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KUCHING, Aug 16: In an exciting development in wildlife research, camera traps set up by WWF-Malaysia for wildlife survey have captured images of orangutans within the lush forests of Gunung Lesong in Sri Aman Division.
According to a joint press statement by Gunung Lesong Community Based Ecotourism Committee, Sri Aman Development Agency (SADA) and WWF-Malaysia, this scores the first historic camera trap images of the elusive primate im the area, accentuating the need to better protect the remaining forests outside Gunung Lesong National Park.
These newly emerged images also bring in good news to Sarawak, particularly stakeholders in this landscape who have been working together to conserve and sustainably manage the landscape as a potential ecotourism complex, and is timely for the coming International Orangutan Day which falls on Aug 19 annually.
WWF-Malaysia senior field biologist Lukmann Haqeem Alen said after months of installing camera traps to get the baseline wildlife information for the area, the team was exhilarated to see images of the orangutans, Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, on camera.
“As far as we know, this is the first time we have captured orangutans using camera traps in Gunung Lesong. The locals have reported seeing orangutans in the area, more often during the fruiting season.
“In December 2022, a community member managed to record a video that is believed to feature an orangutan. The camera trap images of orangutans reaffirmed what the local people have been saying,” he said in the statement today.
Lukmann elaborated that three individuals are present based on their body sizes and facial features. Notably, one poignant image featured a mother orangutan tenderly cradling her infant, emblematic of ongoing breeding activities in the region.
“We do not have a definitive answer yet as to why these orangutans venture down to the ground in this area. Normally, orangutans spend most of their time in trees, but occasionally, they do come down to the ground, and this behaviour has been observed in other locations too,” he said.
In a sequence of camera trap images of a female orangutan with her baby, the primate appeared from a nearby creek before climbing up a tree. The orangutan might have come down in search of water before seeking safe refuge on trees again.
Gunung Lesong, about 850m above sea level, is a mountain that was historically revered as a sacred place among the Ibans in Sarawak. The presence of orangutans in the mountain is one of the factors that led to the gazettement of Gunung Lesong as a national park in 2013.
Nearby, the Ulu Sebuyau National Park, predominantly peat swamp, was gazetted in 2010. Both the Gunung Lesong and Ulu Sebuyau national park form a large complex of orangutan habitat that encompasses community lands in between.
The presence of community lands within an important orangutan habitat range has prompted WWF-Malaysia to work with them in safeguarding the surrounding Gunung Lesong’s precious ecosystem.
One of the key activities is to recognise the Gunung Lesong-Ulu Sebuyau Corridor for orangutans, by ensuring that the forests remain intact within this 389-hectare corridor and benefit the orangutans which move between these sites.
Under the Sri Aman Development Agency (SADA) masterplan, Gunung Lesong and orangutans are integral aspects of the ecotourism complex.
Special Administrative Officer Datu Indit Bangai of SADA pointed out that the presence of orangutans, both inside and outside of the national parks are indicative of the Sarawak government’s effort in conserving this iconic species and the forest where they live.
“Under SADA, we will continue to work with all key stakeholders including WWF-Malaysia, in developing a community-based ecotourism model for this area, and to conserve orangutans and their habitats. We are indeed delighted with the camera trap images of orangutans in this area.”
WWF-Malaysia hopes that this brings equal excitement to all stakeholders who are part of this conservation journey for this area. One of them is the Gunung Lesong Community Based Ecotourism Committee, set-up in 2018 and represented by the communities living here, to promote ecotourism and sustainable livelihood activities.
Committee chairperson Dr Victor Luna said local communities are encouraged to actively take part in conservation related activities that not only protect the environment and orangutans, but also bring income to the people through cultural and tourism activities.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak has identified this area as having great potential to be further developed into a successful ecotourism site, but above all, we must sustainably manage and prevent degradation or conversion of orangutan habitats here.
“Gunung Lesong is also my hometown and I envision the people here to pursue sustainable livelihood options such as ecotourism and agroforestry,” he added.
The project to conserve orangutan habitats and implementing communities livelihood activities could not have been carried out by WWF-Malaysia alone without the support of other stakeholders.
They include the Resident Office of Sri Aman, District Offices of Pantu and Lingga, Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Forest Department Sarawak, Department of Agriculture, and Land and Survey Department to name a few, which have come together in developing a local zonation plan for the area that incorporates conservation and sustainable development through agroforestry and community livelihood activities.
Key to these successes are the local communities of Gunung Lesong which have embraced the concept of co-existence with orangutans and pledged their unwavering support to protecting orangutan habitats.
“In celebration of International Orangutan Day, let us all echo the strong partnerships of all stakeholders in Sarawak in recognising the importance of conserving orangutans. Together possible.” — DayakDaily
