refuge for wildlife.

By Stephanie Lee
The Star/Asia News Network
Monday, Sep 24, 2012

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia - A lesser-known conservation area in Sabah is proving to be an important wildlife habitat with a 15-day research expedition finding movements of orang utan in the area.

Researchers are now worried that the primates and other wildlife in the Imbak Canyon are at risk of being hunted by encroachers in the 30,000ha conservation area that is about the size of Penang island.

The survey programme's consultant Dr Rahimatshah Amat said cameras stationed at several locations caught images of limbs very similar to that of an orang utan, as well as proof of encroachment and poaching activities.

"Though there is no full picture of the primate itself, the image of a hand caught on some of our cameras along the eastern part of Imbak Canyon towards Danum Valley indicated a population of the animal," he said.

He said colonies of the orang utan were also discovered along the west side of Imbak Canyon along with the movements of individuals during the survey conducted from July 5 to 20.

"However, we are not sure whether these movements were those of the primates or people," said Rahimatshah, who is also chief technical officer (Borneo programme) of the World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia.

A joint patrol will be held by the Sabah Wildlife Department and other agencies such as Sabah Foundation and Petronas to look into the matter.

"There are signs of activities non-compatible to the conservation area as well as sightings of dogs there. By right, dogs should not be present within any conservation area. When there are dogs, it means people are present, too," he explained.

Sabah Foundation group conservation and environmental management division group manager Dr Waidi Sinun said Imbak Canyon was increasingly becoming a refuge for wildlife.

"An ideal location for the setting-up of a research centre for this purpose has been identified and is expected to be ready by next year," he said.

Waidi said Petronas, through its public awareness programme, contributed almost RM6mil for the Imbak Canyon conservation area.

Babi Hutan (Wild Boar)

Ia berasal dari hutan jarang di kebanyakan kawasan Eropah Tengah, Mediterranean (termasuk Banjaran Atlas Afrika Utara), serta di kebanyakan kawasan di Asia sehingga Indonesia di selatan. Babi hutan juga telah dibawa masuk ke banyak tempat yang lain. Ia tergolong dalam famili Suidae yang sama dengan Warthog dan Bushpig di Afrika, Pygmy Hog di India utara, dan Babi Rusa di Indonesia, antara lain. Babi Hutan adalah lebih jauh hubungannya dengan peccary atau javelina yang didapati di kawasan barat daya Amerika Syarikat serta di seluruh Amerika Tengah dan Selatan. Nama saintifiknya Sus scrofa.
Hutan Babi boleh mencapai 440 paun (200 kilogram) ([1] dengan laporan lebih berat yang tidak disahkan) untuk babi jantan dewasa, dan sehingga 6 kaki (1.8 meter) panjangnya. Jika diperanjatkan atau dikepung, Babi Hutan boleh menjadi amat garang, khususnya babi betina dengan anak-anaknya, dan jika diserang, akan mempertahankan diri dengan sedaya upaya menggunakan gigi taringnya.
Babi Hutan pupus di Great Britain pada abad ke-17, tetapi babi-babi yang membiak di kawasan liar telah kembali ke sesetengah kawasan, khususnya di Weald, selepas melarikan diri daripada penternakan hutan babi.
Source:http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi_Hutan

wwf.or.id

Di negeri Sabah, Malaysia, babi hutan (bakas) merupakan makanan kegemaran etnik peribumi. Disebabkan ia amat digemari, maka pemburuan terhadapnya amat melampau. Ini memaksa kerajaan menjadikan bakas sebagai salah satu binatang terancam dan tidak boleh diburu tanpa lesen/kebenaran. Para penjual daging bakas mesti mendapatkan lesen daripada kerajaan.

RHINOSCHEROS OF BORNEO

There is one species of rhino in Borneo, commonly called the Sumatran rhinoceros, with the scientific name Dicerorhinus sumatrensis. The Borneo form of this rhino is considered to be a separate subspecies (D. S. harrissoni) from the rhinos on Sumatra Island and mainland Malaysia. They feed on the leaves of a wide variety of seedlings and young trees. Unlike other rhino species and other large herbivorous mammals in Borneo (elephant, wild cattle, deer), the Sumatran rhino is a strict forest-dweller that ventures out of forest cover only in unusual situations. Sumatran rhinos are currently found in peninsular Malaysia, and on the islands of Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia) and Sumatra (Indonesia).

The main reasons for the drop in rhino numbers are illegal hunting and the fact that the remaining rhinos are so isolated they may rarely or never meet to breed. In addition, there is evidence that a high proportion of the female rhinos on Borneo have reproductive problems. Many of the remaining rhinos are old and possibly beyond reproductive age, so the death rate may be exceeding the birth rate.

A field survey of Sabah's rhinos in May 2005 involved about 120 people in 16 teams. It was undertaken by the Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Parks, the Sabah Foundation, the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project, S.O.S Rhino, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Operation Raleigh and WWF-Malaysia. Also participating in the effort to protect Borneo's remaining rhinos are the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Sabah Foundation, S.O.S Rhino, Honda Malaysia and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Other threatened wildlife in Borneo includes clouded leopards, sun bears, and three species of leaf monkeys found nowhere else in the world. The island is also home to 10 primate species, more than 350 bird species, 150 reptiles and amphibians and 15,000 plants.

SOURCE:

World Wildlifre Fund

ORANG UTAN: ENDANGERED SPECIES

Orangutans are large apes that live in southeast Asia (on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra). These apes mostly live in trees (they are arboreal) and swing from branch to branch using their arms.

The word orangutan means "man of the forest" in the Malay language. As its habitats are being usurped by man, the orangutan's population is decreasing and it is in grave danger of extinction.

ANATOMY
Orangutans have a large, bulky body, a thick neck, very long, strong arms, short, bowed legs, and no tail. Orangutans are about 2/3 the size of the gorilla.

Hair:
They are mostly covered with long reddish-brown hair.

The Head:
The orangutan has a large head with a prominent mouth area. Adult males have large cheek flaps (which get larger as the ape ages).

Senses:
Orangutans have senses very similar to ours, including hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch.

Hands and Feet:
Orangutan hands are very much like ours; they have four long fingers plus an opposable thumb. Their feet have four long toes plus an opposable big toe. Orangutans can grasp things with both their hands and their feet. The largest males have an arm span of about 7.5 feet (2.3 m). 

SIZE
Orangutans are about 2/3 the size of the gorilla. 
DIET
Orangutans are omnivores (they eat both plants and animals) but are mostly herbivorous (plants comprise most of their diet). They eat fruit (their favorite food), leaves, seeds, tree bark, plant bulbs, tender plant shoots, and flowers. They also eat insects and small animals (like birds and small mammals).

Orangutans don't even have to leave their tree branches to drink, they drink water that has collected in the holes between tree branches. 

INTELLIGENCE AND LANGUAGE
Orangutans are very intelligent. They have been known to use found objects as tools; for example, they use leaves as umbrellas to keep the rain from getting them wet. They also use leaves as cups to help them drink water. 

BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL HABITS
Orangutans are shy, solitary animals that are active during the day (they are diurnal). They live alone in large territories. This is probably due to their eating habits; they need a large area in order to get enough food and too many orangutans in one area might lead to starvation.

The only long-lasting orangutan social group is the mother and offspring, who live together for about 7 years. When mating, the male and female orangutan stay together for only a few days.

Sleeping Platforms:
Each evening, orangutans construct a "nest" in the tree branches for the night in which they will curl up and sleep. These nests are made out of leaves and branches. Nests are shared by a mother and her nursing offspring. Sometimes, the orangutan will use a leaf as a "roof" to protect itself from the rain. Orangutans often nap in the afternoon after a morning spent obtaining food.

COMMUNICATION AND VOCALIZATION
Male orangutans are capable of very long, loud calls (called "long calls") that carry through forests for up to 0.6 mile (1 km). The "long call" is made up of a series of sounds followed by a bellow. These calls help the male claim his territory, call to females, and keep out intruding male orangutans. Males have a large throat sac that lets them make these loud calls.

LOCOMOTION
Orangutans usually move by swinging from one branch to another; this is called brachiating. Orangutans can also walk using their legs (but rarely do). Orangutans do not swim. 

LIFE SPAN
Orangutans live about 50 years in captivity; their life span in the wild is only 30-45 years (like most animals, they live longer in captivity).

HABITAT
Orangutans live in tropical rain forests. 

DISTRIBUTION
Orangutans live in Asia. They are the only great ape from Asia. They are found in tropical rain forests in northern Sumatra, Indonesia and in low-lying swamps in Borneo.

• Subspecies (perhaps a subspecies) Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus (From Borneo, with a round face and dark red hair;)
• Subspecies (perhaps a subspecies) Pongo pygmaeus abelii (From Sumatra, with a narrow face and paler hair)

REPRODUCTION AND BABY ORANGUTANS
Orangutans are mature and capable of reproducing beginning when they are 7 to 10 years old. Females are pregnant for 8.5 to 9 months and give birth to a single baby. Young orangutans are weaned from their mothers at about 6-7 years of age. 

NATURAL ENEMIES
The animal that poses the biggest threat to the orangutan is man (who uses its habitat and sells young orangutans as pets). 

POPULATION
Orangutans are an endangered species. They are decreasing in numbers quickly as they lose habitat to people. Further aggravating the problem, baby orangutans are caught and sold around the world as pets. 

THE EVOLUTION OF ORANGUTANS
The earliest-known primates date from about 70 million years ago (Macdonald, 1985). The greater apes (family Pongidae, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans) split off from the lesser apes (family Hylobatidae, gibbons and siamangs) 20 million years ago.


source: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/