Canopy trail provides up-close look at wildlife

Canopy trail provides up-close look at wildlife

By Yusran Endo Fauzi

MT. HALIMUN, West Java (JP): The 100-meter-long canopy trail
is suspended at a height of between 25 meters and 30 meters, a
bridge suspended in the valley of wilderness that is Mt. Halimun
National Park.

If lucky, visitors will be able to glimpse a panther, or one
of the primates to be found in the area.

The bridge is secured to the branches of Rasamala trees
(Altingia exelsa), which serve as support pillars at different
points along the trail. There is a shelter at each branch, where
visitors can rest and observe the flora and fauna below, as well
as the Cikaniki River flowing through the valley.

The forest valley is the habitat of four primate species --
the Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), grizzlied surili (Presbytis
comata), Javan leaf monkey (Trachypithecus auratus) and long-
tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis). Of the four, only the
gibbon and surili are regularly observed in the area.

The forest around Cikaniki River was originally primary forest
but has since been destroyed by wood cutters and hunters. Today
it is secondary forest.

At sunset, the trees surrounding the trail are sleeping places
for the primates, who find their diet of fruit, young leaves,
shoots and seeds in the area.

Panthers also start to prowl as night approaches.

"But usually, while drinking from Cikaniki River, the panther
only observes at which tree the prey is available," said Afud, a
local guide who has accompanied researchers from Japan and the
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) for seven years.

"During the holiday season there are many visitors, so
panthers don't dare to show themselves. They instinctively feel
traumatized by human beings who have killed so many of their
species," said Yusdi Permana, a conservation officer in the park.

Visitors to the trail are advised to travel in a group of four
people at most, and to avoid wearing striking clothing and
perfume, which will disturb the animals, particularly panthers.

The Cikaniki research station, consisting of two houses
erected on stilts, is located approximately 150 meters from the
trail. The station is intended to allow the study of native
animal species, forest rainfall and the lowland area at the
altitude of 960 meters above sea level.

The research station was built in 1996 in a cooperative effort
between the Indonesian government and the Japanese government,
represented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
It opened in 1998.

Head of the national park Sudarmadji said there was a dilemma
in attracting visitors to the park.

"If tourism escalates, the gibbons, surili and deer will
definitely be disturbed and move to the submontane forest with
its higher location, 1,000 meters to 1,500 meters above sea
level. And yet the forest at such a high altitude provides little
food for them."