The leopard Panthera pardus is widely distributed across Africa and Asia; however, there is a gap in its natural distribution in Southeast Asia, where it occurs on the mainland and on Java but not on the interjacent island of Sumatra. Several scenarios have been proposed to explain this distribution gap. Here, we complemented an existing dataset of 68 leopard mtDNA sequences from Africa and Asia with mtDNA sequences (NADH5 + ctrl, 724 bp) from 19 Javan leopards, and hindcasted leopard distribution to the Pleistocene to gain further insights into the evolutionary history of the Javan leopard. Our data confirmed that Javan leopards are evolutionarily distinct from other Asian leopards, and that they have been present on Java since the Middle Pleistocene. Species distribution projections suggest that Java was likely colonized via a Malaya‐Java land bridge that by‐passed Sumatra, as suitable conditions for leopards during Pleistocene glacial periods were restricted to northern and western Sumatra. As fossil evidence supports the presence of leopards on Sumatra at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, our projections are consistent with a scenario involving the extinction of leopards on Sumatra as a consequence of the Toba super volcanic eruption (~74 kya). The impact of this eruption was minor on Java, suggesting that leopards managed to survive here. Currently, only a few hundred leopards still live in the wild and only about 50 are managed in captivity. Therefore, this unique and distinctive subspecies requires urgent, concerted conservation efforts, integrating in situ and ex situ conservation management activities in a One Plan Approach to species conservation management.
The 1,080 km 2 Batang Gadis National Park in the North Sumatra province of Indonesia was established in December 2004 by the regional government of Mandailing Natal district. The Park has the potential to make an important contribution to tiger conservation but lacks scientific data on the occurrence of the species. This study aimed to assess the tiger population of the Park, using camera trapping conducted between December 2005 and July 2006. We recorded a mean tiger density of 1.8 tigers per 100 km 2 (95% CI 1.8-6.4) and, based on this, estimated the tiger population in and adjacent to the Park to be 29-103 adults. We found that tiger presence was negatively correlated with altitude and positively correlated with distance from forest edge to the interior, and , 18% of the total suitable habitat occupied by tigers was of high quality. This study indicates that Batang Gadis National Park potentially serves as a natural corridor betwen the Angkola and Barumun-Rokan ecosystems, areas totalling c. 6,500 km 2 , and that this landscape could serve as a stronghold for tiger populations in northern Sumatra.
Ario A, Kartono AP, Prasetyo LB, Supriatna J. 2018. Post-release adaptation of Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) in MountMalabar Protected Forest, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 1482-1491. Post-release adaptation study of Javan gibbon(Hylobates moloch) was conducted in twelve months from April 2016 to March 2017 in the Mount Malabar Protected Forest, West Java.We studied eleven Javan gibbons released between March 2014 to August 2016. The purpose of this study was to assess the adaptiveability of the released Javan gibbons. Data collection was conducted by focal animal sampling method with 5-minute interval recordingtime and ad libitum method. The average time allocation of Javan gibbon activities was the following: feeding 23.02±1,62%; moving26.95±3.07%; resting 40.88±3.81%; socializing 7.56±3.55%; sexual 0.26±0.24%; and vocalizing 0.95±0.21%. We compared activityallocation data from this study and those from wild Javan gibbons and found similarities as follows: 47.60% at a family of Jowo-Bombom-Yani-Yudi, 62.45% at a pair of Moly-Nancy, 51.70% at a pair of Robin-Moni and 52.58% at a family of Mel-Pooh-Asri. Postreleaseadaptation of Javan gibbon is influenced by internal and external factors. Internal factor includes the ability of each individual todevelop wild behavior according to its gender and age group, in terms of natural fruit consumption, brachiation movement, morningcalls and alarm calls, as well as affiliative bonds among individuals. External factors include the ability of Javan gibbon to adapt to theenvironment, namely weather conditions and human presence.
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