rssN 0121-812 Vol XXVI 2009.2010

The Journalof WILDLIFE ANdPARKS Jo rnal of Indlife and Por|,s (2009-2010)26 : 59-66

A STUDY ON ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF CLOUDED AND MARBLED IN TEMENGOR RESERVE, HULU PERAK

Rufino, M.B,M, Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, Dennis Ten Choon yung, David Magintan, CosmasNgau, Abu Zahrim Ismail, Hamidi Jamaludin. Zainal A.M.. Idlan Rasdi and Fauzrul Azim Z.A.

Department of Wildlife and National parks (DIltNp) KMl0 Jalan Cheras, 56100Kuala Lumpur,

ABSTRACT

A camerattapping study was conductedin TemengorForest Reserve, Hulu perak from June2007 till August 2008. This study is an attempt to document basic findings of speciesin the study area. Forty-seven images of five feline were recorded during the 2gl3 nights. Photographed images of felids obtained were the Malayan Trger ( tigris), ( neburosa),Asiatic Golden cat ( temmincki), Ma;bled, cat (Pardofelis marmorqta) and the (prionqilurus bengarensis). Activity patterns analysisofthe most presented(n>10 photos) feline specieswhich are the clouded Leopard and the were conducted.The study reveals that both clouded Leopard and the Marbled Cat are partly nocturnal with 58% (n=11 photos) ofnocturnal activities for the Clouded Leooard and 50% (n:5 photos) ofnocturnal activities for the Marbled Cat,

Keywords: Camera trapping, lelids, Clouded Leopard, Marbled Cat, activity pattern.

INTRODUCTION

Tropical rainforests ofPeninsular Malaysia support sevenspecies of wild (Lim, r999). Four of them are categodzed as smarl cats (Medway, 1983; corbet & Hill, 1992), reclassified into three genera,namely , Pardofelisand Catopuma(Wilson & Reeder,1993). The Pardofeliswas assignedto the clouded Leopard (p nebulosa) andthe Matbled.cat (p. marmirara) meanwhile the genus Prionailurus was designatedto two smaller-sizecats. the Leopard Cat 1p bengalensis)and, the Flat-headedcat (p planiceps).The intermediatesize cat, the Aslatic Golden Cat was assignedto the genus Catopuma(Catopuma temmincki\.

peninsular Most ofthe studies on wild cats done in Malaysia concentratedon the Malayan (Panthera tigris),thvs the smallercatswhich are lessspectacularthan the big catsreceiving little or no attention at all (Lim, 1999).Information ofthese smaller cats was scattered,usually splcimens being found on road kills, in captivity (Hemmer, 196g; yamada & Durrant, tOtil, sigtrrings repofts and camera (Lim & Abdul Rahman Omar, 1961;Davies. 1990: Saharudin & Azmi, 1995; Kawanishi et al., 1999: Sirka & Annette, 2000; Laidlaw, 2000: Saharudin. 2001: Ghose,2002;Kawanishi & Sunquist,2004; Azlan & Lading, 2006; Kawanishi & Sunquist,200g). camera trapping was introduced to aid in wildlife population census where data collected lrom indirect signs alone can be fraught as it dependson the knowledge of the tracker. It is the 60 Rufino, M., Abtlul Kadir Abu Hashim, Dennis Ten Choon Yung, Darid Magintan, Cosnas Ngau, Abu Zahrin Ismail, Hamidi Jamaludin, Zainal A.M., Idlan Rasdi & Fauzul Azim Z A least intrusive method to obtain permanent records of the presence of multiple taxa, day and night for a long period of time (Kawanishi, 2001), individual identification, estimating wildlife population (Karanth, 1995), collecting species inventories (Maffei et al ,2002; Silveira et al., 2003; Trolle, 2003b; Srbek-Araujo & Garcia, 2005; Azlan & Lading, 2006), studying activity patterns (Kawanishi & Sunquist, 2OO4:Gomez et al.,2005; Azlan & Sharma, 2006; Azlan & Lading, 2006; Kawanishi & Sunquist, 2008) and estimating density (Mace et al., 1994 Karanth & Nichols, 1998;Sweitzer e, a/., 2000; Trolle & Kery,2003; Silvet et a/., 2004; Rowcliffe et a1.,2008).

This study was conductedto document the fundamental information on biology of small felids in T€mengorForest R€serveutilizing camera trapping method, that later will facilitate much more comprehensivestudies for theseleast known catnivores in Peninsular Malaysia.

Study Site

The study was conductedwithin a 40 km'?areainTemengor ForestReserve, Hulu Perak.Temengor ForestReserve constitute a total areaof 148,870hectares has been recognized as an ImportantBird Area (Birdlife International, 2008) where it hosts globally threatened Plain-pouched Hornbill (Aceros subrufcollis), consideredas the last refuge for at least 14 globally threatenedmammals such as Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis),Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris) a$d' home to countlessflora speciesincluding Rafflesia (the world's largest flowet. Tem€ngorForest Reserveis also known as an important water catchmentarea for major rivers in Perak.

MATERIALS AND METTIODS

Camera traps

A total of ll custom-madeSony tracking cameraswere utilized in this study. These cameratraps are powered by 1.5 and 9 volt alkaline batteries, equipped with active infrared motion detectot masterlock @ Python lock, Pelicanwaterproolcasing and I gigabyteMemory StickPro. The delay betweeneach consecutive photograph was setto l0 seconds.Camera traps were deployedalong the animal's main trails identified earlier from the rapid survey conductedand the distancebetween each camera trap approximately 1.5 to 2 kilometers. Camera traps were mounted on trees for at least 0.3 m abovethe ground and were deployed continuously for a minimum period of I month without breaks for monitoring or changing the batteries.

Photo Analysis

Identiflcation of photographedanimals was determined basedon description and illustrations by MohamadMomin Khan (1992).Exposures offelids were examinedfurtherto determinethe species and th€ir activity level. Photographsolother wildlife specieswere not included for the analysis.

ActiYity Patt€rns

The time and date imprinted on photographsoffelids were used to calculatethe activity levels of respectivespecies (Wong et a1.,2003).Photorecords of small felids with lessthan 10 photographs which were categorizedas underrepresentedwere not included in the analysis.The percentageof A StudyOn Actirity Patter.nsOf CtoudedLeopard And Marbled Cat In TemengorForest Resene,Hulu peruk

activity levelswas used to indicatewhether the felidsspecies are nocturnal or diurnal.Activities recorded between1900 hr to 0700hr wereclassified as nocturnal and those between 0700 hr to 1900hr wereclassified as diurnal.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A total of 631 photographicimages of mammalswere recordedfor 2gl3 trappingnights. 47 ej:polures wereimages of five speciesof felids which are the Malayanf4er (Fanrh""i tigrisy, clouded Leopard(Pardofelis neburosa),Marbred, cat (pardofelis maimorata), Asiaticcolden cat (Catopumq temmincfl)and Leopard Cat (prionailurusbengalensis). The number of photographs obtainedfor eachrespective felid speciesis notedin Tablel. Table 1:Total number ofphotogmphs for eachrespective felid species rccorded in TemengorForest Reserve fromJune 2007 tiltAugust 2008. No. CommonName Scientific Name Photorecords 1. Tiger Panthera tigris 4 2. CloudedLeopard Pardofelis nebulosa 19 3. MarbledCat Pardofelis marmorata l0 4. GoldenCat Cqtopumq temmincki 4 5. LeooardCat P r io n ailuru s b engal en s i s 7 Tigerwas categorizedas big cats,thus photographic images orthis specieswere excluded from the activitypattern analysisas well astwo underrepresentedsmall felids (n<10 photos) which are the Golden cat andthe Leopardcat. The activitypatterns ofthe remainingtwo specresof smallfelids (CloudedLeopard & MarbledCat) are illustrated in FigureI and,2.

% OF ACTIVITYLEVEL t8

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0 'a EECEECEE 8838883383838 3338533P -N6< 6cj_^idi HOUR Figure I : Percentage of activity levels for C lortded,Leopatd (pardofelis nebulosa.l n Temengorforest Reservefrom June2007 till August 200g (n:19 photos). 62 Rufno, M., Abd l Kadir Abu Hashim,Dennis TenChoon Yung, Daid Magintan, CosmasNgau, Afu Zahrim Ismail, Hamidi Jamaludin,Zainal A.M., Idlan Rasdi & Fauzul Azin Z A

20

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to

5

o 3 3 3I3 3 3 3 3 3 E 3 38I E 3 € 8E E I E E 8: !d J aB 5g 3 9::i: e e: P:31i r

Figur€2: Percentageof activitylevels for M aftled Cat(Pardofelis marmorata) irTemengor forcst Reserve fromJune 2007 till August2008 (n=10 photos).

CloudedLeopard

The CloudedLeopard is listed as vulnerableby the IUCN and includedin CITES AppendixI' The name,.Clouded Leopard" refers to their distinctiv€cloud-like fur pattern(Nowell & Jackson, 1996).Some described the CloudedLeopard as strictly arboreal(Pocock, 1939; Wood, 1949) but the laterfindings noted that this speciescan be foundregularly on the ground(Robinowitz el a/., 1987).Their patchydistribution, low densities,partly nocturnaland far-ranging behavior (Davies & Payne,1982; Santiapillai, 1986; Austin & Tewes,1999; Grassman et al.' 2005)making them extremelydifficult to study and monitor.

This studyis a fundamentalattempt to recordinlormation on CloudedLeopard as no thorough studyon this specieshas everbeen done in PeninsularMalaysia. From the activity pattern analysis conductedfor this study,it is notedthat CloudedLeopard is partly nocturnalwith 58% (n:11 photos)of nocturnalactivities and42Yo (n:8 photos)of diurnal activities.clouded Leopardis mostactive betwe€n i600 hr and2200 hr with 11bouts of activities.

Having this flgure,we comparedthe activity patternof the most presented(n>10 photos) and potential prey for the clouded Leopard which is the BarkingDeer, Muntiacus muntjak obtained duringthe studyperiod to explainthis behavior(Figure 3). Barking Deer tends to be crepuscular in the studyarea with 6l% (n:35 photos)of diurnalactivities with peaklevel noted between 1600 hr and2100 hr comparedto 3gyo (1:22 photos)ofnocturnal activities. This stlonglysuggests that the activity levelofthe cloudedLeopard correlates with thoseof their mostplesented prey, such asthe BarkingDeer (Grassman et a/., 2005)as noted in the studyarea A Study On Activity patterns Of Clouded Leopad And Marbled Cat ltl Temengor Forcst Resene, Hulu peruk

Marbled Cat

The Marbledcat remainsperhaps the mostenigmatic small felid of mainlandsouth-East Asia (Grassman et a1.,2005).It appearsto be relativelyrare, based on historicarencounters and recent records(Nowell & Jackson,1996; Kawanishi er a1.,1999; Sunquist & Sunquist,2002; Grassman et aI ,2005; Azlan & Sharma2006). The Marbledcat is categorizedas vurnerablein the IUCN 2008Red List andlisted under cITES AppendixI. It hasnever been studied, although Grassman et al. Q005) madea preliminaryhome range estimate of 5.3km, for an adultfemale which was radio-collaredand trackedfor onemonth in >sphu Khieo Nationalpark (Hearnet al.. 2008).

Marbled cat appearsto be partly nocturnalwith both 50% Qr5 photos)nocturnal and diurnar activitiesrecorded during the studyperiod. No occurrencewas recordedbetween 0g00 hr tiu 1500 hr andthe peak activity levelwere observed during 1g00hr and2000 hr. Individualidentification ofthe Marbledcat throughits naturalmarkings cannot be madesince the cameratraps were not set on both flanks.All photosof the Marbledcat were recordedat high elevation(tooo-rzoo metersabove sea level) in the studvarea.

45

40

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15

5

0 9e I q F s q EEE r 3 B c r I I r r 3 B r8 B 36;33535399::aia9:*9Ritt

Figure3: Percentageof activity levels for Barking Deer (n=57 photos) and Clouded Leopard (n:19 photos) in Temengorforest Reserve from June 2007 till Auzust200g.

CONCLUSION

This fundamentalstudy on smarl and medium-sizefelids hopefu y will add in biorogical informationfor this group of speciessince there was no thoroughstudy donefor this spJcies in PeninsularMalaysia. Much rargereffort throughsurveys and cameratrapping are criiically neededfor continuousobservation and conservation ofthese feline specres, Rufno, M. Abdul Ka.lir Abu Hashim,Dennis TenChoon lung, David Magintan, CosmasNgau, Abu Zahrit lsmai| Hani.di Janaludin. Zainal A.M., Idlan Rasdi & FauzalAzim Z A.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT we thank the DwNP's Director General,Deputy DirectorGeneral I and II for the continuous supportgiven throughoutthe studyperiod. we are also deeplyindebted to the DwNP's state Director of Pahang,Perak, Kelantan, Selangor and PulauPinang for providingthe field staffs requiredin this study.Not forgettingthe DwNP's wildlife Rangersfor theil assistanceand companionship,and individual invotved directly or indirectlyduring the studyconducted'

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