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.