Joe, the orphaned pygmy elephant calf is doing well

It has been three months since Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) sad discovery at Gunung Rara where 14 pygmy elephants were found dead – one of which was Joe’s mother.

The elephant calf, who has since been given nicknamed ‘Joe’ by his caretakers, is healthy and well. All thanks to the love and care of staff and his preferred caretaker, Augustine David.

Augustine said Joe is active and naughty. He is 150kg now, where he gained 50kg since his arrival. He is still nursing and given three litres of milk every two hours.

SWD chief veterinarian Dr Sen Nathan said that ‘Joe’ would probably stay with them for several more years. Efforts to rehabilitate him back to the wild will probably take place when he is about five years old or six.

Sen said this would be the first elephant rehabilitation programme in Sabah and they could not guarantee if it will be successful. Currently, Joe probably thinks he is more human than elephant since he is cared for by a human thus it will be difficult to rehabilitate him to the wild.

The elephant rehabilitation programme will take place at the Borneo Elephant Sanctuary in the Kinabatangan.

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Sufficient foods for elephants in Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve

Bornean elephant (example)

A cooperative study which carried out by the Sabah Wildlife Department and a non-governmental organisation at various locations in the state has found a forest reserve in eastern Sabah that could be a suitable place to conserve the Bornean elephants.

The conservation and research programme head of the Borneo Conservation Trust, Raymond Alfred said the Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve was found to have enough food sources for the animals. Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve is adjacent to Deramakot Forest Reserve to the west and Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary to the east. According to him, this was due to the positive result from sustainable forest management implemented by the government in the area over the past years. The food sources are estimated sufficient for 290 to 310 elephants at Segaliud Lokan. Alfred added that this could also benefit the orang utans, with the Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve recording the highest density of the primates in Sabah. Meanwhile, Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu praised the management of KTS Plantations for taking the serious initiative in wildlife monitoring programme, especially the Bornean Elephant and Orang-utan in Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve. He said sustainable forest management through restoration efforts as well as reduced impact logging measures would go a long way towards the conservation measures of these creatures.

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Rehabilitation programme rehabilitated 35 orang utan in Malaysia since 1995

Orang utan

Thirty-five orang utans have been rehabilitated at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort's Nature Reserve conservation centre of Malaysia since its inception in 1995.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said the rehabilitation programme was complementary efforts conducted by the department's Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan. These orang utans spend their first two parts of the rehabilitation programme at the resort's nature reserve before being sent back to Sepilok for the their last part of  programme. A veterinarian on 24-hour call is available at the Sepilok centre because the rehabilitation programme is being strictly supervised. Medical checks were also done on all the orang utans in Rasa Ria, he added. The programme which undertaken at the resort's nature reserve is although much smaller in scale compared to Sepilok, has given opportunity for the public and schoolchildren to experience first-hand the rehabilitation process. Representatives from NGOs who have attended the recent conservation workshop were als pleased with the conservation efforts.

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RM1m for conservation of bantengs

Danau Girang Field Centre

KOTA KINABALU: The Wildlife Department and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) recently received a RM1 million funding from Sime Darby Foundation for conservation and management of bantengs in Sabah.

The project will be in collaboration with several partners including the Forestry Department, Sabah Foundation and Cardiff University.

And so far the Foundation has committed close to RM80 million for its Big9 programme – which is to protect and conserve nine endangered animals, most of which are indigenous to Malaysia.

The animals are the sun bear, orangutan, Asian elephant, Sunda clouded leopard, hornbill, banteng, proboscis monkey, sumatran rhino and Malayan tiger.

The total commitment from the Foundation for its environment pillar is over RM111 million over many years. The project aims to increase the knowledge and awareness of this extremely endangered species of wild cattle in Sabah,” said wildlife director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu.

“It will be a three-year project during which we will try to locate the remaining populations of banteng across Sabah and assess their conservation status and longevity in their current locations,” said Dr Benoit Goossens, director of the Danau Girang Field Centre and leader of the project.

Dr Goossens said to achieve the objective, they would use the only record of banteng distribution available in an unpublished report entitled “A Faunal survey of Sabah” that was compiled by WWF in 1982.

The report included a distribution map of bantengs in Sabah and estimated population sizes.

“Recognition of remnant banteng populations is critical to identify the extent of the decline which has probably occurred over the past 30 years as a result of deforestation, land conversion and human population expansion.

“It is also crucial for identifying connectivity issues compromising the genetic integrity of the species,” Dr Goossens said, adding that camera trap grids would be set up in those areas to capture banteng photographs and estimate habitat occupancy.

And, he also said education and capacity building had always been a priority for the Sime Darby Foundation, and as such, the project would also include training of one Malaysian Master student and two local field research assistants.

“At the end of the project we will organise an international workshop on the conservation status of bantengs in Sabah to highlight the current status of the species, and discuss mitigation possibilities as well as to launch an action plan for bantengs in Sabah,” Dr Laurentius said.

Source: New Sabah Times

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Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre Receives RM1,500 Donation

Sepilok Orang Utan Centre in Sandakan has received a donation of RM1,500 from Vino Vino Bistro at KK Times Square here.

The donation was collected from tickets for its charity dinner which was held in conjunction with the Miss Bikini Finland 2012 dinner hosted by Vino Vino on Thursday. Several bottles of fine aged whiskey were auctioned off and the money will be donated to  the rehabilitation centre for Orang Utans. Vino Vino’s Director of Operations Johnson Or has presented the mock cheque to Sabah Wildlife Department veterinarian  Dr Sen Nathan, witnessed by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun, City Hall Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir and Sabah Gerakan Chairman Datuk Gordon Leong. Dr Sen said Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre requires about RM60,000 a month to operate and they are very grateful to receive the donation. He also thanked the orgnisers of the Miss Bikini Finland 2012.

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Studying Borneon jumbo's origin

Kota Kinabalu: Bornean elephants show low genetic diversity that can impact on their survival to a threatened habitat. 

This was one of the main conclusions in a recent paper published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE by a team of scientists from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci?ncia (IGC, Portugal), the Centre for Applied Genetics and Technology and Floragenex, Inc. (USA), the CNRS (France), Cardiff University (UK), Sabah Wildlife Department and the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC, Sabah). 

"Studying the genetic variability of endangered species is becoming increasingly necessary for species conservation and monitoring," said Dr Lounes Chikhi from IGC and one of the lead authors of the paper. 

"Using blood samples collected from captive Bornean elephants of Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, we used cutting edge DNA (hereditary material of all living organisms) sequencing methodology to identify genetic markers for the species," he said. 

He said the Bornean elephants live in an environment where natural habitats disappear quickly due mainly to oil palm plantation development that causes populations to be isolated from each other. 

"(Thus) having access to variable genetic markers will be crucial to identify populations that are isolated and genetically impoverished, and monitor them in the future," he said. 

Co-author Dr Benoit Goossens, Director of DGFC, said these new genetic markers may also allow them to reconstruct part of the demographic history of the Bornean elephants and possibly unravel the mystery of their origin. 

"The origin of these elephants in Borneo still raises controversy and we have long wondered why the elephants' range is so restricted. 

"The only previous genetic study done on these elephants recognised their presence in Borneo for more than 300,000 years, but there is lack of elephant fossils on the island to support this," he said. 

Another interesting theory, he said, is that in the late 12th century, the Sultan of Java sent Javan elephants as a gift to the Sultan of Sulu. 

These elephants became the founders of a feral population at the western end of the island of Sulu, he said. 

Subsequently, he said, the sultan of Sulu translocated some individuals to the northeast of Borneo and these individuals may have become the founder members of the current population in Sabah. 

Meanwhile, Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, said the State Government launched the 2012-2016 Elephant Action Plan in January. 

He said the Bornean elephant is genetically unique and that Sabah is blessed with a population of about 2,000 individuals that need to be protected. 

"Large areas of lowland forest are paramount for the survival of this pachyderm. 

"Land conversion to oil palm plantations in key areas such as the Kinabatangan floodplain and central Sabah should stop if we want to avoid isolation of herds and maintain a healthy population," he said. 

Source: Daily Express

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Orang utan population up by 20% in Sabah’s protected forests

KOTA KINABALU: Orang utan population within totally protected areas has increased by over 20 percent in Sabah's lower Kinabatangan since the first census was done seven years ago.

The number of orang utans orang-utans living within totally protected areas (TPA) increased from 38 percent to 60 percent, an orang utan conservationist Dr. Marc Ancrenaz said.

Dr Ancrenaz, who is co-director of the HUTAN Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme (HUTAN-KOCP), said the increasing population reflected a commitment by all, especially the state government, to protect more forest areas.

However, he did not disclose the number of orang utans within the totally protected forest areas.

The Sabah Forestry Department had recently increased the areas deemed totally protected forest reserves to help further in the conservation of orang utans and other species such as the Borneo pygmy elephant, Sunda clouded leopard, Sunbear, and hornbills and others.

“The recent areas regazetted as Class I (totally protected forest reserve) are lowland forests which are favoured for agriculture development. But the state government has shown that they value the environmental security in the long term by making them TPAs instead of going for short term profits,” Dr Ancrenaz, a wildlife veterinarian who has been working on wildlife issues in Sabah since 1998.

However, the biggest issue for orang-utan conservation in Sabah remains the problem of isolation and fragmentation of protected forests, primotologist Dr. Isabelle Lackman, who is a co-director HUTAN KOCP said in a statement.

“While the Kinabatangan has been protected by the Sabah Wildlife Department since gazetting in 2005, the Sanctuary is very broken up with some protected forests being totally isolated and this is not healthy for the long term survival of orang utan in the area,” Lackman explained.

“Our studies have shown that we need to reconnect patches of forest to ensure that we have a viable orang utan population for the future and this can be achieved by reconnecting these forest either by having patches of forest that orang utans can travel through or a contiguous corridor of forest,” Lackman added.

She felt that all planned and future conversion of even small forest patches needs to be stopped to ensure the viability of the long-term survival of the orang utan population in the lower Kinabatangan. 

Source: The Star

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Wildlife Conservation In Managed Forests – International Cooperation

On Monday, 7th February 2011, a Memorandum of Understanding  (MoU) was  signed between  the State Government of Sabah (Malaysia), represented by the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and the Leibniz  Institute  for  Zoo  and Wildlife Research  (IZW)  of Germany.  This MoU will  pave  the  road  to continue  an  already  successful  collaboration  of  the  IZW,  an  internationally  renowned  wildlife research  institute, with  the  SFD by  assisting  the  SFD  in  their efforts  to monitor  the biodiversity  in Forest Management Units (FMUs) in Sabah.

Wildlife  conservation beyond borders of parks or other  fully protected  areas  is paramount  for  the effective and comprehensive conservation of biodiversity  in  the  landscapes of Sabah. Forests are a key habitat  in Sabah, since more than half of Sabah’s area  is covered by  them. As most  forests are commercially  used  for  the  production  of  timber,  a  sustainable management  of  these  forests  is  of great  importance  to ensure  the  long-term conservation of  some of  the most  threatened species  in Sabah, such as the SundaClouded Leopard.

During the signing, Datuk Sam Mannan, Director of the SFD, pointed out that the collaboration with the  IZW has proven  to be  impressively  successful during  the  last years and  that he  is very pleased that this collaboration will now be continued and expanded in the near future. The results obtained during previous  studies by  the  IZW  in FMUs  included pioneering  findings  such as  the  first  film of a SundaClouded Leopard released in spring 2010, or the rediscovery in Sabah of the Hairy-Nosed Otter – previously thought extinct – after a gap of more than 100 years.

“The research by the IZW assisted us to show how diverse some of our FMUs are” mentioned Datuk Sam Mannan during the signing of the MoU. “We know that there are orang-utans or elephants living in  our  forests  but  our  knowledge  about  other,  highly  threatened  wildlife  species  such  as  the endangered Otter Civet was very limited. With their research the IZW showed us that these species occur  in  our  forests  and  how  to  find  them.”  Previous  studies  of  the  IZW  mainly  focussed  on Deramakot Forest Reserve and its neighbouring FMUs; the new MoU paves the way to expand these efforts to other FMUs in the coming years.

Heribert  Hofer,  Director  of  the  IZW,  added  “the  biological  richness  of  Sabah’s  forests  is  a  great treasure  and  a  heritage  of  worldwide  importance.  It  is  therefore  an  important  responsibility  to manage  these  forests  in  a  sustainable  way.  Therefore,  up-to-date  scientific  research  and  wildlife surveys are important to understand the needs of threatened species. Knowing and appreciating the diversity of these forests will help to protect their richness for the benefit of all.”

Earlier  in  November  2010,  the  IZW  signed  anMoU  with  the  Sabah  Wildlife  Department  (SWD), agreeing  on  close  collaboration  on  research  and  conservation  of  Sabah’s wildlife,  particularly  the highly endangered Sabah Rhino. The MoU with the SFD now expands the research efforts of the IZW to FMUs. “Very little is known about the ecology of wildlife species in Sabah’s forests and how they respond to timber extraction. Such research is of a very high practical value because the appropriate management and protection of wildlife species requires such knowledge” Heribert Hofer added.

By  2014  the  SFD  aims  to  have  all  FMUs  in  Sabah  certified  for  Sustainable  Forest Management. Wildlife monitoring and the conservation of the forest’s biodiversity is one of the main components of  sustainability and  therefore  the  SFD  is optimistic  that  this  collaboration with  the  IZW will  assist their efforts to reach this goal. 

Source: Sabah Forestry Department

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Plantations, floodings reduce elephant habitat

 KOTA KINABALU: The forests inhabited by the elephants in the Kinabatangan are shrinking because they are converted for agriculture such as palm oil plantations.

A recently published study in the scientific journal Public Library of Science One (PLoS 1) looked closely at this situation, using a modeling approach to determine the size of habitat actually available to the elephants in the Kinabatangan.

This study was carried out by the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), Cardiff University and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), the NGO HUTAN and Antioch University New England (USA).

Dr Marc Ancrenaz, co-director of the NGO HUTAN and one of the leading authors of the study said: "Although more than 45,000 ha of forests were protected in Lower Kinabatangan, our analysis shows that only 19,000 ha are being used by the elephants. These elephants use the protected and unprotected riverine habitat up and down the Lower Kinabatangan between Batu Puteh and Abai. Furthermore, during flooding events, only 6,500 ha of forest are accessible to the elephants."

"This study clearly shows that elephants do not have much choice but to find refuge in the palm oil estates surrounding their habitat, especially during the rainy season," said Dr Benoit Goossens, director of Danau Girang Field Centre and a co-author of the paper.

Goossens added they had been collecting satellite data of more than 10 individuals since 2008 and they confirmed that elephants were spending more time in the palm oil plantations than five years ago.

Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, director of the Sabah Wildlife Department, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun asked for a moratorium on any new land development in the Kinabatangan floodplain during the closing remarks of the Sabah Orang-utan Conservation Dialogue held in Kota Kinabalu last week.

"Elephants are one of the most important tourism attractions in the State. This study shows that such a moratorium is not only needed to protect orang-utans but also to ensure the long-term survival of elephants in Kinabatangan.

"As previously identified by my department, we need to enlarge the network of protected forests in the Lower Kinabatangan by creating contiguous corridors of natural habitat along the river. The state government and partners also need to identify a way to allow elephants to travel across the Lahad Datu-Sandakan highway that blocks their migration route. Last but not least, elephants are fully protected by the laws of Sabah. I urge the palm oil industry and other land users to mitigate conflicts in ways that do not harm the animals," added Ambu.

Source: http://sabarahamalay.blogspot.com/2012/11/plantations-floodings-reduce-elephant.html

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Orangutan Conservation gets a Boost

KOTA KINABALU: Orangutan conservation and research is given a boost with the setting up of the Sabah Orangutan Conservation Alliance (SOCA).

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said the SOCA would coordinate orangutan conservation and research efforts in Sabah, implement and monitor the Orangutan Action Plan, advise the government on orangutan conservation issues, share information on orangutans and promote orangutan conservation in Sabah by raising awareness nationally and globally.

“We will prepare a cabinet paper on the setting up of SOCA and we will bring it to the utmost attention of the State Cabinet. We hope that SOCA can be rapidly established,” he said at an orangutan conservation dialogue at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort in Tuaran.    More than 80 participants were invited to discuss the implementation of the strategies and objectives highlighted in the Orangutan Action Plan 2012-2016 launched last January and set up the SOCA.

The Sabah Wildlife Department organised the dialogue.

“We recognised that the time for conversation was over, that it was time for conservation,” said Ambu.

“It is time for the oil palm industry to acknowledge that there are problems and take the necessary measures to address the issues of forest fragmentation and clearings of riparian forests in Sabah, as well as orangutan killings currently happening in palm oil estates in Kalimantan,” stressed Ambu.

He pointed out the problems in the Kinabatangan were also addressed.

“We have identified approaches to maintain viable wildlife populations in the Kinabatangan. Orangutans are also found outside protected forests in the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain. Our recent analysis of satellite images have shown that 25,000 ha of such forests still remain.

“If we want to secure the orangutan population in Kinabatangan we cannot afford to lose another hectare of forest. We asked the government to call for a moratorium on forest conversion in the Kinabatangan and to recreate forest connection in areas where riparian forests have been converted,” added Ambu.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun gave his support for rehabilitation and protection of riparian reserves in his speech at the closing ceremony.

“River reserves are strictly not to be used for any plantation development. Maybe many plantation owners did not know that riparian reserves are protected and must remain under natural forest. These reserves must be rehabilitated and if
they had been encroached on, actions will be taken,” stressed Masidi.

Also addressing a zero tolerance of wildlife killings in oil palm plantations, Masidi said: “I would like to call the plantation owners to sign an agreement adopting a zero tolerance of wildlife (and especially orangutans) killings in their respective estates.

Orangutans are totally protected in Sabah and anyone killing one must be prosecuted.”

Source : Borneo Post

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Cabinet paper on Orang-utan Conservation Alliance

Tuaran: The Sabah Wildlife Department will prepare a Cabinet paper on the setting up of a Sabah Orang-utan Conservation Alliance (Soca) that will assist the Government in implementing all the recommendations of the Sabah Orang-utan Action Plan 2012-2016.

"I will personally bring this Cabinet paper to the attention of the State Cabinet so that Soca can be established ASAP," Said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi at the closing of the SOCD, here, Thursday.

Also present at the dialogue were Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad and Sabah Wildlife Department Datuk Laurentius Ambu.

The SOCD proposes that the Sate Government officially establish, empower and mandate Soca under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and led by the Director of the Sabah Wildlife Department. The proposal also suggests that Soca members comprise local and international NGO's, government departments, academic institutions, tourism players and the agriculture industry.

In his speech, Masidi said there is no denying that the number of Orang-utans in the Stae is declining. "I would be foolish and won't be truthful to myself if I said there is no problem and the biggest problem is that the number of orang-utan is declining mainly due to forest fragmentation affecting the food source and reproduction system of the orang-utans.

"This is good thing the NGOs are doing here, to sit down and discuss how to solve the problems. This is the reason why we invite people (to the dialogue) who have the expertise and passion to pinpoint to the Government how we can conserve our orang-utans", he said.

One of the recommendations made by SOCD is to call plantation owners to sign an agreement adopting a zero tolerance of wildlife (especially orang-utans) killings in their respective estates. Masidi said he does not think it would be too much to ask from the plantation owners to sigh the agreement. "If they are not guilty, then they should not be afraid. But unless they have something to hide, then probably that's the reason why they would not sign it."

"Let's just put it in this way. We love our country. Many of you have made tons of money from your investment. Why can't we just say, I hereby agree that I won't allow any of my staff to endanger the lives of the wildlife. " I think this is very simple. If they found their staff doing it, report it to relevant authorities so proper action can be taken," he said.

Masidi also said that while he is aware of some killings of orang-utans by irresponsible quarters he regretted some accusations made by certain NGOs saying that orang-utans are killed indiscriminately in the state. " It is unfair to just throw baseless allegations from far away countries saying this and that. We invited them to come to Sabah to prove to us so we can take action against the culprits but they did not come. " We have nothing to hide, just come here and assist us. We want to do the right thing even if it is painful to do, ' he said.

Meanwhile, Masidi also explained that conservation efforts in Kinabatangan area is made complicated due to the fact that many of the lands in the area have land titles. Therefore, he said, the Government has to come up with other options in the land use for the area.

' We need to ensure that the land use can conserve the wildlife in the area while at the same time could benefit that land owners. The Government would have to come up with an idea on how to cleverly use the lands in the area," he said.
Masidi also stressed the importance of riparian reserves for the benefit of wildlife conservation as well as to preserve the rivers in the State. The riparian reserve is the designated width from the stream where restrictions on what can be done are placed in order to protect the functions of the land and water in that reserved area.

Source: Daily Express

Photo: Pubsub

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Zero Tolerance No Kill Policy

Sabah Wildlife Department Director Laurentius regrets that a forecast of possibly up to 300 orangutan deaths due to forest fragmentation had been twisted by certain western NGOs to claim that such a number were deliberately killed, adding that data from the study in Ulu Kinabatangan done 3 years ago was not read correctly and certainly blown out of proportion by certain quarters. He said at the Forum on the Findings of Imbak Canyon 2012 Wildlife Survey here. He further said that the land use issue was being taken as an excuse that the orangutan killings in Sabah were because of the oil palm plantation activities. He said the issue of " zero tolerance no kill policy " is already part of the law in the State especially when it comes to near extinction species. Regarding the land use issue, he said 30% of the land in Sabah is dedicated to agricultural purposes where the rest would be used for other purposes such as forest reserve, crop plantation, township and others; only 19% of the landmass in Sabah being used for oil palm plantation.

Source: Daily Express

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In Desperate to Save the Sumatran Rhonocerous

Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) Director Dr Laurentius said the department is desperate to save the Sumatran Rhinocerous and are still unsuccessful in breeding the animal though they have discussed (the matter) with lots of partners in Sabah and IZW (Institute for Zoo and Wildlife in Berlin, Germany). He said in his opening remarks at the Forum on the Findings of Imbak Canyon 2012 Wildlife Survey held at a resort near here yesterday. Additionally, he said they were also working with their Indonesian counterpart who has recently seen the birth of a rhino calf in June, this year. At the same time, he also mentioned they would like to conduct rhino surveys at Danum Valley. He also commented on issues facing the orangutans and pygmy elephants in Sabah, where a study on the orangutan population at Lower Kinabatangan had been blown out of proportion by NGOs outside of the state. He hopes that the survey will propose like the linkages of those fragmented forest, where the best that can happen is to connect Ulu Segama, Danum Valley, Imbak Canyon and its surrounding areas.

Source: Borneo Post

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Rehabilitation and breeding centre for wildlife on the horizon

KINABATANGAN: Sukau assemblyman Datuk Saddi Haji Abdul Rahman disclosed yesterday that a world-class rehabilitation and breeding centre for wildlife on the verge of extinction and unique to Borneo, is currently being set up in an area covering 3,000 acres in a forest reserve.

Saddi said the centre to be located at the Situ Forest Reserve, 20km from Bukit Garam, would take a year to fully develop the programme, which is a collaboration of several bodies led by the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Asahiyama Zoo from Japan, various wildlife rehabilitation bodies and several international non-governmental organisations.

The first of its kind in Malaysia and South-East Asia, the centre will be like a breath of fresh air in wildlife conservation and at the same time, a boon to the State tourism industry.

Speaking to reporters after attending a briefing given by the Wildlife Department, Saddi said he was impressed with the proposal because the proposed centre would be close to several eco-tourism attractions which include the rainforest, the Gomantong cave, the ancient cemeteries, the proboscis monkeys, birds, the orangutan, the crocodile of the Kinabatangan River.

“These tourist attractions would certainly complement the centre and an existing forestry school,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his briefing, Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said pygmy elephants, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, Sumatran rhinos and Asian gaurs (seladang) living in the forest need to be saved from extinction.

Ambu said the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the National Geographics had documented the possible extinction of the pygmy elephants in the state and this had raised concerns prompting the issue to be dealt with collectively and consistently.

The Taisei Corporation, an environmental planning and administration group in Japan, along with several private corporations, volunteer organisations, the WWF and other international environmental organisations, will bear the cost of setting up the centre.

“It will cost at least between RM5 million to RM6 million for the first five years and we plan to turn it into a world class rehabilitation centre in the future. But that depends on the funding,” he said.

He added apart from conserving the wildlife, the centre would raise awareness of the community of its mission, quoting accusations hurled by some international bodies at the state for giving priority to agriculture than the wildlife.

Present during the briefing were Ir. Frank C.S Fan and Seiji Tange of Taisei Corporation to assess the implementation, technical needs and the function of the project.

Sorce: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/06/09/rehabilitation-and-breeding-centre-for-wildlife-on-the-horizon

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Sabah Park to Go Wild Over Endangered Animals

By Jaswinder Kaur

KOTA KINABALU: A new wildlife park in Sabah will become a site for the captive breeding of endangered animals such as the Sumatran rhinoceros.

Sabah Wildlife Department deputy director Laurentius Ambu said the Sumatran Rhinoceros Conservation Workshop, which ended on Friday, had pointed out the need to have captive breeding of the animal.

“Captive breeding could be done here at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.”

There are between 35 and 50 rhinoceros in the state.

The park will also become a focal point for environmental education and research activities.

“This park will be used to create public awareness,” Ambu said at a briefing for Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun at the park’s open day yesterday.

“A second component of the park is the planting of indigenous tree species so that visitors can learn more about plants here. This effort is being undertaken by the Sabah Forestry Department.”

He said other zoos and parks in the region had also started small and later became a big hit, such as the Singapore Zoological Garden.

He said the park had collected nearly RM400,000 in entry fees since its soft opening five months ago. About 95 per cent of visitors were Malaysians.

The 112ha park is located 25km from the city and has more than 1000 animal species.

Masidi urged the private sector, especially oil palm companies, to help the Sabah Wildlife Department, which requires more than RM2 million to run the park annually.

“Oil palm companies can adopt animals as part of their corporate responsibility. Hotels can also sponsor animals.

“I will talk to tour agents to include the park as part of the city tour.”

Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort is the only organisation giving financial aid to the park by helping to maintain the orang utan area.

Meanwhile, the Sabah Wildlife Department has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tokyo Zoological Park Society to work on the exchange of animals, staff and knowledge.

The department was represented by its director, Patrick Andau, while Tokyo Zoological Park Society chief director Yoshinobu Asa- kura signed on behalf of the society.

Masidi said for a start, the Japanese would send flamingos to the wildlife park.

“We hope these flamingos can breed and create juveniles which we will then send back to Japan.”

(c) 2007 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserves.

Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/993389/sabah_park_to_go_wild_over_endangered_animals/

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Endangered wildlife can have easier migration

KOTA KINABALU: A move is under way to connect the country's largest wildlife forest reserve, Tabin, with adjacent fragmented forests through wildlife corridors in Sabah's east coast Lahad Datu.

The move will facilitate the migration of critically-endangered wildlife through the newly established Segama Corridor Conservation Area.

Conservationists hope it would eventually lead to a narrow but continuous corridor from Tabin to Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, another important refuge for endangered species on the northern side of the Dent peninsular in Lahad Datu.

The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and the German-based conservation non-governmental organisation Rhino and Forest Fund (RFF) signed an agreement to improve a wildlife corridor between the isolated Tabin reserve with adjacent conservation areas recently.

Tabin Wildlife Reserve is one of the last areas on the Borneo island where large wildlife still coexist, including the Bornean Rhino, Bornean Elephant, Orang Utan, Banteng and Sun Bear.

“Connecting forest fragments is an integral part of our strategy to secure wildlife habitat in the long term,” Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said.

He said it was necessary for the department to be active in promoting the reforestation work throughout areas with wildlife as corridors and forest patches are much needed for wildlife connectivity.

“At present, there is an increase of reforestation work within wildlife landscapes in Sabah and we want them to be successful not only for the benefit of wildlife but also local communities who live close to these areas,” said Laurentius.

“To save endangered wildlife suffering from habitat fragmentation, we need to establish a network of protected areas of a sufficient size and quality.

“This will prevent inbreeding of currently separated sub-populations and help to maintain healthy population.”

RFF director Robert Risch said the outcome of their efforts would be a connected conservation area of more than 200,000ha, nearly twice as big as Tabin is today.

Leipzig Zoo from Germany and private donors financially support this reforestation project.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/7/nation/10689827&sec=nation

Green Sabah says:  Today with the help of NGO’s, not-for profit organizations and governments world-wide there is a stronger movement taking place, with a deeper understanding of habitat conservation with the aim of protecting delicate habitats and preserving biodiversity on a global scale. The commitment and actions of volunteering association is paramount in ensuring generations that follow understand the importance of conserving natural resources.

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