Templer Park () is a

forest reserve Forest reserve(s) may refer to: * Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importan ...

in Rawang,

Gombak District The Gombak District is an administrative Districts of Malaysia, district located in the eastern-central part of the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The district was created on February 1, 1974, the same day when Kuala Lumpur was declared a Federal T ...

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. The 1,214-hectare forest reserve was named after Sir Gerald Templer, a

British High Commissioner in Malaya In 1896, the post of High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States was created; the High Commissioner represented the British Government in the Federated Malay States, a federation of four British protected states in Malaya. The High Commissi ...

. "On 8 September 1954, His Highness the Sultan of Selangor, the late Sultan Hishamuddin Alam Shah declared that Templer’s Park was 'dedicated by Selangor to serve as a refuge and a sanctuary for wildlife and a meeting-place for all who love and respect the beauty of nature'. The following year the government gazetted the area as “a Botanical Garden and Public Park” under the land enactment (Notification 104-1955)". This forest reserve consists of multi-tiered waterfalls, jungle streams and trails. Several amenities are available in this forest reserve, such as picnic grounds, fishing spots, parking lots, public toilets and stalls. Templer Park 1986

Wildlife that can be spotted in Templer's Park include the park monkey, the

hawk-cuckoo ''Hierococcyx'' or hawk-cuckoos is a genus of birds in the family Cuculidae. They are distributed in South, Southeast, and East Asia. The resemblance to hawks gives this group the generic name of hawk-cuckoos. They are known to vocalize at their ...

, the

crested serpent eagle The crested serpent eagle (''Spilornis cheela'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considera ...

, the

emerald dove The emerald dove or common emerald dove (''Chalcophaps indica''), also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding Columbidae, pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcon ...

, the

forest wagtail The forest wagtail (''Dendronanthus indicus'') is a medium-sized passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae. It has a distinctive plumage that sets it apart from other wagtails and has the habit of wagging its tail sideways unlike the usua ...

malkoha Malkohas are large birds in the cuckoo family Cuculidae. The group name is derived from the Sinhala language, Sinhala word for the red-faced malkoha; meaning flower-cuckoo. These are all tropical species. {, class="wikitable" , - ! Image ...

s, the barbet, the

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...

, the

flycatcher-shrike The flycatcher-shrikes are two species of small Asian passerine bird belonging to the genus ''Hemipus''. They are now usually placed in the Vangidae. Description They are in length.Robson, Craig (2002) ''A Field Guide to the Birds of South-east ...

, the

blue-winged leafbird The blue-winged leafbird (''Chloropsis moluccensis'') is a species of leafbird found in forest and Secondary forest, second growth throughout Southeast Asia as far east as Borneo and as far south as southern Sumatra. It previously included Jerdon ...

, the earless agamid, the

Malaysian crested lizard Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysians, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regardless o ...

, various kinds of toads and snakes and serow (goat-antelopes). Studies by Malaysian Nature Society have confirmed that there is still a population of serow living in the vicinity. The cave, Gua Anak Takun, is home to a rare species of trapdoor spider, ''

Liphistius batuensis ''Liphistius batuensis'' is a species of trapdoor spider from Malaysia. It is thought to be restricted to the Batu Caves and a cave in Templer Park, near Kuala Lumpur. It was first collected by H. C. Abraham in 1923, and has been described as a l ...

''. Templar Park is the type locality where the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

of the Malaysian spine-jawed snake ''

Xenophidion schaeferi ''Xenophidion schaeferi'', also known commonly as the Malayan spinejaw snake or Schäfer's spiny-jawed snake, is a species of snake in the monotypic family Xenophidiidae. The species is endemic to Malaysia. Etymology The specific name, ''schae ...

'' was collected in 1988. To date this is the only known specimen of this rare snake, which belongs in the obscure and primitive snake family

Xenophidiidae ''Xenophidion'' is a genus of snakes first described in 1995, and the only genus of the monotypic family Xenophidiidae.. Commonly referred to as spinejaw snakes, this genus is found in Borneo and peninsular Malaysia. Morphology and classificat ...

. The family contains only one other species, '' X. acanthognathus'', also only known from its holotype, which was collected in

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

, northeast

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. These snakes are harmless, nonvenomous, and thought to feed on

earthworm An earthworm is a soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. The term is the common name for the largest members of the class (or subclass, depending on the author) Oligochaeta. In classical systems, they we ...

s or insect larvae.

Threats from development

Templer's Park faces threat from housing and road development. Land adjacent to the park on former parkland has been sold to private interests. Developments such as T-Parkland@Templer's Park by the company MCT involved the construction of high-end residences, a 17-story tower block and golf courses. In addition, currently some 50 hectares have been cleared for a road and more residences. This activity had the consent of the local planning authorities, where the site sign carried the license number 'US HS 3 2012 BALAK'.

Accessibility

Templer's Park can be accessed from the Rawang exit of the North–South Expressway. The park can also be reached by taking the No 66 bus from

Puduraya The Pudu Sentral ''(formerly Puduraya Terminal ())'' is the main local service bus station, bus terminus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was opened on 2 October 1976. Long-distance buses no longer arrive and leave from Pudu Sentral with these in ...

in Kuala Lumpur.

Incidents

In 2008, a Danish man went missing for 12 hours in Templer's Park before finding his way out of the jungle. He went missing at an altitude of 500 feet above sea level.

References

External links

Templer's Park Malaysia.
{{Authority control Protected areas established in 1954 1954 establishments in Malaya Gombak District Nature sites of Selangor