Monkey habitat in Jakarta getting smaller<\/p>\n
Bambang Parlupi, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite the rapid development in Jakarta, marked by explosive
\npopulation growth and the disappearance of green areas, there are
\nstill several locations where wild monkeys of the Macaca
\nfascicularis species can be found.<\/p>\n
Several protected forests in outlying areas of Jakarta are
\nhome to the monkeys, which have to make do with limited land and
\nfood sources. Despite the difficulties, the monkeys are holding
\non in the Cibubur camping ground to the south of Jakarta and in
\ntwo other sites in suburban areas of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The Kali Pesanggrahan forest, a nature conservation area in
\nKarang Tengah village, Lebak Bulus, Cilandak district, South
\nJakarta, hosts a small population of wild monkeys. A typical
\nlowland forest area of the kind that once covered Jakarta, it
\nshares a border with Cinere, Banten province. The forest is
\ndominated by bamboo and fruit trees growing in the floodplain of
\nthe Pesanggrahan River. This conservation area measures 40
\nhectares, but about half of it has been converted into
\nplantations by locals.<\/p>\n
Parts of the conservation area have been identified as
\ncritical areas and have since the 1990s been the scene for
\nreforestation activities. Today, over 20,000 fruit trees grow
\nhere, planted by locals, the government, non-government
\norganizations and private companies.<\/p>\n
The regreening program has included the planting of several
\ndifferent types of trees, including teak, mahogany, durian,
\nGnetum gnemon, sapodilla, mango and star fruit trees. A farmers
\nand environmentalist group, Sangga Buana, has overseen the tree
\nplanting in the Pesanggrahan River forest.<\/p>\n
H. Chaeruddin 47, chairman of Sangga Buana, noted that long-
\ntailed monkeys had been living on the banks of the Pesanggrahan
\nRiver for quite a long time.<\/p>\n
\"Today, there are only 16 monkeys left. They are divided into
\ntwo groups,\" said Chaeruddin, a former recipient of the Kalpataru
\naward, a citation conferred to environmentalists in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
These monkeys, he said, get their food from the forest area
\naround the river. They do not leave this habitat to encroach upon
\nlocals' land, neither do they cause trouble for visitors.<\/p>\n
They eat fruit from the trees that grow in the floodplain of
\nthe river. The nearby bamboo forest is the monkeys' shelter.<\/p>\n
\"Their presence may be attractive to visitors. Because the
\nmonkeys are still wild, they tend to run away when they see
\nhumans,\" he noted.<\/p>\n
\"These gray monkeys are most frequently sighted in the bamboo
\nforest behind the Villa Delima Fitness Center, which is located
\nnot far from the river. People often feed them in the dry season
\nwhen few trees bear fruit,\" said Chaeruddin, a resident.<\/p>\n
Locals, he said, also took care of the monkeys living in the
\nPesanggrahan River forest.<\/p>\n
\"We forbid anybody from disturbing or hunting them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
There are also monkeys living in North Jakarta's Muara Angke
\nAnimal Reserve. This reserve, measuring 25.02 hectares, was once
\nhome to 76 bird species and 42 species of plants.<\/p>\n
According to Irin, 40, who is assigned to the Natural
\nResources Conservation Center at the Muara Angke Nature Reserve,
\nmore than 30 monkeys live in the swampy area. Usually they are
\nfound around the information center or the observation tower in
\nthe morning.<\/p>\n
\"Pidada fruit is their favorite food,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A number of monkeys also search for food along the banks of
\nthe Angke River. They look for something to eat among the piles
\nof trash the river carries.<\/p>\n
Irin said residents of Pluit or Pantai Indah Kapuk often fed
\nthe monkeys. They usually gave the primates fruit, bread or
\nbiscuits on Sundays.<\/p>\n
According to the observations of Drs. Imran SL. Tobing, Ssi, a
\nprimatologist, back in the 1980s Jakarta residents could still
\nspot wild monkeys in several spots along the Ciliwung River in
\nCondet, East Jakarta; Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta; and Ancol,
\nNorth Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Today, it is very hard to find these monkeys, which have been
\npushed to the outlying areas or have become extinct,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Imran, who wrote a thesis on primates in the Mount Halimun
\nNational Park, West Java, said traditional monkey habitats close
\nto Jakarta included the Bogor Botanical Garden and Rawa Gembong,
\na mangrove forest in Bekasi, West Java.<\/p>",
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