ENVIRONMENT

WILDLIFE KING OF THE SWINGERS: François' langur

he magnificently moustachioed Last chance TFrançois' Langur is believed by the Tay people to be children who have lost their way in the forest and changed their shape in order to survive. Once upon a time, more than 2,500 of them could be found scattered across 23 different to see countries, including China and Vietnam. On the trail of the region's weirdest and most wonderful wildlife, Sadly, the Tay's tradition doesn't extend to other minority groups, who stalk Monkeying around: François' among the rarest creatures on Earth: the first part of aSoutheast langurs for the dining tables of Vietnam's langurs are one of the world's rarest Asia Globe series on the region's endangered species nouveau riche (their bone marrow is monkeys. Handsome and athletic, extracted for medicinal concoctions to they're found in northeast Vietnam feed the incessant black hole in China). and in two Chinese provinces: "They are easy to catch by patient hunters Guangxi and Guizhou who seal up the entrance of sleeping caves for a couple of days after a family group has entered, then poach them in one foul swoop after the animals are in a weakened state, all withered and frail," said Michael Dine, a technical adviser with the People By Laura J. Snook Resources Conservation Foundation (PRCF). "They are in effect a victim of their few decades ago, British au- Dawkins dedicated The God Delu- own habitat and ecology when it comes to thor wrote sion to him, writing: "Science has lost human interaction." The Hitchhiker's Guide to a friend, literature has lost a luminary, Michael, an Australian, has been the Galaxy, a story about the mountain gorilla and the black fortunate enough to encounter wild langurs the world being unexpectedly demol- rhino have lost a gallant defender." Cel- – considered gods in Indonesian folklore A – twice, "hearing their grunts and, on one ished by hideous creatures from an- ebrated comedian , a close particular occasion, watching a family other planet. It was meant as a joke. friend, had lived in Douglas' house group scramble across a vertical rock face Now, animal by animal, tree by tree, while he and Mark travelled the world towards a sleeping cave as the sun set. the world is being demolished around and remembers "taking urgent phone Watching langurs by the fading, last rays us – not by Vogons, but by us. After calls to send maps and lenses to faraway of the day: an ideal scenario for romance writing his book, which sold more than places". In 2008, exactly 20 years after novelists". Working with communities in 14m copies, Douglas decided it was the original journey, Stephen joined the remote forests of Vietnam, Michael time to think about the absurdities of Mark to find out what had become of has learned that "the introduction of new life on Earth and what we're doing to it. the animals. It wasn't just a search for ideas and technological innovation can In 1989, he teamed up with zoologist creatures on the edge of extinction, but be highly risky for people with limited livelihood strategies, that 'seeing is and set off in search for the conservationists who risk their believing' is a golden rule and sitting down of weird and wonderful creatures dan- lives to protect them. over a cup of green tea or drinking a skin gling on the edge of extinction. Doug- Southeast Asia has its own wildlife full of wine (rice or maize, with various las later said of Last Chance to See: heroes – and their task is not an easy medicinal properties) to joke and share "My role, and one for which I was en- one. A week before Mark Cawardine local hospitality are vital ingredients to tirely qualified, was to be an extremely arrived in Cambodia, five of the people developing trusting workable relationships." ignorant non-zoologist to whom eve- he was due to work with were murdered Today, about 1,500 langurs – named rything that happened would come as by poachers. Inspired by the work of in honour of one Monsieur François, who a complete surprise." Douglas, Mark and Stephen, this series was a French consul in China when he first observed them – can be found in In 2001, they had been discussing the is 's tribute to the Southeast Asia Globe small, scattered harems near the caves possibility of new adventures when little-known-yet-heavily-hammered spe- which serve as their sleeping quarters in Douglas suffered a heart attack and cies of Southeast Asia and their equally

Photo: Nati Harnik/AP weathered limestone hills. died. He was 49. Biologist Richard intriguing and elusive guardians.

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Baffling bovid: last spotted nearly 50 years ago, Cambodia's kouprey is one of the most endangered and mysterious large mammals in the world

THE KOUPREY: shared many characteristics with primitive they may be found in these remote forests The last confirmed sighting, by Wharton oxen. Before biologists could learn more, of northern Cambodia." himself, was in 1962 – just 25 years after it A living fossil? disaster struck. "The kouprey was known to One of the main drawbacks to being a was discovered. science for a quarter of a century before kouprey, said Dr Rainey, is being "big and "Sadly, the only confirmed sighting of a he northern plains of Cambodia were disappearing into the fog of war that laid tasty". When Wharton shot the first colour kouprey in recent years has been the skull Tdescribed in the 1950s by American waste to Indochina in the 1960s and footage taken in the wild during a 1951 and horns offered for sale in local markets – explorer Charles Wharton as 'one of the '70s," said Dr Hugo Rainey, a technical expedition, in areas frequently raided by at very high prices," the World Wildlife Fund great gamelands of the world... second adviser with the Wildlife Conservation armed Communists, he noted native hunters has said, but conservationists are reluctant to only to the African gamelands in game Society. "Very large numbers of soldiers using ancient flintlocks and shooting at close declare it extinct. Instead, they point out that abundance'. The immense herds found and guerrillas armed with automatic range. His team estimated that about 500 such cattle are a vital part of Cambodia's included elephant, deer and four species weapons probably caused its demise. It remained. The following year, the adoption of natural order. "Cattle are really, really of wild cattle, of which one was the was a majestic beast weighing nearly a a special resolution by the International Union important," said Dr Rainey. "They do a lot kouprey, Cambodia's national mammal. tonne with horns up to 80cm in length. for the Protection of Nature spurred hopes the of grazing; they're food for tigers and wild Discovered to science in 1937, the Open deciduous forests mixed with dense government would establish sanctuaries for dogs. They're a core part of the ecosystem. If kouprey – Khmer for 'forest bull' – evergreen forests provide ideal habitat for the kouprey. Sadly, hostilities within the region you don't have those, you lose a lot of other was described as 'a living fossil' and these species. If any kouprey remain alive, intensified and the plans were abandoned. species, including leopards." Photo: Wildlife Conservation Society

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PANGOLIN: Nature's exterminator

Scaly anteaters: these armour-plated critters ature's armour-plated pest-controller looks can roll themselves into Nmore like a reptile than it does a mammal. The an impregnable ball pangolin normally shuffles along on its knuckles, but can also climb trees like a caterpillar. Its pointed snout and long, sticky tongue fit perfectly into insect nests. As an adult, it will devour more than 70 million creepy-crawlies a year – potentially saving a small fortune in extermination fees. When threatened, its only defence is to roll up into a ball (after aiming its bottom at would-be aggressors and spraying them with a foul-smelling secretion). That's more than most people know about this shy, secretive creature. Despite being the most trafficked mammal on the planet, it remains largely a mystery to science. It is no stranger, however, to the superstitious. "Carrying a pangolin's tongue in your pocket, in some parts of Indonesia, will protect you from evil," said Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC's deputy director in Southeast Asia."Really? Tell that to the pangolin." Its luck certainly seems to be running out. Populations are plummeting as the demand from Chinese apothecaries for ingredients such as scales and even unborn foetuses intensifies. The market for their so-called medicine is global, fuelled by baseless beliefs that it can aid longevity, ward off witchcraft and keep wild animals at bay. In 2007, one restaurant in Vietnam was found offering Te Te (pangolins) whole or steamed. They can even end up in bottles of wine. "Pangolins are traded by the ton and breed very slowly," said Shepherd. "This is the kind of situation that should be treated very urgently, but in most people's minds it isn't sexy and therefore few care." It's hard to know how many pangolins are left in the wild. Every year more and more end up in cooking pots, despite the best efforts of wildlife officials. In the space of just one week in 2008, Vietnamese authorities in Hai Phong seized 23 tonnes of pangolins – about 8,000 animals. "They must be one of the easiest animals to catch, once you find them," said Shepherd."They have no teeth and their only real defence is to roll up into a ball – a ball that fits perfectly into a bag, unfortunately." Undeterred, he has vowed to fight on and has even designed a pro-pangolin T-shirt, the slogan on which reads: 'This is how we roll.' For as poet Marianne Moore respectfully wrote in The Pangolin: 'This near artichoke with head and legs and grit-equipped gizzard, the night miniature artist engineer is, yes, Leonardo da Vinci's replica– impressive animal and toiler

Photo: Stephen Morrison of whom we seldom hear.'

58 SEA GLOBE ENVIRONMENT

BURNING BRIGHT: The Sumatran Tiger

t the turn of the 20th century, Dutch colonists Areported that Sumatran tigers were so numerous and bold they would enter planters' homes. Immortalised in the Indian proverb 'Do not blame God for having created the tiger, but thank him for not having given it wings,' this spectacular tertiary predator has long mystified man. Chinese druggists pedalling myths that their body parts have the power to cure certain ills have fuelled human greed and by 1978 the island's tiger population had shrivelled to just 1,000 thanks to 'traditions' such as using eyeballs to treat epilepsy and whiskers to cure toothache. "Who was the first person to think a tiger penis might be worth eating?" asked Chris Shepherd, regional deputy director of TRAFFIC. "Come to that, how long do people have to eat owl eyes before they realise their night vision isn't like that of an owl? 'Tiger genitalia will improve your sex life.' Tigers have sex for seconds at a time: is that what people are going for? And if you want another gross example of wildlife used for magic, I once watched a 'medicine man' force fresh tiger crap down a mentally handicapped man's throat in order to drive away evil. Mental pictures like that just don't go away." Among the Sumatran tiger's staunchest supporters is Debbie Martyr, who started working in Kerinci Seblat National Park in 1994 "with no background in conservation biology or zoology, thinking Habitat was a jolly useful shop and landscape was what [English Romantic painter] Constable did". Today, she heads the Fauna & Flora International (FFI) tiger programme she founded in Kerinci Seblat, where dwindling forests serve as a buffer against logging firms and ever- expanding human sprawl. Of the roughly 700 tigers still roaming wild, more than half are found here. "The wild tiger, the 'tyger, tyger, burning bright' of myth, is a shadow of red, gold and white seen fleetingly in the forest gloom," said Debbie. "This is an animal never in Sumatra referred to directly as a tiger by forest workers, but by names of respect for a species some believe represents ancestral spirits; described as 'polite', anxious to avoid contact with people. But you don't have to see a wild tiger to feel its presence, the essence of wild nature. The forest falls silent, heavy with suspense; a dry twig snaps – the tiger's way of saying 'I am passing' – and then it is gone and the cicadas and a million other insects start singing again. We are humbled, and perhaps that is the key: rather than a last chance to see, we should Final roar: found exclusively on be looking for a last chance to make good, to be Sumatra, these are Indonesia’s last polite to tigers as an icon of wild nature, and to our remaining tigers Photo: Binsar Bakkar planet as the tiger is polite to us."

Top5: Species that bounced back, page 62 60 SEA GLOBE