Committed ranger and macaque tamer<\/p>\n
Andi Hajramurni, Makassar<\/p>\n
He has spent over half his life taking care of the 1,000-hectare
\nKaraenta Nature Reserve.<\/p>\n
No wonder, Haro, 48, knows everything about the forest located
\nin Kampung Kappang, Labuaja village, Cendrana district, Maros
\nregency, some 60 kilometers east of Makassar, South Sulawesi. He
\ncan even communicate with macaques, Karaenta's black monkeys
\n(Macaca maura).<\/p>\n
Even before he was appointed a ranger in 1978, Haro was
\nalready determined to guard the reserve against all threats such
\nas forest fires and poachers. It is not an easy job in view of
\nthe vast area of Karaenta, which is crossed by regency and
\nprovincial roads in South Sulawesi, which pose major hazards to
\nflora and fauna.<\/p>\n
Its pristine forest with cool air, and a 2,200-meter quartz
\nmountain range with 122 caves, are very attractive features,
\nwhile its topography varies from smooth, undulating land to
\nmountainous areas with 10 percent to 80 percent gradients, and
\n50-meter to 375-meter elevations mostly composed of reddish
\nlithosol soil.<\/p>\n
Apart from its black macaques, Karaenta is also the habitat of
\nendemic and rare species like the tarsier, a small, monkey-like
\nmammal with large eyes, deer (Cervus timorensis), rangkong, that
\nresemble hornbills (Rhyticeros cassidix), boars and pythons.
\nAmong its notable plants are banyan, bitti (Vitex cofaccus), teak
\nand candlenut.<\/p>\n
Haro has three other fellow forest keepers assigned by the
\nSouth Sulawesi Natural Resources Conservation Center to protect
\nthe reserve that is best known for its black monkeys. But unlike
\nHaro, who lives not far from Karaenta, his colleagues keep guard
\nonly occasionally because of the remoteness of their homes.<\/p>\n
The father of three has never complained about his exhausting
\nduty. He is married to Rustiah, and the protected zone has become
\nan important part of his life, which has to be taken care of
\ndespite the lack of financial compensation.<\/p>\n
It is as meaningful as looking after his wife and children:
\nIrnawati, 20, an Islamic college student, Hendra, 18, a high
\nschool dropout and Yusnidar, 13, a secondary school student.<\/p>\n
Armed with a dagger, he rides a motorcycle provided by the
\nlocal administration to inspect every corner of the forest almost
\ndaily. \"With trunk roads crossing the zone, it's easy for
\nunscrupulous people to cause damage to the forest or hunt
\nprotected species,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Haro's forest job began when he served as a part-timer with
\nthe provincial forestry office in 1972 on a reforestation project
\nin Bengo-Bengo, Maros regency. When Karaenta was declared a
\nnature reserve in 1976, he joined with a team from the
\nagriculture ministry's planning agency (now the forestry
\nministry's forest mapping center).<\/p>\n
In 1978, he moved to the Nature Conservation Agency (PPA) and
\nwas appointed Karaenta's forest ranger, being formally made a
\ngovernment civil servant eight years later.<\/p>\n
Since then, Haro has developed a deep awareness of the vital
\nrole of forests in human existence, which makes its conservation
\nmandatory. He has also enjoyed living amid the diverse species of
\nwildlife and vegetation.<\/p>\n
\"I've always found it enjoyable to live in the forest, not
\nonly for its fresh air, fauna and flora, but also as a source of
\nlivelihood for my family,\" he said when interviewed in Karaenta
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
As a low-ranking civil servant, Haro cannot afford to support
\nhis family and children's education on his monthly salary of
\naround Rp 800,000. To cover the deficit, his wife has opened a
\nfood stall in the house yard and sells candlenuts gathered from
\nthe forest. Haro sometimes gets given some money from tourists
\nvisiting Karaenta, particularly when he calls macaques to cluster
\naround the visitors.<\/p>\n
His daily life in the wild has aroused his curiosity about the
\nplant and animal species found in the forest. Although only
\neducated to primary school, he has continued his education by
\nreading books and learning from researchers who come to survey
\nthe area. Every once in a while local and foreign experts ask him
\nto assist them certain species of plants for study.<\/p>\n
Macaques have drawn the interest of visiting scientists most
\nof all. According to Haro, three researchers from Japan have
\nstudied the primates since his assignment to the forest.<\/p>\n
They are Kuino Watanabe and Brotoisworo, who compiled their
\nField Observation of Sulawesi Macaques (1982), and Preliminary
\nReport on Sulawesi Macaques -- their distribution and inter-
\nspecific differences (1985), published by Kyoto University's
\nOverseas Research Report of Studies on Asian Non-Human Primates.<\/p>\n
The other expert who carried out the similar research was
\nSuichi Matsumura, who produced A Preliminary Report on the
\nEcology and Social Behavior of Moor Macaques in Sulawesi,
\nIndonesia, published by Kyoto University's Primates Research
\nInstitute in 1991.<\/p>\n
Haro's love of nature is manifested in his ability to tame
\nmacaques. By whistling a tune, he can attract dozens of the black
\nmonkeys to come close to him. He developed the skill when
\naccompanying a Japanese researcher. \"He asked me to catch several
\nmonkeys for study. I was even bitten by one of them at that
\ntime,\" Haro recalled.<\/p>\n
After the study, Haro released the macaques. But out of
\ncuriosity, he kept one in order to observe its behavior and learn
\nits squeals as the primates' communication language.<\/p>\n
\"It was very difficult at first. Gradually the monkeys began
\nto recognize my whistles. Now I hang bananas and toss corn on the
\nground to detect their presence before whistling,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
When they hear Haro's whistles the monkeys flock together from
\ndifferent directions and pick up the corn he tosses around,
\nsometimes fighting with each other.<\/p>\n
Their fine, black fur and unique faces are pleasant to watch,
\nyet these macaques remain alert while eating and will back away
\nif they hear loud noises or see sudden movements.<\/p>\n
Once Haro was very close to the primates, even putting food
\nonto their palms. Later, however, he decided to keep his distance
\nfrom them so they would not become too domesticated, for fear
\nthey would be easily captured by poachers. The other reason is
\nhis lack of money to buy corn for macaques, as Haro does not want
\nto disappoint them when they come closer to him seeking food.<\/p>\n
\"They should live naturally without getting too close to
\npeople, so that their behavior will remain unchanged and their
\nexistence as protected animals will not be endangered. That's
\nwhat I'm trying to preserve,\" added Haro, nicknamed the Tarzan of
\nKaraenta.<\/p>",
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