Monkey poaching out of control in Central Sulawesi

Monkey poaching out of control in Central Sulawesi

Irvan NR, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi

The sale of monkeys in Central Sulawesi province remains
widespread, despite a ban by the government. The monkeys are
usually displayed and sold along main roads in Central Sulawesi,
including the trans-Sulawesi highway that runs through Poso
regency and a highway along the West Coast of Donggala regency.

The monkeys are usually caught by local residents who say they
are pests.

Rustam, 41, a resident in Balaesang district, Donggala regency
complained recently that the monkeys had cost him a lot, as they
often ate the fruit on his plantation, including cacao and some
vegetables.

Rustam was annoyed, so he set a trap to catch them. He said
that rather than killing them, he sold the monkeys to people who
want them as pets or other traders.

One of those who likes them as pets is W. V., 61, who is now
residing in Poso Pesisir district, Poso regency. He owns three
monkeys, which are locked up in a cage next in his yard. The
monkeys were purchased from local residents several months ago
for Rp 50,000 each. That seems to be the standard price for one
monkey in the province.

Rustam added that he just like them as pets, but others
sought them for commercial purposes. Some monkey traders in
Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi, intensively hunt for
monkeys to supply several restaurants in the province that offer
monkey meat to their customers. The monkey meat is believed to be
an aphrodisiac.

Amir Hamzah, the head of Natural Resource Conservation Center
(BKSDA), expressed concern about the out of control hunting and
trading of monkeys in the province, saying that there probably
would not be any left in a few years.

He was surprised to discover that they were being sold for
such a low price. "However, the price is not the biggest issue.
The monkeys are a rare and valuable species that cannot be
replaced by money," he said.

He said that each day, at least two monkeys are captured. If
there is no immediate steps to stop this crime, the monkeys
indigenous to Central Sulawesi will be wiped off the face of the
earth forever.

According to a book entitled Field Guidelines for Indonesia's
Primates by Jatna Supriatna and Edy Hendra W. (2000), there are
eight species of monkeys of the macaque family on Sulawesi, two
of which are found only in C. Sulawesi, the Macaca Hecki and
Macaca Tonkeana.

Locals in Central Sulawesi call the Macaca Hecki different
names such as dige, buol, bangkolae, dondo or tinombo, while the
Macaca Tongkeana is popularly known as a boti, ibo or oga. They
mostly inhabit the northern portion of the province up to Limboti
lake in Gorontalo province.

It also says the Macaca Hecki weighs from 6.8 to 11.2
kilograms and is 497 to 557 millimeters 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. The Macaca Hecki
lives in groups of 10 to 15. The Hecki and Tongkeana monkeys can
inter-mate.

The Macaca Tonkeana species spreads over the widest area in
Sulawesi. These weighs about 12 to 14 kilograms and are 500 to
700 millimeters in length with a tail between 30 and 70
millimeters long. They live in groups of 25 to 40.

Each group is led by an alpha male, who is distinguishable
from the others by his deeper, throatier voice. They have always
lived on the plains of Central Sulawesi and have two sub-species
or cousins, the Macaca Tonkeana Togenanus, which live only on the
Togean islands in Poso regency, and the Macaca Balantakensis,
which live in Balantak in Luwuk Banggai regency.

The Macaca Tonkeana is the most commonly captured because it
spread over the widest area.

Poaching and the shrinking forests -- as the human population
grows and encroaches further into their habitat as well as
illegal logging -- are the main contributors to their rapid
decrease. Poaching is rampant because of the ignorance or lack of
respect for the protected animals by many current residents. Most
say they had no idea it was illegal to capture and/or kill the
monkeys. Many parts of Sulawesi have seen a mass influx of
transmigrants from western Indonesia.

The government has issued two decrees that protect the
animals, including ministerial decree No. 421/1970 and No.
301/1990, but widespread poaching continues unabated.

Dozens of indigenous residents in Sojol district, Donggala
regency recalled a time when the monkeys could always be seen
playing on the edge of the forests next to their village, but
that was over 20 years ago -- before the poachers, illegal
loggers and others arrived.