Seminar on Human-Orangutan conflict management

Panut Hadisiswoyo, the Principle Conservationist and Founding Director of the Orangutan Information Centre is here in Singapore and he came down to NUS to give a talk on the Human-Orangutan conflict mitigation program that he initiated in Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP), Sumatra, Indonesia earlier today!

As with many other countries, habitat loss is a major problem, especially due to illegal settlement and plantation. The impact is felt more dearly here, as GLNP is one of few legally protected national parks where 4 large mammals can still be found: Sumatran tiger, Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran rhino and Asian elephant, all of which are classified as Critically Endangered or Endangered under CITES. With increasing encroachment of human settlement and palm oil plantations into the forest, inevitably conflict between wildlife and humans will occur. 

Hence, Panut set up the Human-Orangutan Conflict Response Unit (HOCRU) to deal with this issue of human-wildlife conflict, especially with regards to the Orangutans. Apart from dealing with reports from farmers on crop-raiding Orangutans, the unit also conducts research, surveying the locals' perception of wildlife and how they deal with problems arising from such conflicts. They also work with local communities to raise awareness, restore previously cleared forests and run educational programs.

His talk was really inspiring, and I could see his passion and determination in trying to conserve this charismatic animal! Conservation of any animal is never easy, and requires a multi-pronged approach dealing with the local community, big corporations, law enforcement agencies and government policies. Although he has seen some measure of success in outreach and education, there is still a long path to go, especially with regards to law enforcement and dealing with the root of the problem. He has lots of determination though, and I was very inspired by his talk. That one person can have so much energy and passion and have achieved so much, that really gives hope that our wildlife are not doomed to extinction! (:

Panut will be conducting the talk again tomorrow (17 November 2011) at the National Geographic Store in Vivocity at 7.00pm. Do support him by registering here.

More information on the topic can be found here. 

On a separate note, last month I saw some camera trap footage of animals found in Gunung Leuser National Park and they were really cool! Muntjac, Crested Serpent Eagle, Golden Cat, Eurasian Pig, Banded Civet and more! You can check the video out on Youtube.

Sun Bears without the sun (and warmth)

We had a talk on Malayan sun bears by Mr. Wong Siew Te on Monday (18 June 2007) afternoon. Mr. Wong touched on the ecology and behaviour of sun bears through his picturesque presentation and created awareness to the threats faced by these cuddly forest bears in the later part of the talk. And finally, it is on the conservation of these bears.

Sun bear and its unique chest marking.
(Adapted from: http://www.mikekaplan.com/pictures/)

Sun bear is the smallest and least known bear in the world. It is unique as its chest bears a patch of yellow furs which no two bears have the same patch; it is akin to our fingerprint. Figs are the main food source for these bears though they do set their claws on termite nests too. Apparently, these bears do also have preference for smelly, rotting chicken innards. (Mr. Wong used them to lure the bears to the traps he set up for his research)

During the period from 1997 to 1999, Sun bears were reduced to skin and bones. There was a massive reduction in the production of figs due to El Nino. Hence, famine resulted. Moreover, haze generated from clearing forest land for agriculture had drastic effects on the main pollinators of the fig tree – fig wasps. The fig wasps’ respiratory system gone hay wire and they died. Without these pollinators, it is even more unlikely that figs flowers will fruit. Basically, the sun bears starved; orang utans survived as it got plenty of alternative food source. (Though Mr. Wong doubted they will survive if the famine persisted for a longer period of time).

Bear #120 and its loose skin as a result from starvation.
(Adapted from Mr Wong Siew Te's thesis)

Though natural disasters do threaten the livelihood of these bears, it is largely humans’ inconsiderate and selfish desires that eventually drive these bears to desperation. Besides the famine, other human activities which cause the declination in the sun bear population include harvesting the bear’s gallbladder for medicinal uses, keeping the cubs as pets (cause they are extremely cute, and human likes cute stuff), and extracting the bear’s canines to make accessories.

Cuddly Bear's a victim.
(Adapted from: http://www.wfft.org/news2.htm)

Poor sun bears. It seemed that their lives and future are not that bright afterall. If only people could put in more effort into conservation (for the bears as well as for the environment).

More blogs on Mr Wong Siew Te's talk on sun bears:
Otterman speaks
The Annotated Budak
Raffles Museum news