Will Orangutans Become Extinct Before the Conservation Community Gets Its Game on?

There is nothing cuter than a baby orangutan with its tussle of red hair bedecking a mostly bald head and big brown inquisitive eyes sparkling with wisdom, curiosity, and soulfulness.

Visiting orangutans in the wilds of Borneo or Sumatra tops my bucket list and it is clear I am running out of time to translate that dream into reality. A report detailing orangutan interactions with humans in Indonesia was released last week and is making international news.

The report shows that nearly 700 orangutans were slaughtered by local villagers in Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of Borneo. While the findings of the research are terribly sad, they are not terribly shocking. Similarly, the conservation community's response to the survey is predictable: a call for the opening of more conservation areas and stricter punishment of orangutan killers.

This call to action is standard operating procedure for thousands of conservation workers and millions, if not billions, of conservation dollars. As a conservation expert, I am all too familiar with the battle cry of the protected area.

The concept is simple: we need to set up a network of safe havens for the world's most vulnerable species. In other words, keep animals safe by keeping people out. However, this solution is seriously flawed and doomed to failure for several reasons. In many cases, individuals existing on the brink of survival will resort to desperate measures to feed their families. Under such dire circumstances, the borders of a protected area are rarely a meaningful deterrent.

As Suci Utami Atmoko, a field coordinator in Indonesia notes, hunger was the main reason for killing and eating the orangutans. 'Some residents were desperate and had no other choice but to kill them after spending three days hunting for food,'. As a conservationist, I find it inconceivable that I would, under any circumstances, kill an orangutan. As a mother, I find it not only possible but extremely plausible that I would do whatever it takes to feed my children after watching them suffer from hunger for days on end.

I am not alone in this regard; in the case highlighted here, a full 70% of the villagers questioned knew the orangutans were a protected or endangered species when they killed them.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Will Orangutans Become Extinct Before the Conservation Community Gets Its Game on?

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Borneo Klias River Cruise: Monkey business after sunset

It definitely wasn't Christmas, but as we headed back up the Klias River in our boats, the trees on the bank seemed to be flickering with fairy lights.

"Fireflies," pronounced Thomas, our guide, and he directed the boatman to take us closer for a better view.

We couldn't see the fireflies themselves, but in the falling dusk it was easy to spot their lights, which twinkled on and off like those on a Christmas tree.

When the lights came on we were heading back to our holiday home, the expedition ship Orion II, at the end of a wildlife cruise through one of the last remaining mangrove wetlands in Borneo. After seeing proboscis monkeys, macaques, flying foxes, a monitor lizard and several birds, the fireflies were something of a bonus.

Our main hope, when our cruise started in the early afternoon, had been to see proboscis monkeys and that was achieved within a few minutes of leaving the small wharf in our long, lean riverboat.

We rounded a bend in the river to find a huge, fat, two-storey jerrybuilt craft, belching diesel smoke and loaded with jolly passengers seated at tables, pushed close to the bank.

Our lean machine slid easily inside the monster and we enjoyed a great view of a proboscis family enjoying their evening meal in an adjacent tree.

The dominant male - the massive nose that is his status symbol clearly silhouetted against the sky - sat at the top of the tree, munching on tender young leaves. From time to time, when he had eaten out one branch, he would lean over, grab another and pull it up to within easy picking distance.

His small harem of females, easily distinguished with their smaller, upturned noses, at least a couple of them with youngsters in tow, were dotted around the rest of the tree chewing with enthusiasm.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Borneo Klias River Cruise: Monkey business after sunset

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Small mammals use Borneo pitcher plant as toilet in exchange for nectar

Tree shrews and nocturnal rats in the forests of Borneo have a unique relationship with carnivorous pitcher plants. The mammals defecate, and the pitchers are happy to receive.

A study published on May 31 in the Journal of Tropical Ecology shows a species of giant mountain pitcher plants (Nepenthes rajah) supplements its diet with nitrogen from the feces of tree shrews (Tupaia montana) that forage in daylight and summit rats (Rattus baluensis) active at night. When the small mammals lick nectar from the underside of the pitcher’s lid, they stand directly over the jug-shaped pitcher organ.

The pitchers grow in nutrient-poor, acidic soils and require a supplemental source of nitrogen. Carnivorous plants usually digest bugs, grabbing nitrogen from protein. The Bornean pitchers consume nitrogen-rich feces.

Researchers have already documented tree shrews using two species of Nepenthes pitcher plants as toilets. A third species provides daytime roosts for Hardwicke’s woolly bats in exchange for guano.

However, this is the first instance of a carnivorous plant interacting with two different mammal species, and the first attempt to measure how the plants attract the dining and defecating animals.

“The fact that one of the mammals visits the pitchers during the day and the other one visits during the night indicates that this plant is involved in one of these mutualistic interactions around the clock, which is quite interesting,” said Charles Clarke, an ecologist at Monash University, Malaysia campus, who published a similar study at the same time, in an interview with mongabay.com.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Small mammals use Borneo pitcher plant as toilet in exchange for nectar

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Tourist Arrivals In Sabah Shoots Up 15 Per Cent From Jan-Sept

KOTA KINABALU -- Tourist arrivals in Sabah went up 15 per cent between January-September this year, compared to the same period in 2010.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said 1,909,430 tourists were recorded compared to 1,660,360 last year, which excluded the arrival of foreign workers.

He hoped Sabah would be able to achieve the 2.63 million target by year-end.

Last year, Sabah received 2,504,669 guests, he said at the Kota Kinabalu City Tourism Networking High Tea, organised by the Kota Kinabalu City Hall here today.

Continue reading at: Tourist Arrivals In Sabah Shoots Up 15 Per Cent From Jan-Sept
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Kota Kinabalu Southern City Hub in the making

KOTA KINABALU: Riverson, a RM590 million mix-integrated commercial development located along the coastal highway here and within the City’s Central Business District, is expected to be ready by 2014.

Developed on over 5.5 acres of prime commercial land, it would make its mark on the city as a vibrant proejct comprising four main pillars – The Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Medical Centre, three-storey retail shops (Riverson Walk), a tower of six-storey office suites with mezzanine floor (Riverson Suites) and a seven-storey tower of SoHo units with mezzanine floor (Riverson SoHo).

Riverson Corporation Sdn Bhd managing director Ben Kong Chung Vui said when completed, Riverson together with other existing notable landmarks within the central business district, namely the Sutera Harbour Golf & Country Club, KK Times Square I & II, the upcoming transport-interchange station, Wawasan Plaza, Harbour City, and the newly completed Ming Garden Hotel would form the new KK Southern City Hub.

Ben, who has 15 years experience in the field, envisioned that within the next three to four years, the people shall see a shifting paradigm in the city, the lifestyle, as well as the advancement and growing business environment within Sabah.

“Riverson, being the upcoming new addition to the city, together with its immediate neighbours, will bring about substantial integration of activities and continuous crowd movements, served and generated by about 900 residences, over 600,000 square feet of commercial retail outlets, approximately 800,000 square feet of office space altogether, more than 6,000 car parks and more than 12 hotels in the vicinity; offering no less than 15,000 job opportunities into the market.

“This new integration of Southern Hub is also touted to be the ‘Orchard Road of Kota Kinabalu’, which will become KK’s latest modern and most walkable part offering a complete stretch from leisure to wellness all under one destination,” Ben disclosed to the media recently.

Recently, Danajamin Nasional Berhad granted Riverson a RM200 million five-year Private Debt Securities Bond.

The Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Medical Centre, said Ben, will be the main anchor for Riverson. It will be developed as a tertiary level hospital, bringing Sabah a healthcare facility of international standards that shall work towards enhancing care in the state.

He assured that Gleneagles KK shall be assimilated with regionally well-established premium Gleneagles brand inculcating a facility with five-star hotel amenities and comfort, service levels to match, be infused with cutting edge technology and have a highly trained team of consultants and staff.

With up to 250 beds, 180-seat auditorium, six large operating theaters, 24-hour accident and emergency department and trauma and intensive care centre, he said Gleneagles KK would be built to comply with the Joint Commission International (JCI) standards as well as all content of local and national regulations.

Continue reading at: Kota Kinabalu Southern City Hub in the making
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