macaques thrive along rivers, coasts and towns in both Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo, and often clash with residents. Pig tailed macaques are forest monkeys hit hard by oil palm expansion, and some are still trained to pick coconuts. Both long tailed and southern pig tailed macaques are Endangered. IUCN status: varies by species.
Orangutan
Pongo pygmaeus, Pongo abelii and Pongo tapanuliensis
In Malaysia, Bornean orangutans live in Sabah and Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. Sabah holds the larger population, in forests such as Danum Valley and along the Kinabatangan River, while Sarawak protects the rare northwest subspecies in Batang Ai and Lanjak Entimau. Sepilok and Semenggoh care for rescued orphans. Plantations and forest loss remain the main threats. IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
Pangolin
Manidae (8 species)
The Sunda pangolin lives in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, in rainforest, secondary forest and plantations, and sometimes turns up on the edges of towns. Malaysia has been both a source and a transit country for the trade, and large shipments of African scales have been seized in its ports. The species is Critically Endangered and totally protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, with heavy penalties for poaching. IUCN status: varies by species.
Sun Bear
Helarctos malayanus
Malaysia has sun bears in Peninsular Malaysia and in Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo, where they belong to a smaller subspecies. In Sabah, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, founded in 2008 by biologist Wong Siew Te next to the Sepilok orangutan center, cares for about 40 rescued bears. Radio collar studies in Ulu Segama showed that wild bears there are active mostly by day. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Proboscis Monkey
Nasalis larvatus
In Malaysia, proboscis monkeys live only in Sabah and Sarawak, on Borneo. The Kinabatangan River and the Klias Peninsula in Sabah and Bako National Park in Sarawak are the classic places to see them from a boat at dusk. A survey of Sabah's coastal rivers counted at least 5,900, but only about 15 percent lived inside protected reserves. Research on the Kinabatangan showed they rechew their food like cows. IUCN status: Endangered.
Wild Boar
Sus scrofa
In Malaysia, wild boars live in the forests, plantations and farmland of Peninsular Malaysia, where they are a serious pest in oil palm plantations and are hunted by leopards, dholes and pythons. On Borneo, in Sabah and Sarawak, the local wild pig is a different species, the bearded pig. Pork is not eaten by the Muslim majority, so hunting is done mainly by other communities. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Fruit Bat
Pteropodidae
Malaysia has many fruit bats, from the large flying fox, now listed as Endangered, to tiny long tongued nectar bats. The large flying fox flies far each night to coastal forests and orchards, and its legal hunting in Peninsular Malaysia has been criticized by researchers as more than the population can take. The cave nectar bat pollinates durian, one of the country's most valuable fruits. IUCN status: varies by species.
Tapir
Tapirus spp.
Malaysia is one of the most important countries for the Malayan tapir, which lives only in Peninsular Malaysia and not on Borneo. Tapirs use lowland and hill forests and are strong swimmers that often cross rivers. Forest loss to oil palm and other plantations and road collisions are their biggest threats. Taman Negara National Park and the Endau Rompin forests are key refuges. IUCN status: Endangered.
Clouded Leopard
Neofelis nebulosa
In Malaysia, the clouded leopard lives only in the rainforests of the peninsula, including Taman Negara and the Belum Temengor forest in the north. It shares these forests with leopards, and camera traps record it on forest trails both at night and by day. Rapid forest loss to oil palm and rubber plantations and poaching with snares are the main threats to its survival there. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Southern Red Muntjac
Muntiacus muntjak
In Malaysia, the southern red muntjac lives in the forests of the peninsula and in Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo, from Taman Negara to the edges of plantations. Its Malay name, kijang, is so familiar that the deer appears on the emblem of Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank. Leopards, clouded leopards and reticulated pythons hunt it, but snaring for meat is the bigger threat. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Dusky Langur
Trachypithecus obscurus
The dusky leaf monkey lives across Peninsular Malaysia, but not on Borneo, from Taman Negara to coastal forests and islands such as Penang and Langkawi, where troops are easy to see near hotels and parks. In Penang, roads kill many, and since 2019 the Langur Project Penang has built rope bridges so troops can cross safely over them. Babies are born bright orange. IUCN status: Endangered.
Dhole
Cuon alpinus
In Malaysia, dholes live in the rainforests of the peninsula, in protected areas such as Taman Negara and the Belum-Temengor forest complex. They are rarely encountered, and much of what is known about them comes from camera trap records of packs hunting barking deer and wild pigs. Deforestation for oil palm plantations and other land uses has shrunk their habitat. Protecting forest corridors is key to their survival. IUCN status: Endangered.
Gaur
Bos gaurus
In Malaysia the gaur is called the seladang and lives only on the peninsula, in large forests of Pahang, Perak and Terengganu, including Taman Negara and Royal Belum. Numbers are low and falling, mostly because of poaching and the loss of forest to logging and plantations. The wildlife department breeds seladang at the Jenderak center in Pahang, which has produced more than 200 calves, and at Sungkai in Perak. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Sambar Deer
Rusa unicolor
Sambar deer are present across peninsular Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo. They live in tropical rainforests and are frequently spotted near forest edges and rivers. In Taman Negara, one of the oldest rainforests in the world, sambar are part of a complex web of predator and prey relationships. Deforestation for agriculture and logging remains the primary threat to their habitat across Malaysia. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Malayan Tiger
Panthera tigris jacksoni (now often included in P. t. tigris)
The Malayan tiger is Malaysia's national animal and appears on its coat of arms. It lives only in the rainforests of Peninsular Malaysia, mainly in Belum Temengor, Taman Negara and Endau Rompin, where it hunts sambar deer and wild boar. The national survey of 2016 to 2020 found fewer than 150 left, mostly because of snares set by poachers and forest loss. IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
Monitor Lizard
Varanus salvator
Malaysia has some of the largest and best studied populations of the Asian water monitor, across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, in rivers, mangroves, oil palm plantations and city parks. Known as biawak, it is a familiar sight even in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a major source of monitor skins: 50,000 to 120,000 are taken from the wild each year in the peninsula alone, under CITES quotas. IUCN status: Least Concern.
King Cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
Malaysia is a key country for the king cobra, which here belongs to the Sunda king cobra described in 2024. It lives on the Malay Peninsula and in Sabah and Sarawak, in rainforest, mangroves, plantations and even suburban gardens. The longest king cobra on record, 5.71 meters, was caught near Port Dickson in 1937. Logging and oil palm have reduced its forests. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas
Malaysia is a stronghold for green turtles. In Sabah, the Turtle Islands Park near Sandakan protects one of the most important rookeries in Southeast Asia, and in Peninsular Malaysia green turtles nest on islands such as Redang, where the Chagar Hutang beach has been protected for decades. Green turtles also graze on seagrass and reefs around Sipadan and Mabul, where divers see them daily. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Sea Snake
Laticauda colubrina
The banded sea krait is found in Malaysian waters from the islands off the peninsula to the reefs of Sabah, in the Coral Triangle, where divers at sites such as Sipadan often see it hunting. It searches reef crevices for eels and rests on small islands between hunts. Its venom is highly toxic, yet bites on divers and fishers are rare. Accidental capture in nets is the main threat. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Reticulated Python
Malayopython reticulatus
Malaysia's rainforests, on the peninsula and in Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo, support healthy populations of the reticulated python. It lives near rivers, in peat swamp forest and along the edges of oil palm plantations, where rats are abundant, and it often turns up in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a major exporter of python skins, harvested under quotas set as part of its CITES obligations. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Saltwater Crocodile
Crocodylus porosus
In Malaysia the saltwater crocodile is strongest in Sarawak and Sabah, on Borneo, with smaller numbers on the peninsula. The Batang Lupar river in Sarawak and the Kinabatangan in Sabah are well known strongholds, and numbers in Sarawak have grown enough that its population was moved to CITES Appendix II in 2016. Management mixes protection, monitoring, warnings and the removal of risky individuals. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Steppe Eagle
Aquila nipalensis
The steppe eagle is a rare visitor to Malaysia, recorded mainly in the north of the peninsula during the northern winter, often among other migrating raptors. Malaysia lies at the very southeastern edge of the species' wintering range in Asia, so each sighting is considered notable by local birdwatchers. Records from Malaysia help researchers understand the full extent of this eagle's migration. IUCN status: Endangered.
Barn Owl
Tyto alba
The barn owl is found across Malaysia in open farmland, oil palm and rubber plantations, and areas near villages and towns on both the Peninsula and the states of Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo. It nests in old buildings, hollow trees, and cliff faces, and hunts rodents at night. In Malaysia's large oil palm plantations, where rat damage to crops is a major economic problem, barn owls have been actively introduced and encouraged through nest box programs as a biological control agent. This has made Malaysia one of the countries where the relationship between barn owls and agriculture is most deliberately managed.
White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
The white wagtail reaches Malaysia as a winter visitor, appearing mainly in the northern states of the peninsula and occasionally further south. It favors open habitats such as ricefields, riverbanks and the edges of towns. Arriving from breeding grounds across Asia, it feeds actively on insects near water before returning north in spring. Its IUCN status is Least Concern.
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
In Malaysia, the peregrine falcon is a non breeding visitor recorded along both the Peninsular and Bornean coasts during the northern winter. It favours open habitats including estuaries, rice paddies, and the edges of forests, where it hunts swiftlets, swallows, and other small birds. The migratory subspecies Falco peregrinus ernesti is among those documented in the region. Sightings are most frequent between October and March. Its IUCN status is Least Concern.
Dugong
Dugong dugon
Malaysia has dugongs on both sides of the South China Sea. Off the east coast of Johor, around the islands of Sibu and Tinggi, a small population feeds in seagrass meadows that conservation groups are trying to protect, and in Sabah they live in the Tun Mustapha Marine Park and around Brunei Bay. Fishermen and dive boats report them every year. Their seagrass is threatened by land reclamation and coastal building. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
In Malaysia the great barracuda lives on the reefs of Sabah, Sarawak and the Peninsula. Off the east coast of the Peninsula it is common around Tioman, Redang and the Perhentian Islands, and in Sabah around Sipadan and Mabul, in the Celebes Sea. At Sipadan the famous barracuda tornado is formed by smaller schooling species, while the great barracuda usually hunts alone at the reef edge. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Hammerhead Shark
Sphyrnidae (Sphyrna mokarran, S. lewini and others)
In Malaysia scalloped hammerheads gather at Layang Layang, a remote atoll in the South China Sea off Sabah, where from about March to May divers meet schools on the steep walls of the reef, sometimes in the hundreds. The atoll is reached only by boat or a small airstrip, and it is one of the few places in Southeast Asia where hammerhead schools are still seen regularly. IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
Clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
In Malaysia the ocellaris clownfish lives on reefs on both sides of the South China Sea. Off the east coast of the Peninsula it is common around Tioman, Redang and the Perhentian Islands, where snorkelers find it in shallow anemones close to the beach, and in Sabah it lives on the reefs of Sipadan, Mabul and Tunku Abdul Rahman Park near Kota Kinabalu. Malaysia's marine parks protect many of the reefs where it lives. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Reef Shark
Several species (Carcharhinus melanopterus, C. perezi, C. amblyrhynchos, Triaenodon obesus)
In Malaysia reef sharks are a highlight of diving at Sipadan, off Sabah, where whitetip reef sharks rest on the sand and gray reef sharks patrol the steep walls of the island. Blacktip reef sharks are common in the shallows of the Peninsula's east coast islands, such as Tioman, Redang and the Perhentian Islands, where snorkelers often see young ones close to the beach. Divers there often see several on a single reef. IUCN status: Vulnerable to Endangered, depending on species.
Bull Shark
Carcharhinus leucas
In Malaysia the bull shark lives along the coasts of the Peninsula and of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo, and it enters the large rivers of Borneo, where it can swim far from the sea. Young sharks grow up in mangrove estuaries. Bull sharks are caught by coastal fishers, and Malaysia is one of the world's major importers of shark fins. Adults hunt in shallow, murky water near river mouths, where people often fish. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What animals live in Malaysia?
Malaysia has Malayan tigers, leopards, Asian elephants, tapirs, sun bears, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, macaques, pangolins and fruit bats on land. Its reptiles include king cobras, reticulated pythons, monitor lizards and saltwater crocodiles, and its seas hold sea turtles, dugongs, clownfish and several kinds of shark.
How many Malayan tigers are left?
The most recent national survey, carried out from 2016 to 2020, put the wild population at fewer than 150. That is far below the 250 to 340 still quoted in some reports, and down from an estimated 3,000 in the 1950s. The Malayan tiger is listed as Critically Endangered, and snares are its greatest threat.
Where can you see orangutans in Malaysia?
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan is the easiest place, with the Sabah Wildlife Department running it inside a forest reserve. Wild orangutans also live along the Kinabatangan River and in other parts of Sabah and Sarawak. They live only in Borneo within Malaysia, not on the peninsula.
What are the endangered animals in Malaysia?
Among the best known are the Malayan tiger, Asian elephant, orangutan, tapir and pangolin, along with sea turtles. Tapirs number fewer than 1,500 on the peninsula and are often killed on roads, while leatherback turtles, which once came ashore by the thousands in Terengganu, now arrive only in very small numbers.
Are there crocodiles in Malaysia?
Yes. Saltwater crocodiles live in rivers and coastal waters, and they are most common in Sarawak and Sabah. The Sarawak Forestry Corporation says the population there has grown strongly, and encounters are rising, although officials say attacks are still lower than they were 20 years ago.
Researched and written by Juan Pablo. Sources: IUCN Red List, scientific literature and regional field guides. Last updated: .