This Malaysian bird sanctuary is full of plants that aren't supposed to be there

A trail camera captured this image of a juvenile white-handed gibbon running across a path in the Panti Forest Reserve during a Malaysian Nature Society scientific expedition into the Panti Bird Sanctuary. — VINCENT CHOW

Scientists have long known that the Panti Forest Reserve in Johor is rich in biodiversity but a recent expedition is also throwing up an interesting question.

A team studying flora during a 21-month expedition made an unusual find: a high diversity of montane (or mountain) species even though the sanctuary is only at an elevation of 484m – montane species are usually found at much higher elevations.