Rare, fierce anoa strives for survival

Rare, fierce anoa strives for survival

Bambang M, Contributor, Lore Lindu, Central Suilawesi

Sulawesi has no wild big cats but it does have the anoa, a
buffalo-like mammal, which is comparable to tigers in terms of
aggressiveness.

The anoa population is spread throughout Sulawesi but the
increasing encroachment into their habitat has pushed them back
into their main sanctuary: the Lore Lindu National Park in
Central Sulawesi.

A guidebook to the national park issued by the Directorate
General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation, The Nature
Conservancy (TNC) and USAID warns visitors to be extremely
cautious with the anoa because the animal is known to spear
humans with its horns.

The anoa is endemic to Sulawesi. Smaller than the buffalo,
anoas are solitary creatures. Their bodies are covered in hair,
which can be light brown, chocolate or black in color. As for its
weapons, an adult anoa will boast a pair of about 17-centimeter
long sharp horns.

In the local languages, the anoa is known as the anoeang, sapi
oetan, buulu tutu and Bandogo Tutu (Gorontalo); Dangko
or Dangkon (Manado); Sako (Bugis); Anoewang Matjetjo (Toraja);
and Langkau (Minahasa).

There are two species of anoa in Sulawesi, the mountain anoa
(Bubalus quarlesi) and the lowland anoa (Bubalus depressicornis).
Fauna expert Roland Melisch notes that the anoa is exceptional
among the wild cattle of Southeast Asia because, to date, they
are the only one in the region known to depend mainly on
undisturbed forest.

At a glance, the two different anoa species look the same. But
a close observation will reveal some differences. For example,
the mountain anoa is smaller and has more hair than the lowland
anoa. Generally, the mountain anoa has brown hair while the
lowland anoa has black.

To get a glimpse of this animal, one have to go deep inside
the dense forest. Anoa like cool places, which is why the mammal
is rarely seen in open spaces. During the dry season, anoa like
to wallow in the mud or to take a swim in the river or sea.

People living in the vicinity of the national park advise
visitors to avoid contact with the anoa, because there have been
several incidents of the animal viciously attacking humans,
sometimes fatally.

Yusup Bagia, a Lore Lindu park ranger who live in Doda
village, Poso regency, has a terrible experience with an anoa.

"In 1987, an anoa came from nowhere and attacked my daughter
who was washing plates in the river near our home. She was badly
injured in her buttocks," he said.

Thankfully his daughter survived the attack. Two years later,
an anoa attacked an elderly woman from Doda village.

"She was attacked while she was standing in front of her
house," Yusup said. The woman was saved, and the villagers caught
the anoa and slaughtered it for dinner.

The anoa also attacks other animals, a point noted by Abdul
Haris Mustari in his master thesis (School of Forestry Science,
George-August University, Gottingen). He said one anoa in
Melbourne Zoo, Australia, killed a cow. While in Catskill, New
York, an anoa had killed a cow with which he had peacefully lived
with for some time.

The anoa, which appears to be shy like a deer, is especially
aggressive when provoked.

To caution visitors forest management in Sulawesi have put up
warning signs, although sightings of the animal are rare.

"The exploitation of the forest has pushed the anoa deep into
the forest on the slope of Rorekatimbu mountain (north of Lore
Lindu park)," said Idris Tinulele, an environmental activist from
the Jambata Foundation, which is based in Palu.

That is why Draft Management Plan 2002-2007, issued by Balai
Taman Nasional Lore Lindu, The Nature Conservancy and the
Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation,
recommends that the park be expanded to the northwest to include
the whole of Rorekatimbu.

Among the few people who have personal experience with anoa is
Yusup Bagia. He said that in the 1970s anoa were often seen near
his village. But since 1991, the animal has disappeared from the
area.

"The noise of chain saws (used by loggers) and rampant
exploitation have frightened the animal and driven it deeper
into the forest," said Yusup, whose home is decorated with an
anoa skull.

The clearing of the forest has had a major impact on the
population, distribution and attitude of the anoa. Mustari wrote
that when the anoa's habitat is disturbed, the animal is exposed
to extreme climate change, which makes it difficult for the anoa
to get in tune with its new environment.

According to Mustari, there are 33 plant species which make up
the anoa's diet. The anoa feeds in the afternoon until late at
night. Between this period the animal rests, usually under the
forest canopy away from the sun.

The decreasing anoa population is also attributed to poaching.
People who live near the forest hunt the anoa for its meat, skin
and skull.

"When I was in a village in the Napu Valley, we used to eat
anoa meet," an environment activist from Palu told The Jakarta
Post.

Anoa skulls are sold as souvenirs to tourists. Rantepao in
South Sulawesi is one location where anoa skulls are commonly
sold to tourists, who come to the area to see the traditional
houses of the Toraja tribe.

Poachers usually use snares to catch the animal. Since these
traps are usually set far from villages and not checked
regularly, the trapped animal is frequently dead when collected.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has classified the anoa as
an endangered species, while CITES has placed it on its Appendix
I of highly endangered species.

In Sulawasi today, the anoa is limited to national parks and
nature reserves. Their numbers continue to dwindle. In the
Tanjung Amelengu Nature Reserve in Southeast Sulawesi, there are
only about eight anoas left, according to Mustari.

In Central Sulawesi, the Lore Lindu National Park is the most
important refuge for the animal. However, there are no official
statistics on the number of anoa in the 219,000-hectare park.

A 2001 survey by a Palu-based non-governmental organization
found that only 73 out of 180 respondents from 18 villages around
the park had seen an anoa between 1987 and 1991.

"Although we don't know the exact number, it is clear that the
anoa population in Lore Lindu is very small, as indicated by our
survey," said Faizal, the survey coordinator.