Shy proboscis monkey extremely endangered<\/p>\n
By Hasan Zainuddin<\/p>\n
BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan (Antara): The large fair-haired,
\nred-skinned bekantan (proboscis monkey) covered its long nose
\nwith its hands when it realized a person was watching it. Then
\nslowly it inched away and disappeared into the thick jungle in
\nits natural habitat.<\/p>\n
\"The monkey is extremely shy. If you want to have a look at
\nit, you should take your time, waiting for them from a secret
\nvantage point,\" said Achmad Arifin, a bekantan watcher.<\/p>\n
Proboscis monkeys live in groups, each being led by a male
\nmonkey which stands out with its large size. Males have pot
\nbellies and long noses and can be as big as a human adult.<\/p>\n
The female monkey is slimmer and her nose is quite flat. A
\nbaby bekantan is usually red and most of the time clings to its
\nmother's belly.<\/p>\n
The monkey's colony is easy to locate as they make noisy
\n\"huuh...huh\" sounds when the males are fighting or just pulling
\neach others' legs.<\/p>\n
Nasty monkeys upset farmers living near the forest, who often
\nfind their bananas in the garden stolen and the stems broken,
\nunable to bear the animal's weight. That is why the monkeys are
\nconsidered pests and are shooed back to the forest.<\/p>\n
Some people, unaware the animals are highly endangered, have
\noften scared the monkeys by attacking them. Others will catch the
\nmonkey's and their babies and then sell them.<\/p>\n
\"The monkeys will usually run for their lives when they see
\npeople. The smaller monkeys will leap from branch to branch and
\nthe large ones will come down to the ground and sprint as fast as
\nthey can,\" Achmad said.<\/p>\n
Experts say that the bekantan is easily stressed and highly
\nsensitive to changes in its environment. Very few proboscis
\nmonkeys, dubbed monyet bule or white ape, can be kept as domestic
\npets.
\nIt is extremely difficult to be breed the animals in captivity.<\/p>\n
The monkeys eat mostly leaves. They eat less fruit because too
\nmuch sugar forces their stomachs to ferment food and this leads
\nto suffocation.<\/p>\n
This was what happened to the 86 bekantan captured in Pulau
\nKaget in Barito Kuala. The animals were intended for a breeding
\nprogram at Surabaya Zoo. Due to the lack of understanding about
\nthe animals' eating habits, 37 of them died.<\/p>\n
Endangered<\/p>\n
Logging has increasingly threatened the monkeys' survival in
\nthe Kalimantan jungle.<\/p>\n
Forests in Pulau Kaget, a 267 hectare delta in the Barito
\nriver which has become the animals' main colony, is also severely
\nthreatened.<\/p>\n
Since 1997, more and more rambai (soneratha cosiolaris) trees,
\nwhich provide tasty leaves for the monkeys, have been lost due to
\nagricultural activities. Environmental activists say that only
\n182 hectares of rambai is left.<\/p>\n
This has raised the alarm for the survival of the species
\nwhich has been protected by law since 1972. South Kalimantan
\nGovernor Gusti Hasan Aman sought cooperation with the Banjarmasin
\nbased Lambung Mangkurat University and the local forestry office
\nfor a joint study to save the animals.<\/p>\n
Reforestation that the researchers initiated has ended in
\nfailure as the new trees did not grow as expected.<\/p>\n
The efforts to relocate 117 of the estimated 127 bekantan on
\nPulau Kaget to Surabaya Zoo and other places had also ended in
\ndisaster. According to the official account, 37 died in the
\nbreeding ground and another 25 died on their way from Kalimantan
\nto Surabaya.<\/p>\n
The death of so many monkeys has provoked strong protests from
\nenvironmentalists. Activists of the Malang based KSBK (Animal
\nConservation for Life) staged a demonstration at Surabaya Zoo.
\nThey demanded that the zoo management return the remaining
\nmonkeys to their natural habitat in Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
But the protest fell on deaf ears and it is feared that all
\nthe bekantan sent to the zoo have died.<\/p>\n
\"A thorough study on the animals should have been conducted
\nbefore they decided to move the animals to the zoo,\" Achmad said.<\/p>\n
Arifin also questioned the motive behind the zoo management's
\nintention to breed so many monkeys instead of a small number of
\ncouples. Besides, a place like Tanjung Puting in Central
\nKalimantan would be a better location than Surabaya for the
\nproject.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists also demanded that the zoo authorities
\nproduce the remains of the monkeys they claimed have died because
\nthe remains of any protected animal that dies in captivity must
\nbe reported to the public. Some suspect that the animals had been
\nsold abroad for research purposes.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/shy-proboscis-monkey-extremely-endangered-1447893297",
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