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Related Information:

Haze Alert Update (Provided by WWF Malaysia)

Press Statement by WWF Netherlands

Indonesian Fires: WWF Calls for Preventive Actions (9/25/97)


Special Fact Sheet: Species Affected by the Fire in Indonesia

Sun Bear

  • SUN BEAR / Helarctos malayanus

    IUCN Status Category: not classified, "data deficient".

    1. Population data Erik Meijaard, a Dutch biologist who has done research of several species in Kalimantan and works closely with orang expert H.D. Rijksen, confirms good data are lacking. Few surveys of the sunbear have been carried out recently. Meijaard has no population estimates either. The best estimate available is 1 Sun bear per sq km. Source: "Faunal survey of Sabah", G. Davies and J. Payne, 1981. WWF Malaysia. This species was Classified by IUCN as Vulnerable, but since there is such a lack of recent data, IUCN has listed it as "data deficient".

    2. Distribution: according to Meijaard, we can assume Sun bears occur wherever there is considerable forest cover, both on Kalimantan and Sumatra.

    3. Danger
    Probably this species has a better chance to recover (if they can escape) than e.g. orangs, because they have a high breeding capacity. They can have several births a year, normally two cubs, but if a cub is lost the mother could give birth to another to replace any lost cubs. Other threats: This species is on Appendix I of CITES and according to the IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group, the trade in bear gall bladders is a significant threat to the survival of the Asiatic black bear, the Sloth bear and Brown bear populations in Asia, and to a lesser degree, the Sun bear and the American black bear.

    4. Maps/ extra info:

    • Davies and Payne
    • map not available

    Sumatran Tiger

  • SUMATRAN TIGER/ Panthera tigris sumatrae

    IUCN Status Category: Critically endangered

    1. Population data
    With the extinction of the Bali and Javan tiger (respectively, 1980s and 1940s), Indonesia has now only the Sumatran tiger. Recent estimate: 400 in five national parks. Around 100 tigers have poor prospects of survival in areas outside of protected areas.

    2. Distribution
    In five national parks: Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat, Barisan Selatan, Way Kambas and Berbak It also occurs in other areas in small isolated populations outside of nature reserves.

    3. Danger According to the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group, tigers have been fairly resilient during other forest fires (early 1980s) and move away from the burning areas. The majority will probably survive, but it possible that some could die. This species is on Appendix I of CITES and is seriously threatened by the demand for its bones and parts for use in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

    4. Maps, extra info

    • Wanted Alive series: Tigers in the Wild, by P Jackson and E Kemf
    • Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan by C Nowell and P Jackson, IUCN, Gland, 1996
    • map: recent map of reserves from PJackson available through E. Kemf
    • Figure 5, Map of Indochina and Southeast Asia, showing tiger conservation unit, A Framework for Identifying High Priority Areas and Actions for the Conservation of Tigers in the Wild, (available from WWF-US)
    • extra info possibly via website http:\\lynx.uio.no\catfolk
    • Tiger Threatened Species Account.

    Orang utan

  • ORANGUTAN /Pongo pygmaeus abelii (Sumatra) and P.p. pygmaeus (of Borneo - Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak)

    IUCN Classification: Vulnerable, but on Appendix I of CITES

    1. Population data
    Total estimated at less than 30,000 individuals, which represents a decline of 30-50% in the last decade. Estimate for Sumatra: 9,200 in and around Gunung Leuser park in the North. For Kalimantan: figures poorly known, guesstimate is from 10,200 to 15,500 on Borneo.

    2. Distribution
    In Sumatra, only in the moist forests of Aceh and Sumatera Utera provinces, exact boundaries not known. In Kalimantan, their presence has been confirmed in 14 proposed or gazetted protected areas, and they live in isolated populations. We also have an indication of population estimates in several parks in Kalimantan. Southern parks are:

    Gunung Palung 3750 Tanjung Puting 1080-1800

    WWF IP and Nl have started a project to get the latest info available on maps, in collaboration with WCMC. This has not been finalised yet, but we will do our best to get the info on orang distribution, protected areas and hot-spots together. WWF/NL got in contact with WCMC for this, but it may take a few days to come up with an overview or map. In any case, we can confirm the presence of orang groups in the southern part of Kalimantan, the most affected area. For Sumatra there is much less immediate danger, as they only occur in the northern part, in and around G. Leuser.

    3. Danger
    Herman Rijksen, a Dutch orangutan expert who has a book on the species in press, is quite pessimistic on the chances for the species to escape. Even if they can escape from a burning area, they often have to cross populated areas (they live in pockets) and under normal circumstances they do not get further than 30-40 km outside their range. If they are lucky and there is an adjacent forest area they may be in trouble too. They would have to compete with other individuals that have their own territories, and food resources are limited. It is estimated that less than 2% percent of the orang utan's original habitat remains. Also, orang utans cannot swim, so rivers which present barriers to fires may also prevent orang utans escaping the flames.

    Important orang areas where fire hot spots are shown on satellite maps (Meijaard, pers. comm.):

    • the area in and south of Gunung Palung N.P. (SW Kalimantan)
    • the area in and east of Tanjung Puting (South Kalimantan)
    • Central Kalimantan, north and NE of Tanjung Puting. East of Barito there is hardly forest, and no orangs.

    Gunung Palung is already a disturbed area, and the southern coastal tip of the area suffers from small-scale, but very destructive illegal logging from Java. The Central area is on fire at several places, and as this orang area is very fragmented and has already been logged intensely, is probably the most threatened area for the species at this moment (Meijaard, pers.comm.). As of oct 1, 1997, orang utan casualties in Kalimantan as a result of fires were reported as 31 rescued (11 in Kalimantan Tengah, 7 Kalimant Timur, 12 Kalimantan Barat, 1 Kalimantan Selatan) and 30 adult females killed (Willie Smits, pers. Comm.)

    4. Maps/extra info

    Asian Elephant

  • ASIAN ELEPHANT/ Elephas maximus

    IUCN Classification: Endangered CITES Appendix I

    1,2 Population status and distribution
    Main concentrations of elephants on Sumatra occur in the north (Aceh) and centre of the island (near Pakanbaru), both in concentrations between 300-400 animals. The Way Kambas National Park is inhabited by an estimated 200 to 250 animals, and has three training centres for captive elephants, with more than 50 animals. Sumatra has an estimated number of 2,500-4,500 individuals. On Kalimantan, all elephants are concentrated in the north, in the border area between Sabah and Kalimantan. The population estimate is 750 -1,000.

    3. Danger
    Human-elephant conflict is a problem throughout Asia and elephants have been poisoned in Indonesia. WWF believes that assessing, controlling and reducing human/elephant conflict is one of the highest priority actions that needs to be taken. Clearance of forests for settlement and agriculture is disrupting traditional elephant migration routes and leading to violent clashes between hungry elephants and villagers.

    4. Maps/extra info/maps

    Rhino

  • JAVAN RHINOCEROS/ Rhinoceros sondaicus SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS/ Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

    IUCN Classification: Critically endangered (both) CITES Appendix I (both)

    1, 2 Population and distribution
    Ujung Kulong National Park possibly contains the only global viable population of the Javan rhinoceros in the world, with an estimated number of around 60. The only other concentration is in Vietnam, with less than 15 animals.

    According to IUCN SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group the Sumatran rhino is the most critically endangered of all rhino species with a population of 250-400 in the wild, with a fragmented distribution in Sumatra, Sabah (Malaysia), and Peninsular Malaysia. Remnants may survive in Sarawak, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos but their existence in unconfirmed and the viability of any populations unlikely. The Sumatran rhino in Indonesia only occurs on Sumatra, with only an estimated 100-200 animals. Main concentrations are found in 13 protected areas including three National Parks: Gunung Leuser (around 60), Kerinci Seblat (less than 30) and Barisan Selatan (over 20).

    3. Danger
    In the area where the main hot spots are found (satellite info 14-24 Sept), mainly remnant populations of Sumatran rhinos seem to be threatened: Way Kambas has an estimated 3-5 individuals, Berbak around 1-2. The main concentrations are found outside of the fire area; similarly, the situation is the same for the rhinos in Malaysia, which are found mainly in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.

    The death of five Javan rhinos (the rarest of the Asian rhinos) as a result of a viral infection in Ujung Kulong during 1981-82 emphasized the vulnerability of small rhino populations to disease and natural disaster. A small fire occurred in Ujung Kulong on the 16 Sept. but PHPA managed to control it in a day. Illegal killing for the international trade in rhino horns for their use in Traditional Chinese medicine is contributing to the serious decline of these animals.

    4. Extra info/maps

  • WWF Wanted Alive: Rhinos in the Wild (WWF 1994)
  • Asian rhinos: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, Edited by T. Foose, al., SSC/IUCN Asian Rhino Specialist Group, 1996, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
  • maps/tables in IUCN SSC Asian rhinos: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, 1996
  • WWF's Threatened Species Accounts on Javan and Sumatran rhinos, 1996