JUNGLE TIMES Independent Newspaper of Danau Girang Field Centre March 2009, No.7 DGFC Established 2008 Bizarre Bazaar?

On 28th March 2009 a team lations which are usually inaccessi- prised to find an orang-utan and a INSIDE THIS ISSUE: from the Kinabatangan trav- ble due to obstacles such as rivers. giant tiger leech on closer inspec- elled to a Jungle Bazaar in Kota Macaques, proboscis monkeys and tion of the vehicle. Photo Album 2 Kinabalu hosted by the Kina- now human children have been balu International School. seen to use the bridges. Ecology Expedition 2 ‘HEAP’, the Hutan Education The less adventurous visitors and Awareness Programme from could take part in a darts chal- Species In Focus 3 Sukau, organised activities and lenge, aiming at a specially de- games at the school to promote signed balloon-popping board, Trap Preparation environmental interest amongst 3 young people. They were joined make animal masks or go home by Chloe Parker, João Alves and with a primate colouring sheet. An How To…(part 6) 3 Rachel Henson from Danau Gi- impressive display of conservation rang Field Centre to lend a hand, work being undertaken in the Ki- Jungle Jokes 4 as well as Farina Othman who is nabatangan was also on show, currently studying at Universiti including examples of orang-utan Mysterious Spirits 4 Sabah. food items and papier-mâché ani- Activities included an orang- mals made by people from Sukau. utan bridge which was constructed The model elephant continued to between two trees in the play area. Volunteers Joao Alves, Chloe Parker These bridges are in use in the attract attention whilst in transit, and Rachel Henson with the HEAP Kinabatangan to link patches of drawing particularly curious looks team at KIS Jungle Bazaar fragmented forest to allow animals at petrol stations from shop atten- to interact with members of popu- dants, who were even more sur- Nocturnal Work Continues... IN OTHER NEWS… The nocturnal work has elevations but it is not unknown to • A pen lost by Elke Zimmer- continued at Danau Girang inhabit lowland habitats. man, Hannover, has been Field Centre this month, The Malay badger (Mydaus found near the site of last with point sampling and javanensis) has also been seen snuf- month’s small mammal survey walks being under- fling alongside the main path, for- trapping. The pen has now taken every night. been retrieved from the aging for dinner in the soil, and a forest and resides at DGFC. The trails and transects pair of otters was witnessed splash- have been painstakingly ing near the banks of the Kina- • Stephanie Stowell, Director searched for animals and batangan River at midnight. All of of Education at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, U.S.A., many interesting sightings these sightings confirm the richness visited the centre to explore have been made. The focus of of wildlife abundant in this region the site as a possibility for this work is on nocturnal pri- A pair of unidentified birds: still to be of riparian forest. The infinite pos- future involvement with an mates, of which two species confirmed. sibilities for future work on am- Earth Expeditions project, a are found in the Kinabatan- phibian, reptile and insect presence graduate programme which gan: Nycticebus coucang (the will further increase our under- involves community work the students here. The Malay civet and an intensive element of slow loris) and Tarsius bancanus standing of the forest. field experience. (the Western tarsier). Both spe- (Viverra tangalunga), small- cies are extremely difficult to toothed palm civet (Arctogalida trivirgata), common palm civet find, but the nocturnal team at DID THEY REALLY SAY Danau Girang have now made (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and THAT? four slow loris sightings and banded palm civet (Hemigalus found one western tarsier, with derbyanus) have all been sighted, another having been spotted by as well as the elusive Hose’s civet “You’re so tall that if you reach Salen who works at the field (Hemigalus hosei). “We’re certain up really high, birds can nest in centre. that it was Hose’s civet that we your hands.”- Seven-year-old saw, but a second sighting and a girl to João Alves at the KIS Other interesting finds include photograph would be nice as a con- bazaar. sleeping birds, spiders, frogs, firmation,” said Rachel Munds who insects, mice and pentail tree- has been leading the nocturnal shrews. There are also several Ridzwan Ali taking “My father and I don’t have the work. This particular species is species of civet in the area and data from a civet same taste in men.” - Rachel more commonly found at higher five have now been recorded by sighting Munds. PAGE 2 APRIL 2009, ISSUE 7

PHOTO ALBUM

Photo: R.Munds

Clockwise from top: making a new

transect, music in KK, Phoebe and

s

d baby Pisang, two frogs, breakfast n

u

M

. in Kota Kinabatangan, HUTAN’s

R

:

o

t model elephant, a Stork-Billed

o h

P Kingfisher

Ecology Expeditions!

The first group from Ecology Rachel Munds, also gave a talk Andrew Tang, U.K., described Expeditions visited Danau Gi- about the work being undertaken at the trip as ‘a truly once in a life- rang Field Centre this month. the centre after the lights go out. time experience’, and Sarah Zent- The trial science-based adventure Concepts introduced in the class- ner, France, said that she ‘loved took place over three days and is room were further nurtured during the place!’ Alex Hinchliffe, direc- part of a longer, twelve day, course guided walks in the forest and a tor of Ecology Expeditions, hopes aimed at increasing knowledge and river excursion. to return later in the year with an- understanding of the ecology of the other group. area and conservation of tropical forests. The participants attended a series of lectures and talks using local case studies to illustrate the main ideas and information. Dr. Benoit Goossens delivered the majority of these, covering tropical diversity, global conservation threats and a more focused look at the Bornean orangutan and elephant as examples of flagship species in the Kina- Photo: C.Parker batangan. Resident nocturnal guru, The group listening to a lecture about slow lorises. JUNGLE TIMES: DANAU GIRANG FIELD CENTRE NEWS PAGE 3 SPECIES IN FOCUS: The Western Tarsier By Rachel Munds and Rachel Henson

Common Name: Western Tarsier Many researchers trap tarsiers using Scientific Name: Tarsius bancanus mist-nets or by hand, but it causes borneanus much distress to the animal. Munds and Ali hope to develop a more hu- Distribution: Borneo mane method of trapping them. Tarsiers are one of the two noctur- They are vertical clingers and leap- nal primates that can be found in the ers (V.C.L.). They jump between Kinabatangan. saplings and small trees as their pri- Despite the large size of their eyes, mary mode of locomotion. Tarsiers torchlight isn’t reflected in the same are commonly found at heights of 1-3 way as the slow loris and other noctur- metres. The tail is used to stabilize the nal animals. This is because the tarsier animal by lying flat against the tree lacks the part of the eye known as the for balance. There is a tuft of fur at tapetum lucidum. the end of the tail which can be used to distinguish between species. Tarsiers are only known to feed on live animals, particularly insects. The Threats to the tarsier include defor- Western tarsier is the only tarsier estation, human consumption and the Photo: R.Munds known to eat birds, snakes and small pet trade. Individuals taken for the pet A tarsier found at Danau Girang by mammals. They hunt for prey by look- trade often do not survive to be sold Rachel Munds and Ridzwan Ali ing down and jumping to the ground to due to their specialized diet. catch it.

Catch me If You Can... The grids have been measured to host thirty traps in each and spaced out to include a range of different vegeta- tion types. At each of the ninety points, ropes are fired into the trees using a ‘Big Shot’ catapult. Eventually a trap will be raised at each point in the hopes of catching the Slow Loris or Tarsier. Several problems have had to be

overcome before completion of the Tying the rope in preparation for a Rachel Munds and first grid. The home-made weights shot Ridzwan Ali using have broken in flight, the lines have the Big Shot been tangled and a large tree full of after locating the source of the buzzing wasps was in use as a target before the and observing the swarm, the large numbers of which gave the tree bark a Three trapping grids are being team realized where the ‘angry buzz- moving appearance. The second trap- constructed in advance of attempts ing sound’ was coming from. A differ- ping grid has also been prepared. at capturing nocturnal primates. ent tree was later chosen at that spot

HOW TO: Fire a Big Shot Nuggets of knowledge from the jungle...

Sometimes it’s necessary to shoot 6. Pull back on the slingshot, keeping branch with the fishing rod. ropes into tall trees. If you ever find the pole aimed at the target point yourself in such a situation, here’s 11. Secure the ends of the rope to how it’s done… 7. Check that appendages are clear of something within easy reach the fishing line 1. Assemble Big Shot 12. Now you can use the ropes to hoist 8. If safe to do so, release! anything up into the tree! 2. Choose appropriate tree and decide on a suitable branch to aim at 9. The weight should soar over the desired branch and land nearby. If 3. Tie the weight to the fishing line not, retrieve the weight and try and place the weight into the pouch again. 4. Aim both the slingshot and the 10. Untie the weight and attach a dura- fishing rod at the target ble rope to the fishing line. This can 5. Release safety catch then be reeled up and over the Danau Girang Field Centre Danau Girang Field Centre was opened in July 2008. Danau Girang Field Centre It is located in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, Lot 6 The Jungle Sabah, Malaysia. Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary Sabah Danau Girang is owned by the Sabah Wildlife Department and sup- Email: ported by Cardiff University. Its purpose is to further scientific re- [email protected] search with the aim of contributing to long-term conservation pro- jects in the area, and develop a better understanding of our environ- ment and the living things we share it with.

JUNGLE JOKE Did you hear about the musical ma- When There’s Something Strange In The Neighbourhood... caques that moved to Greenland? By Nurzafarina Othman They wanted to be the Arctic Monkeys! When we hear the word , we start to imagine an invisible creature that only some peo- ple can see. Usually, the ghost is related to a restless spirit with a horrible face, the ability to fly and disappear, and wants to take revenge for the bad things that other people have done to them (at least that is what Photo: F.Othman I imagine). At one point it was a world-wide phe- The Shaman encourages unin- nomenon that attracted huge audiences. Holly- vited spirits to leave. wood’s ‘The Sixth Sense’, ‘Nang Nak’ in Thailand, ‘Anak’ in Malaysia and ‘’ in received among the highest num- bers of audience in their respective countries. Although I haven’t researched this matter in detail, I believe that every culture and civilization must have a story that somehow relates to the existence of , and many people try to connect their presence in aspects of their lives. I arrived in Sukau for another two weeks of fieldwork and I was welcome not only by my foster family but also by their relatives and neighbours, which was un- usual. I started to think that somebody might be ill and I was told that my foster brother, Tom, was ‘taken over’ by an evil spirit the previous night. His voice had Editor: Rachel Henson became louder and harsher as he yelled his friend’s names that were fishing with ([email protected]) him the previous week using someone else’s voice. Tom and his friends had been to a small river to catch fish and swim during their school holidays. He soon began to feel weak and had a high fever which continued to worsen after being taken to hos- Director of Publication: Benoit pital for treatment. When Tom unconsciously said that he was forced by the spirit to Goossens eat rats, his parents realised that it wasn’t something that could be cured using tech- nologies and modern medicine. The Shaman, or ‘’ was called, and by using Quranic verses he helped Tom to overcome his fear of the spirit. As he recovered he told of how the spirit tortured him after he refused to eat rats and pigs. The family held a ceremony to encourage the spirit to leave Tom. The ceremony involved using free-range chickens, four dif- ferent colours of sticky rice and twenty eggs served in three trays. The pawang re- cited verses from the Quran whilst moving the food in circles above the heads of Tom, his parents and his friends. Some of the food was eaten and some thrown into the river to ask the ghost to release Tom’s spirit so he could return to normal. Many scientists do not support the existence of ghosts, but I think it is important to respect other peoples’ beliefs and cultures. As a science student and a Muslim I believe that we share the world with ‘something’, although I have no proof to show its existence. But if we can believe Albert Einstein’s theory that energy cannot be Danau Girang Field created or destroyed, I don’t see why we shouldn’t believe the possibility of ghosts. Centre The truth is out there…