SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTERThe Page 1 September 2013 SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT

PO BOX 335 COMO 6952 WESTERN AUSTRALIA Website: www.silvery.org.au E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 0438992325

September 2013

Agile Gibbons, Siamangs, Sunbears, Clouded Leopards and even Sumatran Tigers, the area lies PRESIDENT’S REPORT adjacent to a larger protected forest and is also

the location of Kalaweit Conservation Centre. We Dear Members and Friends hope to be able to provide additional support to

this important project into the future. Keep an eye We are excited to report that the release of on our Facebook page for updates on camera trap Sadewa and Kiki in June went very well and they images from Supayang. continue to thrive in the forest. They are proving a little challenging for the monitoring team to keep Back in Perth, the SGP team is gearing up for our up with but thanks to their morning call the team Art Auction which will be held on October 26. are still able to locate them most days. Please Once again we have secured some amazing read the update on their release on page 4. pieces and the generosity of artists is truly

inspiring. Be sure to get your tickets early as this event may sell out. We also have some exciting projects underway with Wildlife Asia. You can find out more about our crowd funding project on page 5.

It was certainly an honour to be present at the release, which was the culmination of many years hard work for the Java Gibbon Centre (JGC) team. A huge thank you to our supporters who have so generously donated to Silvery Gibbon I’d also like to take the opportunity to thank Project (SGP) to assist with the reintroduction Professor Vincent Nijman for writing a short article program. Of course maintaining JGC is a critical specifically for our newsletter (refer page 6). We element of the overall program and we are are very grateful for his support. working hard to ensure that we have sufficient funds to cover both activities in coming years. We look forward to seeing some of you at our AGM on September 15, commencing at 1:00pm SGP has also committed to assisting Kalaweit with the purchase of land at the Supayang Until then, take care Reserve in Sumatra. This is a unique opportunity to actually secure an area forever and we are Clare Campbell really excited to be a part of this project. Home to President, Silvery Gibbon Project SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 2 September 2013 MILLY VALENTINE: A CRUSADER FOR GIBBON CONSERVATION

Silvery Gibbon Project (SGP) would like to introduce Milly Valentine (above), an inspiring young lady from Brisbane who is very passionate about saving gibbons. Milly contacted us a few months ago asking what she could do to help and came up with a great idea to make gibbon pins to sell at her school. Milly's goal was to raise enough money to rescue a pet gibbon and with great determination she managed to go beyond her target. Milly raised $500 for SGP to assist with the rescue of another gibbon and also adopted Nakula, a Javan Gibbon Centre (JGC) favourite! JGC staff are currently making arrangements to rescue another gibbon that has been kept illegally as a pet in Java. We will keep you all posted on progress with this rescue.

We hope that other young gibbon fans will be motivated by Milly's story. She has certainly shown that one person really can make a difference. Thanks for caring Milly!

Here are some photos of Milly and some friends busy in their conservation efforts at their school in Queensland.

SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 3 September 2013

BACKGROUND TO THE SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT CONSTITUTION CHANGES

Jeff Beaton

Our current Constitution was written in 1997, and was subsequently amended twice to recognise the deductible gift recipient status gained by the Silvery Gibbon Project Inc. in 2001.

The proposed Constitution combines all these into one coherent document, which will be presented at this year’s AGM on the 15 September 2013. This has necessitated some re-ordering of clauses in the original document, but in the main, the intent remains the same. There are, however, some changes and additions and these are listed below:

We’ve changed the Objectives of the Association

The proposed objectives of the association have been changed slightly to include other Gibbon species as well as follows:

The objectives of the Association are to support the Conservation of Silvery Gibbons (Hylobates moloch), other Gibbon species and other threatened species.

This makes it clear we are concerned with conservation support for all Gibbon species

We’ve included a new clause regarding membership of the Committee

13(3) Membership of Committee

The President may invite a member to join the Committee and provided all existing Committee members agree to the appointment, that appointed member shall hold office until the commencement of the next Annual General Meeting.

The idea here is to allow the inclusion on the Committee, members who it is thought can contribute in some way to our objectives.

We’ve updated payment processes to include EFT as a method of payment from Association funds

Proposed 17 (c) The Treasurer shall - Make payments from the funds of the Association with the authority of a General meeting or of the Committee, and in so doing ensure that all cheques are signed, or electronic transfers are authorised by himself or herself and at least one other authorised Committee member, or by any two others as are authorised by the Committee;

This aligns the payment process with current practice

We’ve reduced the number of members and clarified the position with proxies and quorums

Proposed 21.(1) At a General meeting, including the Annual General Meeting and a Special General Meeting, 15 members present in person or by proxy constitutes a quorum; (a) A proxy may be: (i) by written notice authorizing an existing member to act on the absent member’s behalf under rule 24, (ii) or a person, whether a member or not, attending the meeting to act on the behalf of the member under rule 24; (b) A quorum of 15 members cannot be made up of less than 10 natural persons present, whether members or non-members who are proxies;

We’ve reduced the number of days prior to the AGM for financial members to nominate for Committee from 21 to 7 and done away with the need for secret ballots where a vote on Committee membership is required. SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 4 September 2013

KIKI AND SADEWA RELEASE UPDATE

As reported in the last issue of the newsletter, in June this year the Javan gibbons Kiki and Sadewa were successfully released into the Malabar Forest, in the Bandung District of West Java. An enormous effort was put into the release project. On-the-ground in Indonesia several organisations and individuals worked hard over a long period to achieve this outcome. They were substantially supported by the Silvery Gibbon Project, which from the beginning played a leading role – both in funding and in developing the release plan. It could not have happened without the support of all. The pictures below and on the front page were taken at the site on the day of the release. It was an extraordinary event, and a positive development in the conservation of the species.

Sadewa inspects the terrain from the safety of the Human primates Mulya Hermansyah (Javan canopy shortly after release. Gibbon Centre) and Clare Campbell (Silvery Gibbon Project), who played a major role in the release program.

Prior to the release, Kiki and Sadewa lived at the Javan Gibbon Centre, where dedicated staff provided for their care and wellbeing. Since the release, the two gibbons have fared very well indeed. Initially they stayed close to the release site but have now moved further into the forest. In fact, visual monitoring has proved difficult, but they can reliably be heard singing early in the morning. With planning for the next release already underway, consideration is being given to improving monitoring and the potential use of collars or similar monitoring devices. Conservation is a long road, but it is a road worth travelling. We thank you for your support.

The dedicated team who ensured the successful release of Kiki and Sadewa back into the wild.

SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 5 September 2013 SILVERY GIBBON ART AUCTION – COMING SOON! 26 October 2013

It's back! This October the Silvery Gibbon Project is hosting another of our famous charity Art Auctions. Tickets are $20 and available by either: Emailing: [email protected] Phone: Clare on 0438-992-325

Come along to the Perth Zoo on Saturday the 26th October 2013 and bid for one of the amazing works of art, and help raise funds for gibbon conservation. You could take home a masterpiece! We have an amazing range of artwork from local and international artists, including Steve Morvell, Fiona Anderson, Thomas Marent, Sue Codee, Alison Fennell, Lisa Roet, Robin Wingrave and many more. Viewing starts at 4:30pm, and the auction commences at 6:30pm. Canapes will be served from 5-6pm. Tickets are just $20, and include a complimentary glass of wine on arrival. Save the date now - tickets will be available for purchase soon. This event is generously sponsored by Margaret River's Credaro Wines.

Shown: A stunning original painting by Steve Morvell (Ostriches), a beautiful watercolour (seahorse) by Alison Fennel and a wonderful original charcoal (Orangutan) by Fiona Anderson are just some of the fabulous works of art

available.

SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 6 September 2013 CONSERVATION OF WESTERN HOOLOCK GIBBONS IN FRAGMENTED LANDSCAPES

Vincent Nijman Oxford Brookes University, UK

Over the last 5 years I have been involved in three complementary studies on western hoolock gibbons (Hoolock hoolock) in north eastern India and north western Bangladesh. Having worked previously on gibbons living close to, or even bang-on, the equator, for me this was an excellent opportunity to compare the ecology and conservation of these small apes at opposite ends of their distribution range. Here I give a brief overview of the ecological and socio-cultural settings of the hoolock gibbons in these three areas, comparing and contrasting them, to see what lessons we can learn in terms of conservation, if any. But let me start with a description of the western hoolock gibbon. The western hoolock gibbon is the westernmost of the 16 species of smaller apes of South-east Asia. Its range is restricted to the monsoon evergreen and semi-evergreen rainforests of north-east India and eastern Bangladesh and north-west Myanmar. It is predominantly frugivorous, confined to tall forest with continuous canopies, and, as all species of gibbon, it is instantly recognized by its loud and characteristic songs. Groups generally comprise an adult pair with their (dependent) offspring. The combined effects of habitat loss, fragmentation (driven partially by slash-and- burn cultivation) and hunting have led to the species being categorized as Endangered according to IUCN threat criteria (Brockelman et al. 2008). Most populations of western hoolock gibbons are isolated and small, with about 80% of those assessed in India and Bangladesh harbouring fewer than 20 individuals, and over half having fewer than 10 (Walker et al. 2007). The three areas we worked in (Kalachara, Dampa and Hollongapar) are, in this respect, good representatives of the remaining hoolock gibbon habitats, all being small, fragmented and facing different threats.

20 18 Resting Moving 16 Figure 1. Relative habitat use of a group of Feeding 14 western hoolock gibbons (Hoolock hoolock) in Singing 12 the Kalachara Forest Beat, Bangladesh, 10 showing that resting and singing occurred 8 more frequently in heavily used areas but the 6 Percentage of time of Percentage animals moved relatively more often through 4 little-used areas (data from Akers et al. 2013). 2

0 Area of low use Area of medium use Area of high use (62%) (24%) (14%)

Sylhet, Bangladesh – The 65 hectare forest in the Kalachara Forest Beat where hoolock gibbons were studied is located 3.5km north of Lawachara National Park and some 100km northwest of Dampa Tiger Reserve across the border into India. The forest comprised a teak plantation, interspersed with natural and planted trees; it is completely surrounded by tea plantations, rice fields and village grounds. The nearest houses were situated next to the forest. The nearest forest fragment with gibbons, also a teak plantation, was separated by a 50m wide gap of rice fields. Only one group of gibbons was present in the forest, using about a third of the available area. They slept mostly in the taller trees in the interior while for feeding they regularly travelled to the edge of the forest, overlooking the tea and rice fields (Figure). Encroachment was a problem, and humans entered the forest on a daily basis but did not seem to disturb the gibbons themselves. Illegal logging of teak trees happened occasionally at night. Assam, India – the forest that today comprises the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in the south of Assam close to the border with Nagaland, was established as a protected forest back in 1881. At that time it covered a large tract of land stretching into Nagaland, but in the last 130 years or so most of this has been converted into tea plantations, agriculture, and villages (N Das et al. 2009). As such the sanctuary now consist of a single 20 km2 fragment, about three-quarters of which is deemed suitable for gibbons. It is dissected by the railroad, with about a third of good gibbon habitat south of the line and two-thirds to the north. On all sides the sanctuary is surrounded by tea plantations in addition to some smaller villages scattered around it. Despite this it seems that the population of gibbons is thriving (J Das et al. 2009). Groups live at densities that are typical for the species, and home ranges abut or slightly overlap. Apart from those sections in the east and north where there is no continuous canopy the entire forest was occupied by gibbons. Mizoram, India – The Dampa Tiger Reserve is the State of Mizoram, the western border of which follows the Khawthlangtuipui River forming the international border with Bangladesh. It is situated some 100km from our study area in Sylhet and some 300km from the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary. The 500km2 reserve was established as a sanctuary in 1985, and is covered in a mosaic for habitats from open fallow lands previously used for slash-and- SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 7 September 2013 burn cultivation to undisturbed primary forest. Mizoram is a largely Christian state, and while gibbons are legally protected under Indian law, hunting of protected wildlife, including gibbons, is common. Surveys conducted by a team lead by Sam Pachuau revealed the presence of nine groups of gibbons, spread out over a large part of the reserve (Pachaua et al. in press). Several seemingly suitable forest fragments no longer had gibbons living in them. Analysis of satellite imagery and structured interviews with older informants suggested a significant decline in gibbon habitat and gibbon numbers over the last 40 years or so. Local informants pointed at the combined effects of slash-and-burn cultivation and hunting as the reasons of this decline. Table 1 Overview of three forest areas with western hoolock gibbons in Bangladesh and India, contrasting size and threats. Site Dominant Established Suitable Population Main threats religion forest size area (individuals) (km2) Kalachara Forest Islam 1964 0.7 4 Small population Beat, Sylhet, size, isolation, Bangladesh encroachment Hollongapar Gibbon Hindu 1881 ~15 ~100 Encroachment Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India Dampa Tiger Christian 1985 ~250 ~50 Encroachment, Reserve Mizoram, slash-and-burn India cultivation, hunting

It is clear that from the above (Table 1) that the ecological setting and the socio-cultural context differs greatly between the three study areas. And this has clear management implications. In Bangladesh we are essentially dealing with the conservation of individuals, very much like managing a group of gibbons in a zoo (minus the cleaning and feeding, of course). Even if we managed to connect the population in Kalachara with the forest in the south (bridging a gap of a mere 50m) the total number of groups involved would be similar to that what we see in a collection of regional zoos (think all white-cheeked gibbons in the Australian zoos). Gibbons and people literally live side by side and it is only because of their tolerance towards the gibbons that they still persist. In the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, the gibbons have to deal with a relatively small forest area, not all of which supports tall trees with a continuous canopy, but it seems that each and every part of the forest is occupied by gibbons. Territories abut and the population seems to be healthy, with young being born and young adults having a good opportunity to disperse and set up a territory for themselves. While there is little room for expansion, other than rehabilitation of the degraded parts of the forest, as long as the forest boundaries are respected, the survival of the gibbons seems to be secure. Whether or not linking the two sections on either side of the railroad through for instance canopy bridges is a good idea remains to be seen. Hunting is not an issue, and as in Kalachara one can see gibbons in the trees on the edge of the forest overlooking teagardens and agricultural fields. Forestry officers occupy a station at the edge of the reserve and a good set of trails allows for easy patrolling.

A female (front) and male (back) Western Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) from the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam, India, 2009. Vijay Cavale.

Please note that this picture was added by the editors. It was taken from Wikipedia. The original source: Vijay Cavale, professional photographer in southern India.

How different is it in the Dampa tiger reserve? Of the three areas this is by far the largest, with extensive tracts of closed canopy forest remaining. Unfortunately it seems that hunting has had, or still has, a dramatic impact on the local population, and significant sections of ‘good’ forest appear to be devoid of gibbons. We found no relationship between forest quality or distance to the nearest village and the presence or absence of gibbons in a particular part of the reserve. Habitat quality or disturbance does not explain the absence of gibbons and we postulate that indeed hunting (and killing of entire groups) is the most parsimonious reason for the low numbers of gibbons in the area. Dampa is a large, and whole sections are inaccessible or are not visited by forestry officers as it is too close to the SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 8 September 2013

Bangladeshi border and deemed unsafe. Management of gibbons here requires a very different approach, starting with better enforcement of hunting laws and working with local communities scattered inside the forest to improve the day- to-day management of gibbons. One of the important lessons I have learned from my involvement with western hoolock gibbon conservation is that when it comes to management rarely one shoe fits all. Conservation of gibbons, and indeed other wildlife, relies on understanding their needs but can only succeed when the needs, desires and aspirations of the local people are taken into account. And despite their relatively close geographic proximity, the people of Sylhet, Mizoram and Assam that share the forest with gibbons, and their daily lives, differ greatly. The conservation solutions have to follow this pattern.

Acknowledgements Thanks to Alice A. Akers, Jihosua Biswas, Jayanta Das, Nabajit Das, Bilal Habib, Md Anwarul Islam, and Samuel V. Pachuau for their hard work and providing information and data, and thanks to Robin Stevens for inviting me to write about our work on hoolock gibbons.

References Akers AA, Islam MA, Nijman V. (2013). Habitat characterization of western hoolock gibbons Hoolock hoolock by examining home range microhabitat use. Primates (preprint). Brockelman W, Molur S, Geissmann T (2008) Hoolock hoolock. IUCN red list of threatened species. http://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed 14 August 2013 Pachuau SV, Qureshi Q, Habib B, Nijman V (2013). Habitat use and documentation of a historic decline of western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) in Dampa Tiger Reserve, Mizoram, India. Primate Conservation (in press). Das J, Biswas J, Bhattacherjee PC, Mohnot SM (2009). The distribution and abundance of hoolock gibbons in India. In The Gibbons. Springer New York, pp. 409-433. Das N, Biswas J, Das J, Ray PC, Sangma A, Bhattacharjee PC (2009). Status of Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis (Primates: Lorisidae) in Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1: 558– 561. Walker S, Molur S, Brockelman WY, Das J, Islam A, Geissmann T, Fan P-F (2009) Western hoolock gibbon Hoolock hoolock. In: Mittermeier RA, Wallis J, Rylands AB et al (eds) Primates in peril: the world’s 25 most endangered primates 2008–2010. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), International Primatological Society (IPS), and Conservation International (CI), Arlington, pp 62–64

CLARE CAMPBELL RECEIVES OUTSTANDING ALUMNI AWARD

(Adapted from Docent News (August 2013). Everyone at SGP would like to add their sincerest congratulations to Clare, who is a more than deserving recipient of the 2013 Outstanding Alumni Award, James Cook University).

Perth Zoo’s Primate Supervisor, Clare Campbell, was recently flown to Townsville by the James Cook University (JCU) to be awarded the Outstanding Alumni for 2013 (Biological Science). These awards recognise JCU graduates who have made outstanding contributions in their field of endeavour and to the community. Clare graduated from JCU in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science (Biological Science).

Clare is now on long service leave from the Zoo, but a holiday is not on her agenda; she currently wears the following ‘hats’: Director of Wildlife Asia, President of Silvery Gibbon Project (SGP), Director of the Asian Rhino Project (ARP), and she is concentrating on their conservation roles. Besides this, she also sits on the conservation fund committee of The Orangutan Project (TOP).

Clare has made many trips to Indonesia working with local organisations to develop conservation strategies, provide funding support and advice for in situ programs and facilitate cooperation and capacity building amongst local conservation teams. Additionally, Clare was instrumental in 2011 in founding the non-profit group Wildlife Asia.

Congratulations Clare, well done and well deserved.

SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 9 September 2013

Check out our Web Site http://www.silvery.org.au

And our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/silvery.gibbon

WILDLIFE ASIA UPDATE Clare Campbell

Wildlife Asia has been building momentum throughout the year, with many of our supporters interested in a more holistic approach to fundraising for conservation projects. As well as assisting the Silvery Gibbon Project (SGP) with fundraising for the Supayang land purchase, Wildlife Asia has been busy in a campaign to support partners in Indonesia to lobby against the proposed Spatial Plan changes in Aceh. This issue is of major significance for so many Critically Endangered and Endangered species, and if the plan goes ahead it could well mean extinction for Sumatran rhinos and Sumatran orangutans. Wildlife Asia has an ambitious target to raise 300k for these efforts over the next year; however, we believe this is an absolute priority for the future of Indonesia's wildlife. You can read more about this situation at www.wildlifeasia.org.au

In an effort to target a new market Wildlife Asia recently launched a crowd-funding project through the Australian-based Jumpstartz. This project is raising funds to develop a clothing line under the brand name Poacha Poacher. We hope this catchy name will help us not only to develop a recognisable brand but also provide a sustainable income in funding our conservation projects. You can get in early and actually be a part of this exciting project by making a pledge at www.jumpstartz.com/poacha-poacher Make sure you hurry, Jumpstartz finishes in October!

SILVERY GIBBON PROJECT NEWSLETTER Page 10 September 2013

FUNDRAISING

In August the Silvery Gibbon Project (SGP) was chosen by Grill’d Burgers to be one of their Local Matter’s campaigns.

Customers were given a token after they placed their burger purchase. They could then choose from three ‘local matters’ charities and place their token in the jar of the charity of their choice. The exposure the project received from this campaign was fantastic, and Grill’d Burgers rewarded the SGP with a $100 donation at end of the month.

Thank you to Grill’d and the ‘local matters’ Kate and Holly helping out the cause (in costume!!) campaign Holly Thompson, Vice President