Banyak spesies satwa dan tumbuhan baru yang ditemukan dikawasan sepanjang tepian sungai Mekong dalam sepuluh tahun terakhir. Organisasi konservasi WWF ( World Wide Fund of Nature ) melaporkan bahwa hewan sejenis kaki seribu berwarna merah muda, merah terang dan sejenis kelinci yang berkulit belang-belang masuk dalam daftar lebih dari seribu spesies baru yang ditemukan disekitar kawasan Asia Tenggara. Lebih lengkapnya, simak dalam artikel bahasa Inggris dibawah ini.
The conservationist are describing the largely unexplored jungles and wetlands in the Mekong delta as a biological treasure trove. The discoveries, made in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Burma, and China range from the world largest huntsman spider, which has a leg span of thirty centimetres, to a wild banana with purple skin.
The Conservation Science Advisor to WWF, says that between 1997 and 2009, science found an average of two previously undiscovered species every week: "Probably mya favorite is Dargon Milipede. It's only three centimetres long, absolutely lurid pink, and it produces cyanide to try to deter predators. I mean this is areal creature with attitude here. And then there are a few other thinks which i think show the way science works. One, the beautifully name Laotion Rock Rat, was discovered in a local food market, so the people who live there were very aware of this creature, but science came to it very late"
The remained unknown in the outside world for solong because political caonflict in the region kept scientist away until 1990s.
WWF is warming that the main challenge facing the area is how to allow economic development while still maintaining environmental protection.
*)Di kutip dari BBC News, http://www.bbc.co.uk/
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