Posts Tagged ‘Malaysia’

Aug
13

Legend of the Orang-utan

Posted by in Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Borneo,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,orangutan

We ran this a few years ago but thought we would reprint for some of our newer blog visitors:

The Orangutan is a fascinating ape which is in serious decline on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo – the only two places on earth they can be found in the wild. “Orangutan” in the native language means “people (orang) of the forest (utan or hutan).” Their decline is mostly due to habitat loss, development and hunting pressures. It is believed that if this rate of decline and habitat fragmentation continues, we will lose the orangutan within the next 50 years. Actually, since we ran this piece a few years ago, the orangutan situation on both islands has become increasingly dire due to habitat loss pressures.

Bornean Orangutan, Sabah, Malaysia

A Malaysian tale: The Orang-utan

Long ago, human beings (or orangs in Malay) lived in the virgin jungles of Borneo. They stayed in groups, sharing their long houses, subsisting on plants and animals provided by Mother Nature. Within the different groups, this peaceful way of life was however troubled by all sorts of problems and conflicts involving treacheries, malices, gossips and other issues that are specific to humans. A peace-loving minority of orangs decided to split from the major group in order to escape the clamors of the village life and went deep into the jungle. They established a new home and lived happily for years. More and more orangs from their former community decided to join this idyllic existence, up to a point that the newly created village became overcrowded and full with problems that follow humans at all times and places (pollution, noise, habitat destruction, cruelty and meanness).

The original group decided to break up one more time and wandered far away from this place. They established themselves on the mountains where life was paradise. Of course they didn’t stay on their own for long: more and more people joined them and troubled this peaceful existence. Fed up beyond belief, the original orangs decided that enough was enough: because they wouldn’t be able to find peace below the trees, they decided to climb up to the treetop and to settle down in the forest canopy.

Bornean Orangutan, Sabah, Malaysia

They also decided to not have any kind of relations with ground-dwelling orangs any more. From this day, this group became the orang-utans, or “people of the forest” and today can only be found living among the trees.

Learn more about our partners at HUTAN’s Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project

To learn about how Palm Oil is having a devasting effect on orangutan habitat and how you can be a responsible consumer – view our Palm Oil Page

Palm Oil Plantation after secondary forest is cut down and area cleared of vegetation.

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Jul
25

Freeze Frame

Posted by in Africa,Chimpanzee,community-based conservation,Conservation,Elephant,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research

Last week we posted an image of a monkey, a long-tailed macaque, in Borneo using a camera trap of one our partners to check his teeth before going to his dentist. I am sure monkeys have dentists so just humour me. I then heard that this monkey had gone viral and immediately panicked thinking “oh great, another emergining zoonotic disease to plague humans” but later found out they just meant social media viral as this little photo was seen on ABC, London papers, across the US and NBC nightly news: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/48233798/#48233798

Macaque saying "hello to the ladies"

I think the word camera trap is confusing for some so basically it is a motion sensor camera used by researchers and hunters to gather data on wildlife. Our colleagues at Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah, Borneo use them to look at both the types of and quantity of carnivores along the Kinabatangan River. Further south at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, we support the same group looking at populations of Banteng, an endangered species of wild cow -yes – I said wild cow and endangered species in the same sentence.

Banteng cow with males in background

Normally wildife ignore these camers although the primates like to see their reflection in the small camera lens. Sometimes they pose for a photo whereas elephants may not be as happy with their profile and tear the camera off the tree, testing the patience (these are fairly expensive pieces of equipment) of researchers. Others, like this curious chimpanzee from the Faleme Chimpanzee Conservation Project in Senegal, well, I am just not sure what he was thinking:
There is so much more going on out in the world of animals then we ever realize. They go about their day to day business of eating, sleeping, eating some more, trying not to get eaten, and then sleeping again. But in between that busy schedule, these “not so hidden” cameras are catching wonderful photos of their personalities, even if the photo is not so clear like this Civet carrying her cub in her mouth courtesy of Danau Girang Field Centre.

Civet and baby - look in her mouth. No, she is not eating it, she is carrying it.

So next time you see a wacky animal photo, we may not know what they are thinking – ok maybe they are thinking “I will smash you camera and your glass eye!” like this elephant below, but they all have personalities and clearly they have appointments to keep just like the rest of us.

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Mar
02

The Origin of the Orangutan

Posted by in Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Borneo,community-based conservation,Conservation,Elephant,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research,orangutan

A timely note as we prepare for our next Pongos Helping Pongs: Art by Orangutans for Orangutan Conservation Event

As told to me by a colleague in Malaysia:

The origins of the orang-utan

Long ago, human beings (or orangs) lived in the virgin jungles of Borneo. They stayed in groups, sharing their long houses, subsisting on plants and animals provided by Mother Nature. Within the different groups, this peaceful way of life was however troubled by all sorts of troubles and conflicts involving treacheries, malices, gossips and other problems that are specific to our species.

A peace-loving minority of orangs decided to split from the major group in order to escape the clamors of the village life and went deep into the jungle. They established a new home and lived happily for years. More and more orangs from their former community decided to join this idyllic existence, up to a point that the newly created village became overcrowded and full with problems that follow humans at all times and places (pollution, noise, habitat destruction, cruelty and meanness).

The original group decided to break up from their conspecifics one more time and wandered far away from this place. They established themselves on the mountains where life was paradise. Of course they didn’t stay on their own for long: more and more people joined them and troubled this peaceful existence. Fed up beyond belief, the original oranges decided that enough was enough: because they wouldn’t be able to find peace below the trees, they decided to climb up to the treetop and to settle down in the forest canopy. They also decided to not have any kind of relations with ground-dwelling orangs any more.

From this day on, this group became the orang-utans, or “people of the forest”.

Join us March 10th at The G Gallery in The Heights in support of orangutan conservation. http://www.houstonzoo.org/php/

Learn more about the effects of Palm Oil on Orangutan habitat: http://www.houstonzoo.org/palm-oil/

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Jun
14

Borneo’s Banteng: Photo evidence

Posted by in Borneo,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research

We headed back up the trail but we were suddenly alarmed to hear an elephant making a loud trumpeting warning call from close by. Cue us running as fast as possible!! This is not something easily done when wearing rubber boots two sizes too big and running through thick mud uphill! Back at the car we surmised that it was a mother and calf as we had seen the tracks the previous day and they probably moved much slower, hence were still in the area. It wasn’t long before we were all laughing about our frantic exit and how ‘ladies first’ does not apply in this situation! (Tip: if face to face with an elephant do not run – they have poor eye sight and will not detect you easily!)

April 24: Banteng and juveniles

We had one remaining station left to check, at a distance of about 1km from the White House near an open expanse of grassland known to be a banteng hotspot. Using the bike we drove up to the top of the open grassland where Sarianus had previously seen a small herd of banteng around 5pm but sadly none were out today, and no dung or tracks were found in the immediate area. The camera traps were positioned a little further up from this area and had not incurred any disturbance but had captured a reasonable amount of event data.

April 22: Banteng bulls

We returned the White House and concluded that the remaining three camera trap stations near the artificial salt which were obstructed by elephants would have to be checked another time, the stations in the north of Malua would have to be left until the water had receded and access was possible, and the two damaged camera traps will have to be sent back to the USA for repair. We started to make the long drive out of Malua but were told a bridge had collapsed and so were forced to make another long detour out through the north of Malua.

April 26: Banteng in Malau Forest Reserve

I am presently waiting to see all the images, as first preview goes to the Sabah Wildlife Department, however I have seen one and it contains two beautiful and healthy large bulls. Results!

We will check back in with Penny throughout the summer. This project is being underwritten by the Houston Zoo, Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and Woodland Park Zoo. Have questions? contact conservation@houstonzoo.org

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Jun
13

Borneo’s Banteng: Elephants are in the way…

Posted by in Animal Origins & Fun Facts,Borneo,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured,Field Research

Walking further along the trail we were dismayed to see very fresh elephant tracks heading in the same direction. Our worst fears were confirmed when we heard elephants nearby. Thus we made a hasty retreat back to the car and decided to leave these for the next day. Heavy rains that afternoon caused us to retreat back to the White House and accept enough for one day.

The next morning we prepared for a full day in the field; as the roads had subsided and bridges collapsed we took both the car and two off road motorbikes for ease of access. We switched to motorbikes when we could drive no further, and headed for a ridge near the natural salt lick. Along the road we spotted banteng dung (approximately 2-3 days old) so a sample was collected. A good start to the day!

When dung is the sign of a good day, you realize how difficult tropical field work really is...

An open grassy area at the trail junction contained signs of substantial banteng activity; large tracks and lots of dung ranging in age, from approximately 3-5 days to 3-4 weeks, suggesting this area is visited regularly by banteng. A sample was collected, after which we continued on to check another two very muddy stations however my jungle shoes decided otherwise and I ended up with my toes exposed to the ground and forced to walk nimbly along the trails.

These are not Penny's feet but our partner in Orangutan research's disintegrating footwear, and a good example of what Borneo fieldwork does to your shoes. Luckily, we had a few extra camera straps with us to keep them together as we hiked back to the field station.

After checking the camera traps along this trail we stopped for lunch (rice and various tinned delights) back at the car, and the guys had a good laugh at me when the ants dined out on my backside! With full stomachs we headed over to the site that contained the elephants the previous day. Ideally we would have left this site undisturbed for another day but as the checking of camera traps was almost complete and we were leaving the following day we tried our luck again.

Only three of us went in because Sarianus lent me his (rather large) rubber boots, so stayed by the car. We walked the short distance to the artificial salt lick and continued on to the nearest station that contained a single camera trap. We were relieved not to find any fresh elephant tracks along the trail and to find the camera trap still intact and containing images. However it had been twisted around the tree, by elephants, so it was decided to move it to a neighbouring tree. The new tree was not an obvious choice for scratching elephants due to its low branching structure and trunk angle, and we had to work hard to prepare it so that the camera trap sat flush. After a quick walk test the camera trap was set up.

April 23: Banteng pair in forest

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Jun
10

Borneo’s Banteng: Cameras and Collapsing Bridges

Posted by in Borneo,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Featured

Clearly if this was easier, we would know the status of every cryptic species in the world…

Malua Forest Reserve is a smaller forest patch (approx. 33,000ha) adjacent to Danum Valley Forest Reserve and has been heavily logged but still contains valuable secondary forest and grassland patches essential for grazers like banteng. Whilst the large trees have all but been removed from Malua in the past decade, endangered wildlife can still be found here. The area is managed by the Sabah Forestry Department and New Forest (also my collaborators) and local research assistants are responsible for monitoring wildlife and conducting patrols to prevent illegal hunting and logging activity. During March the research assistants had sighted Sumatran rhino tracks and so I joined a team and visited Malua to implement remote camera traps for monitoring the presence of rhino and banteng.

The drive into Malua is a good three hours along dirt tracks and collapsing bridges. After arriving at the White House (the base camp: a quiet secluded spot without electricity or mobile phone signal – heaven!) we met the local research assistants and spent the evening discussing tactics and the best locations to implement our 40 camera traps. The following morning we drove out to the artificial salt lick to see the rhino tracks and to implement six camera trap stations along animal trails. A camera trap station consists of a pair of camera traps positioned perpendicular to the trail, so both sides of the animal are photographed. After implementing the six camera trap stations half the team departed Malua, whilst I and the local assistants returned to base camp to prepare for the following day’s drive up to the north of Malua. The next day was spent buying supplies and driving through deep mud to get to the northern base camp, a simpler but cosy wooden house, also without electricity.

The following day the team implemented camera traps at four mud wallows however there was a notable absence of fresh banteng and elephant tracks, and no evidence of rhino signs but internal grass openings indicated suitable banteng habitat. Upon returning to the White House that afternoon the team discussed random locations for the remainder camera traps to be implemented the following day. The areas selected included a large natural salt lick, ridges, skid trails (old trails that were used to drag out logs) and mud wallows. Camera traps were positioned at these spots and left in situ for two weeks, after which we would return to replace batteries and memory cards. Before departing the next morning the team established the last camera trap station along a trail leading to a large grassy opening, where the rangers had previously observed small herds of banteng during the day. Heavy rains during the night had caused a main bridge to collapse and meant we were forced to backtrack and then make a long detour up through the north of Malua to a main road.

Two weeks later I found myself back in Malua preparing to check the cameras and change batteries and SD cards. Thankfully the broken bridge that prevented us exiting via the main road the last trip had been repaired however some of the others were in a sorry state.

We arrived at the White House only to be informed that the north of Malua was flooded by high water from the Kinabatangan River and unfortunately we would not be able to check the cameras in this area. We had 30 cameras in the surrounding area so decided to start checking these cameras that afternoon and replace SD cards and batteries. Unfortunately elephant activity (rubbing against trees and pulling up our stakes) at the first station had knocked our camera out of alignment and the second was completely destroyed, with both cameras broken and irreparable. Not a good start…

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Jun
09

Borneo’s Wild Cattle: The Banteng

Posted by in Borneo,community-based conservation,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research

People in North America are not very familiar with the cattle outside of our general livestock but there are a number of species of Wild Cattle in Southeast Asia which are all in decline. Many of you have probably heard of the Yak, but who knows what a Gaur, Kouprey or Banteng are? How about Anoa, Saola, or Tamaraw? So when working with our partners in Borneo on Orangutan and Elephant conservation efforts, an opportunity to support a project focused on the population dynamics of a little known species of Wild Cattle – the Banteng – was quickly seized upon.

Researcher (2nd from left), mud, humidity, leeches, and research assistants. Not necessarily in that order

This week, our reports come from lead field researcher Penny Gardner who is working on her PhD through Danau Girang Field Centre with an affiliation to Cardiff University on determining the population status and habitat needs of this species.

In February, after months of planning, I was finally ready to leave for Sabah and get stuck into some field work. The heat and humidity of Sabah was a welcome relief after months of snow in the U.K. The following two weeks were spent in the capital city, Kota Kinabalu, settling into the office and meeting my supervisor, Dr Benoit Goossens, and staff at the Sabah Wildlife Department after which I went to Tabin Wildlife Reserve for to visit the field site. Tabin’s manager Rashid kindly showed me the accessible parts of Tabin, which is the largest (approximately 120,000ha) of my two study sites and contains a wealth of different habitat types and biodiversity, including all the endangered large charismatic mammals Borneo is famous for. The reserve is quite remote; 1.5hrs off road driving to get to the western border, thus a 4×4 is essential for getting around.

April 2011: First images on camera traps from this project

The next few weeks I spent getting organised and making daily trips out along the forest border to establish where the banteng were emerging. Another researcher had conducted camera trapping of Clouded Leopard in Tabin the previous year and had managed to photograph banteng so I tried to revisit these locations, however the dense jungle made access a slow and difficult process and myself and a ranger managed to cut a trail 500m long however it took us 2 hours! I also spent many days looking for banteng dung along the roads and collecting samples for DNA analysis; banteng generally emerge from the forest at night and during the early hours to feed on nutritional grasses not prevalent inside the forest, and they appear to defecate whilst grazing. DNA from dung samples is generally of low quality and deteriorates quickly in UV exposure and rain thus it’s best to collect samples from fresh dung, however finding dung isn’t an easy task especially inside the forest where the undergrowth is thick, the atmosphere is wet and there are numerous animal trails to follow.

Penny sampling Banteng dung in Tabin Wildlife reserve for DNA analysis

On each occasion when I find dung or fresh tracks I take a GPS point so I build up an overview of where the banteng are active. This is an ongoing process and I eventually hope to map the occupancy and habitat use of banteng in Tabin, and also do the same in my second study site Malua Forest Reserve.

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Feb
07

Valentines Day Candy

Posted by in Conservation,Elephant,Endangered Species,orangutan

How is this related to Wildlife Conservation – really? Yes, there is a method and message, to our madness…

Palm Oil and The Great Chocolate Debate. It can help save the lives of Orangutans and many other species living on Borneo and Sumatra. Palm oil is a form of edible vegetable oil produced from the African oil plam tree (Elaeis guineensis) which has been planted on plantations throughout Malaysia and Indonesia, home to some of the world’s most endangered wildlife. These plantations replace tropical rainforest acreage in staggering numbers.

Rainforest? No. Palm Oil Plantation? Yes.

What we are asking you to do is to be a responsible consumer and purchase products from companies which either do not use palm oil or are part of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm oil. You can do that by taking a quick look at this Orangutan Friendly Palm Oil Valentine Guide.

To learn more about the issues facing wildlife and palm oil just link here.

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Jan
04

Borneo Field Research Part 1

Posted by in Borneo,community-based conservation,Elephant,Endangered Species,Field Research

The Houston Zoo has partnered with the Danau Girang Field Centre in Borneo on a number of conservation and research programs including elephants, carnivores and banteng projects for 2010-2011.

Danau Girang Field Centre is a collaborative research and training facility managed by Cardiff University and Sabah Wildlife Department.

It is situated in Lot 6 of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah, Malaysia and is surrounded by a mixture of lowland dipterocarp forest types, ranging from primary forest to disturbed secondary forest, in a  landscape with significant human impact including villages, small scale agriculture and oil palm plantations. 

The forest is divided into 10 lots, comprising fragmented sections of forest of varying sizes, bisected by the Kinabatangan river. It is thus an ideal location to study wildlife and the effects of  habitat alteration on biodiversity.

The elephant research program is focused on the habitat and social structure of the Bornean Elephant and is being overseen by Nurzhafarina Othman. A Malaysian student, “Farina” is also involved in the team of elephant collaring and has a great interest in environmental conservation. She has recently registered her PhD at Cardiff University, after graduating from University Malaysia Sabah and will be tracking a newly collared female Bornean elephant (named Aqeela) to observe social interactions and mating systems. Farina’s work is supported by the Houston Zoo Wildlife Conservation Program.

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Dec
14

Zoos Unite to Save Endangered Apes Part 2

Posted by in Africa,Borneo,Chimpanzee,Conservation,Endangered Species,Field Research,Gorilla,orangutan

Yesterday we highlighted the Ape Conservation Initiative so today we would like to show you who the zoo association funds will support:

The following projects were funded by the Ape TAG Conservation Initiative with a total of $411,250:

1) Establishment of a National Chimpanzee Disease and Health Monitoring Programme based at Budongo Conservation Field Station, Uganda

2) The Bonobo and Congo Biodiversity Initiative: Preserving the bonobo (Pan paniscus) in the Salonga National Park through holistic conservation, Democratic Republic of Congo

3) Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade in Central Africa, The Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA); Cameroon

4) Protection and monitoring of Grauer’s gorillas, Gorilla beringei graueri, in the lowland sectors of Kahuzi Beiga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo

5) Assessing chances of survival of the orang-utan in man-made landscape: the future of the species? Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

6) Ketambe Reforestation and Ecotourism Development Initiative (KREDI), Orangutan Information Centre (OIC); Sumatra, Indonesia

7) Long-term ecological research and conservation of Cao Vit gibbon in China

8) Population mapping of gibbons Kalimantan, Indonesia: Correlates of gibbon density and vegetation across the species range, Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project and Wildlife Conservation Research Unit; Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo

In addition to the eight projects, a percentage of the funds are dedicated for ape sanctuaries in Africa and Asia.  Sanctuaries play an important role in ape conservation, particularly through their efforts in law enforcement and conservation education.

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