Committed ranger and macaque tamer

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar

He has spent over half his life taking care of the 1,000-hectare Karaenta Nature Reserve.

No wonder, Haro, 48, knows everything about the forest located in Kampung Kappang, Labuaja village, Cendrana district, Maros regency, some 60 kilometers east of Makassar, South Sulawesi. He can even communicate with macaques, Karaenta's black monkeys (Macaca maura).

Even before he was appointed a ranger in 1978, Haro was already determined to guard the reserve against all threats such as forest fires and poachers. It is not an easy job in view of the vast area of Karaenta, which is crossed by regency and provincial roads in South Sulawesi, which pose major hazards to flora and fauna.

Its pristine forest with cool air, and a 2,200-meter quartz mountain range with 122 caves, are very attractive features, while its topography varies from smooth, undulating land to mountainous areas with 10 percent to 80 percent gradients, and 50-meter to 375-meter elevations mostly composed of reddish lithosol soil.

Apart from its black macaques, Karaenta is also the habitat of endemic and rare species like the tarsier, a small, monkey-like mammal with large eyes, deer (Cervus timorensis), rangkong, that resemble hornbills (Rhyticeros cassidix), boars and pythons. Among its notable plants are banyan, bitti (Vitex cofaccus), teak and candlenut.

Haro has three other fellow forest keepers assigned by the South Sulawesi Natural Resources Conservation Center to protect the reserve that is best known for its black monkeys. But unlike Haro, who lives not far from Karaenta, his colleagues keep guard only occasionally because of the remoteness of their homes.

The father of three has never complained about his exhausting duty. He is married to Rustiah, and the protected zone has become an important part of his life, which has to be taken care of despite the lack of financial compensation.

It is as meaningful as looking after his wife and children: Irnawati, 20, an Islamic college student, Hendra, 18, a high school dropout and Yusnidar, 13, a secondary school student.

Armed with a dagger, he rides a motorcycle provided by the local administration to inspect every corner of the forest almost daily. "With trunk roads crossing the zone, it's easy for unscrupulous people to cause damage to the forest or hunt protected species," he said.

Haro's forest job began when he served as a part-timer with the provincial forestry office in 1972 on a reforestation project in Bengo-Bengo, Maros regency. When Karaenta was declared a nature reserve in 1976, he joined with a team from the agriculture ministry's planning agency (now the forestry ministry's forest mapping center).

In 1978, he moved to the Nature Conservation Agency (PPA) and was appointed Karaenta's forest ranger, being formally made a government civil servant eight years later.

Since then, Haro has developed a deep awareness of the vital role of forests in human existence, which makes its conservation mandatory. He has also enjoyed living amid the diverse species of wildlife and vegetation.

"I've always found it enjoyable to live in the forest, not only for its fresh air, fauna and flora, but also as a source of livelihood for my family," he said when interviewed in Karaenta recently.

As a low-ranking civil servant, Haro cannot afford to support his family and children's education on his monthly salary of around Rp 800,000. To cover the deficit, his wife has opened a food stall in the house yard and sells candlenuts gathered from the forest. Haro sometimes gets given some money from tourists visiting Karaenta, particularly when he calls macaques to cluster around the visitors.

His daily life in the wild has aroused his curiosity about the plant and animal species found in the forest. Although only educated to primary school, he has continued his education by reading books and learning from researchers who come to survey the area. Every once in a while local and foreign experts ask him to assist them certain species of plants for study.

Macaques have drawn the interest of visiting scientists most of all. According to Haro, three researchers from Japan have studied the primates since his assignment to the forest.

They are Kuino Watanabe and Brotoisworo, who compiled their Field Observation of Sulawesi Macaques (1982), and Preliminary Report on Sulawesi Macaques -- their distribution and inter- specific differences (1985), published by Kyoto University's Overseas Research Report of Studies on Asian Non-Human Primates.

The other expert who carried out the similar research was Suichi Matsumura, who produced A Preliminary Report on the Ecology and Social Behavior of Moor Macaques in Sulawesi, Indonesia, published by Kyoto University's Primates Research Institute in 1991.

Haro's love of nature is manifested in his ability to tame macaques. By whistling a tune, he can attract dozens of the black monkeys to come close to him. He developed the skill when accompanying a Japanese researcher. "He asked me to catch several monkeys for study. I was even bitten by one of them at that time," Haro recalled.

After the study, Haro released the macaques. But out of curiosity, he kept one in order to observe its behavior and learn its squeals as the primates' communication language.

"It was very difficult at first. Gradually the monkeys began to recognize my whistles. Now I hang bananas and toss corn on the ground to detect their presence before whistling," he explained.

When they hear Haro's whistles the monkeys flock together from different directions and pick up the corn he tosses around, sometimes fighting with each other.

Their fine, black fur and unique faces are pleasant to watch, yet these macaques remain alert while eating and will back away if they hear loud noises or see sudden movements.

Once Haro was very close to the primates, even putting food onto their palms. Later, however, he decided to keep his distance from them so they would not become too domesticated, for fear they would be easily captured by poachers. The other reason is his lack of money to buy corn for macaques, as Haro does not want to disappoint them when they come closer to him seeking food.

"They should live naturally without getting too close to people, so that their behavior will remain unchanged and their existence as protected animals will not be endangered. That's what I'm trying to preserve," added Haro, nicknamed the Tarzan of Karaenta.