Indonesia: Endangered primates struggle amid deforestation, food scarcity

N. Adri, The Jakarta Post 28 Sep 15;

Conservationists have warned that massive mangrove deforestation in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan, has put the local population of proboscis monkeys, known in the area as bekantan, under severe threat as it has forced the endangered animals to fight each other for food or starve to death.

Primate researcher Stanislav “Stan” Lhota of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, the Czech Republic, who has been conducting research on the proboscis monkeys and other primates in Balikpapan Bay for the last 15 years, expressed concern that more of the animals would be found dead within the next few years in the area due to starvation.

“The Mangrove Center forest has been too small to accommodate the current size of the bekantan population,” Stan told The Jakarta Post recently, referring to a part of the mangrove forest on the northern bank of Balikpapan Bay that has become a natural habitat for the bekantan population.

The number of sea rambai (Sonneratia caseolaris) trees, whose leaves are the main food source of the monkeys, has continued to decline in the area mainly due to deforestation to establish new housing or industrial complexes, according to Stan.

Those in unaffected parts of the area, meanwhile, have been struggling with overconsumption as more bekantan flock to their area in search of food. Possible evidence of food scarcity in the area emerged last week after local residents found a dead bekantan floating in a river that flows through the Mangrove Center.

Agus Bey, a local figure who initiated the rehabilitation of the Mangrove Center area, said the carcass of the bekantan had been first spotted by a forest ranger.

“The carcass weighed about 20 kilograms when we lifted it from the river,” said Agus, adding that no wounds or signs of violence had been detected on the carcass.

Agus said that based on the condition of the carcass the primate had died because of old age or after it lost a fight with younger bekantan. He also denied the possibility that it died due to starvation or poisoning.

“From its weight and physical appearance, this bekantan was well fed,” Agus said.

The carcass was buried in an empty area of land near the Mangrove Center post in Graha Indah, Agus said. Agus said he had also reported the finding to the East Kalimantan Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA).

The bekantan has been on the endangered species list of Switzerland-based environmental organization International Union for Conservation Nature (IUCN) since 2000.

The species has also been on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species’ (CITES) list of animals that are banned from being traded internationally.

The estimated population of bekantan on Borneo Island in 1987 was 260,000. That figure, however, drastically decreased to only around 25,000 in 2008.

Stan, meanwhile, estimated that there are currently 1,400 bekantans in Balikpapan Bay.

Earlier this year, a female bekantan was found with wounds all over her body on Takung waters near Semayang Port, Balikpapan.

East Kalimantan BKSDA forest ecosystem control officer Amos Robi Simon said the bekantan had eventually died despite intensive treatment given by four veterinarians.

Amos said the four-year-old bekantan could have died because of depression due to its wounds and being separated from its group. The bekantan are known as a species that lives in groups and are not familiar with humans.

“When first treated, it weighed 4.5 kilograms. It’s too skinny for a bekantan of that age,” Amos said, adding that it could have been wounded in a fight with other monkeys after being separated from its group.