C. Sulawesi monkeys on the brink of extinction

Badri Djawara, Contributor, Palu, Central Sulawesi

Soon, Sulawesi's native monkeys will only be seen in libraries.

The monkeys, which, in the past, could easily be spotted in Lore Lindu National Park or along the mountains which stretch from Poso to Gorontalo, are now very rare indeed.

The Natural Resource Conservation Center (BKSDA) of Central Sulawesi estimated that in Pangi Binangga, Donggala regency, there's still some 50 monkeys around. "This is a hybrid zone, the meeting point of two species: Macaca tonkeana and Macaca hecki," said BKSDA's head MZ Hudyono.

As no census was ever taken, the precise number of the monkeys was still unknown, he added.

Although a special research project had yet to be conducted, he could be sure that the population of these two groups of unique monkeys was declining.

Daily observations show that this black fur monkey is now rarely seen. Some three decades ago, for example, people walking across the Sulawesi-Toboli-Palu roads would certainly come across hundreds of these monkeys. Today, you may consider yourself lucky if you can see one.

Hudyono claimed BKSDA had tried to prevent these native monkeys from being captured. However, as the monkeys live over a very wide area, he has found it difficult to carry out this program.

So far, the center has worked on counseling local residents on the need to protect the province's endangered species, and even tried to persuade those keeping the monkeys as pets to set them free.

Both Macaca hecki and tonkeana are protected based on Minister of Agriculture Decree No. 421/Kpts/um/8/1970 and Forestry Minister Decree No. 301/Kpts-II/1991.

A local environmental activist, Nasution Tjamang, lamented the widespread practice of capturing these endemic monkeys from the wild. He revealed that the practice had been going on for quite a while but the authorities were yet to take any measure to put as stop to it. "The government and the security officers must immediately take stringent measures to protect rare animals like these monkeys," he said.

In a book entitled Field Guideline for Indonesia's Primates by Jatna Supriatna and Edy Hendra W (2000), it is mentioned that in Sulawesi there are eight species of monkeys of the Macaca family, two of which are found in C. Sulawesi, Macaca hecki and Macaca tonkeana.

Locals in Central Sulawesi call Macaca hecki different names such as dige, buol, bangkolae, dondo and tinombo, while Macaca Tongkeana is popularly called boti, ibo or oga.

Poaching is one of the main reasons blamed for the declining number of the species. Usually, the captured monkeys are sold to foreigners or sent outside the island.

However their worst enemy are the local farmers. With the increasing number of people, it means wild lands are encroached upon. Over time, human settlements have overtaken the monkeys' habitats, and to survive, these monkeys have attacked the crops. In certain cases, dozens of hectares of corn, bananas and fruits were completely devoured by these monkeys within a single day. As a result, farmers consider monkeys their adversaries, so they hunt them down and sell them at Rp 50,000 a head.

Lakapa, one of the local farmers living just outside the Lore Lindu National Park, said that about 30 years ago, dozens or even hundreds of monkeys could still be seen getting into the crops.

"Today only one or two monkeys will come for our crops," he said.

In the Guidelines for Indonesian Primates, it is also mentioned that Macaca hecki weighs from 6.8 to 11.2 kilograms and is 497 to 557 milimeters in length. It has a wide face and a front tuft that stands erect. Also its bottom is larger than that of other Sulawesi monkeys. Macaca hecki lives in groups of 10 to 15. Both Hecki and Tongkeana monkeys can mate.

The Macaca tonkeana species spreads over the widest area in Sulawesi. This monkey weighs about 12 to 14 kilograms and is 500 to 700 milimeters in length with a tail between 30 and 70 milimeters long. These monkeys live in groups of 25 to 40.

Each group of the monkeys is led by an alpha male, who is distinguishable from the others due by his loud voice. They have always lived on the plains of Central Sulawesi and have two sub- species of cousins, the Macaca tonkeana togenanus, which live only on the Togean islands in Poso regency, and Macaca balantakensis, which live in Balantak in Luwuk Banggai regency.