Getting Bald …Gunong Lanno

 

Sinar Harian / NOOR AINON MOHAMED | | 05 February 2021

[SPECIAL REPORT] GUNUNG Lanno which has a height of more than 370 meters over 330 million years old will disappear from the Perak state map due to quarrying activities in the Simpang Pulai area here. 

The largest mountain in the Kinta Valley which has more than 30 beautiful and unique limestone caves is increasingly destroyed when there are more than 20 quarry mills located in the zone.

Kinta Valley Watch activist Ching Boon Tat, 38, said the beauty of the limestone forest began to be affected when the area was turned into a quarry zone.

According to him, they are worried that Mount Lanno will receive the same fate as Mount Terendum which was previously said to be more than 430 meters high.

"Both mountains can be seen when driving a car heading to the north of the peninsula, it is definitely a North-South Highway user.

The effect can be seen on Mount Terendum which is now flattened after being blown up to get mineral products, "he said when met by Sinar Harian here recently

Boon Tat added that Mount Lanno, Mount Terendum and Mount Rapat are located in the quarry zone which is seen as very difficult to maintain and recover due to the damage.

“We can see the quarry factories looting in the limestone forest range from Chemor to Gopeng. Each area has caves that are believed to have their own historical value such as endemic species, fossils and paintings

"The limestone forest in the Kinta Valley seems to be a large-scale destruction site and not a natural wonder conservation area that preserves an invaluable heritage," he said.

Boon Tat said, the uniqueness of the limestone forest in the Kinta Valley has a stagnant structure making it a mirror lake. 

“As in Gunung Rapat which is popular among the community and is the largest lake in the limestone forest area, we have six more similar lakes in the Kinta Valley.

"However, three of them face threats as a result of nearby quarrying activities

"Lake Cermin in Gunung Panjang, Gopeng is among those threatened when there are traces of landslides within a few months," he said.

He said, there is no denying that quarrying activities are a contributor to the state's economic sector but it needs to be managed well in order to maintain environmental sustainability.

Fossils of ancient animals

 

In October 2020, a group of scientists successfully discovered ancient elephant fossils with an estimated age of between 30,000 to 80,000 years in a limestone cave in Gopeng, Perak.

The ancient elephant belongs to the genus Proboscidea from the long-extinct family of Stegodontidae.

The species is different from the modern Asian elephant (Elephas Maximus) that still exists in the country.

The research group believes that Perak has the highest diversity of Proboscidea specimens and species, with at least two or three species living in Peninsular Malaysia.