The Hunting of White-tailed rat by Minahasa Tribe, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

The tradition of eating and trading wild animals (bushmeat) is said to have existed for thousands of years ago and has remained to this day. Forest rats are one of the wild animals which in recent times have been hunted and used meat for consumption. The phenomenon of scarcity and decline in the population of forest rats in their habitat in the forest area of North Sulawesi is thought to have begun. The objective of this study was to investigate the hunting activities of white-tailed rat by the Minahasa tribe, North Sulawesi from September to October 2018. The method used snowball sampling for selecting rat hunters as respondents. A total of 60 hunters were interviewed in two villages. Data were obtained using structured questionnaires surveys. The result shows that local people generally do hunting for hobby (55%). They are generally farmers, with low levels of education and income. They primarily use guns (4 8.33%) for catching rats, while the other use dog (23.33%), trap (8.33%) and all three (20%). Hunting time of white-tailed rat done during day and night. There are other types of wild animals that are hunted such as bat, bird, wild pig, snake, and squirrel.

Species of white-tailed forest rats hunted and traded, their conservation status and habitat characteristics, in North Sulawesi, Indonesia

“…Furthermore, the air rifle method was used in catching the animals, however, most hunters in Minahasa use guns to hunt. Several methods and tools are used for hunting rats in Minahasa, but the most widely used is a gun (Laatung et al 2019). They are considered easy to carry and more practical in their use, especially when hunting for arboreal animals (Wiafe 2018;Cowlishaw and Dunbar 2000).…”

“…According to the results of the study by Laatung et al, (2019), the reason for hunting white-tailed forest rats is because hunters take it as a hobby, and the result of the hunt is usually consumed alone or sold for profit. Hunting is also done when there is an order or request for whitetailed forest rats to be presented on special occasions such as family thanksgiving celebrations or other religious events.…”

“…Utilization for consumption purposes has a significant contribution to the availability of animal proteins in rural areas. Furthermore, hunting usually involves members of the family or friends, especially when the location is far from the hunter's house (Laatung et al 2019). An example of a factor that affects a large number of hunting members is relatively new hunting areas.…”

“…Currently more are obtained from those in the western area of North Sulawesi such as in Bolaang Mongondow district and even Gorontalo. The condition also applies to some other species of wildlife that are often hunted for sale or consumption, such as whitetailed forest rats, snakes, flying foxes, and wild pigs (Laatung et al 2019), and available for sale in 73% of the markets and supermarkets in North Sulawesi (Latinne et al 2019).…”