Sulawesi or Celebes is an island in Indonesia territory which lies between the island of Borneo and the Maluku Islands. With an area of 174,600 km ², the island of Sulawesi is the 11th largest worldwide. Sulawesi is the fourth largest island in Indonesia after Papua, Kalimantan and Sumatra with a land area of 174,600 kilometers. The unique shape resembling roses spider or K, stretching from north to south and three peninsula stretching to the northeast, east and southeast.
The island is bounded by the Makassar Strait to the west and separated from Borneo and the Maluku Islands are separated also from the Molucca Sea. Sulawesi is bordered on the west by Borneo, the Philippines in the north of Flores in the south, and Maluku in the east. according to the story, people from northern Sulawesi is the most powerful people in the universe who has extraordinary magical abilities.
Government in Sulawesi is divided into six provinces based on the order of its formation there are province of South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Gorontalo, and West Sulawesi. and Central Sulawesi is the largest province with a land area of 68.033 kilometers, reached 189.480 kilometers of sea area covering the eastern peninsula and most of the northern peninsula and the Gulf Islands Togean Tomini and islands of the Banggai Islands in the Gulf of Tolo. Were Most of the land in this province is mountainous (42.80% above the altitude of 500 meters above sea level) and Katopasa is the highest mountain with an altitude of 2835 meters above sea level.
Sulawesi has a remarkable diversity of terrestrial flora and fauna and rich coastal marine life. Since the unique island sits on Wallace's Line it harbors species of both Asian and Australasian ancestors, though the majority are Australasian in origin.
On land, the percentage of endemic species is particularly noteworthy. Of 127 known mammals, 72 are endemic, making for one of the highest rates of endemic mammals in the world (62 percent). When bats are excluded—since they have better potential for migration—the percentage leaps to an astounding 98 percent. In addition, 34 percent of Sulawesi’s nearly 1500 birds are endemic.
Other fauna are unfortunately little studied. Twenty-five species of amphibian are known, forty lizards, and at least 52 terrestrial snakes. In addition, there are 38 species of large swallow-tailed butterfly, which so entranced Alfred Russell Wallace on his visit to the island. Researchers have also found 67 endemic species of fish in Sulawesi's dwindling mangrove forests.
Some standouts include:
* Two wild cattle species, the Lowland anoa and the Mountain anoa. Both are listed as Endangered by the IUCN, little is known about these animals but they are heavily hunted for food and their horns.
* The babirusa, also known as 'pig-deer, comprises three species of pig. Each male babirusa sports a set of four tusks, two of which stick through their snout. All three species are threatened with extinction.
* The mysterious and little-studied Sulawesi palm civet which is classified as Vulnerable. This predator lives and hunts in a wide-variety of habitats.
* The Crested black macaque is called the most threatened primate on Sulawesi. It is killed for bushmeat and caught for the pet trade. In addition, deforestation and mining have taken a large toll on its habitat. They used to occur in groups of over 100, but no longer. The species is considered Critically Endangered.
* The maleo is an Endangered chicken-sized bird. They nest in traditional sites, over a third of which have been abandoned recently due to human impact. They lay one massive egg in meter-deep pits, which humans sometimes poach for food.
Newly discovered species include the Togian White-eye, a small olive black and white passerine, which is likely endangered; the Togian hawk-owl in 2004; a rediscovered species of pygmy tarsier in 2000; and fifteen new species of beetles in 2005.
The island's biodiversity is ripe for more discovery and study.