Plants and Animals

Tropical rain forests are widespread, especially on Sumatra, Borneo, and New Guinea. They consist of many kinds of trees, dense undergrowths, and thick woody vines called lianas. Forests become less dense, even scrubby, at high elevations and in areas where the dry season is most pronounced. Most of Java, Madura, and Bali were cleared long ago for cultivation. Grasslands occur in some areas. Tropical flowering plants abound throughout the islands.

Animals consist of Asiatic and Australian species. The two groups are roughly separated by an imaginary line, called Wallace's Line, which runs between Borneo and Celebes and between Bali and Lombok. Asiatic species, west of the line, include elephants, rhinoceroses, wild oxen, tigers, and orangutans. Eastern Indonesia has few large animals. Throughout Indonesia there are many monkeys, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects.