There is a lack of information on how the Endangered Bornean orang-utan Pongo pygmaeus morio moves through its environment. Here we report on a camera-trapping study carried out over 2.5 years to investigate the orang-utan's terrestrial behaviour in Wehea Forest, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. We set 41 camera trap stations in an area of secondary forest, 36 in recently logged forest immediately adjacent to Wehea Forest, and 20 in an area of primary forest in the heart of Wehea Forest. A combined sampling effort of 28,485 trap nights yielded 296 independent captures of orang-utans. Of the three study sites, orang-utans were most terrestrial in recently logged forest, which may be only partially explained by breaks in the canopy as a result of logging activity. However, orang-utans were also terrestrial in primary forest, where there was a closed canopy and ample opportunity for moving through the trees. Our results indicate that orang-utans may be more terrestrial than previously thought and demonstrate opportunistic behaviour when moving through their environment, including using newly constructed logging roads for locomotion, possibly indicating some degree of resilience to human disturbance. This finding is important because of the potential role of sustainably logged forests for orang-utan conservation.
Miller's Grizzled Langur (Presbytis hosei canicrus) is one of the least known and rarest primates in Borneo. With a limited geographic range along the central coast of East Kalimantan and the highly degraded Kutai National Park, its former stronghold, this subspecies is now extremely rare and has been listed as one of the world's 25 most endangered primates. From June 6 to August 2, 2011, we carried out both direct observation and camera trap surveys at two mineral springs (sepans) in the Wehea Forest, East Kutai district, East Kalimantan. Presbytis hosei canicrus was observed at the large sepan on 3 of 6 observation days and at the small sepan on 2 of 3 observation days with up to 11 individuals observed in a single day at a single site. Camera traps recorded a per day capture rate of 0.72 at the small sepan and 0.25 at the large sepan and a per photo capture rate of 0.50 and 0.005, respectively. These data suggest relatively frequent occurrence of P. h. canicrus at the sepans, but the langurs are rarely encountered elsewhere in the Wehea Forest. The discovery of P. h. canicrus in the Wehea Forest confirms the continued existence of this endangered primate and is the first solid evidence demonstrating that its geographic range extends further inland than previously thought. It is not known whether the population of P. h. canicrus within Wehea Forest is large and stable enough to be considered viable, but it is likely part of a larger population that may possibly occur across surrounding protected forests and logging concessions. Surveying this potentially large population, and securing its protection, should be a priority measure for ensuring the continued existence of P. h. canicrus.
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