Posted by: Admin | July 22, 2019
First SOC Newsletter: June 2019 Edition
Posted by: Admin | July 11, 2019
VSA and Masarang HK 2018/2019
Another year has flown past again at VSA and it was filled with lots of support for Masarang HK by the school community and our Eco-warrior Clubs.
Our annual school wide RAD Day inspired by Tell Someone Who Cares was a great success again. We raised over HK $15,000 to help support the young orangutans in the new Jerora Forest School.
At the Secondary Swimming Gala Day, the Masarang Club raised awareness and funds for the club. The students’ sold coconut water and healthy snacks for the athletes and spectators. The students also collected money for the year-long Change for Change campaign.
At our PTA Family Fun Day event the Eco-warrior club sold palm sugar and traditional Dayak weavings. In addition, students created posters to raise awareness to the school community about Masarang HK’s amazing work and the destruction brought upon the rainforest by palm oil production. The secondary stall also sold homemade palm sugar bobo tea and biscuits.
During the ESF Green week, Year 5 Eco-warriors went and gave an educational presentation about palm oil. It was a great experience for both the presenters and the audience.
The 3rd Annual Earth Day Biodiversity Walk‘n’Talk took place in late April. We were so lucky to again have Masarang hk committee member and ecologist, Sharne McMillian, lead the walk to educate students and parents about the importance of conserving biodiversity in Hong Kong.
The secondary club held a raffle of two silver pendants, donated by a parent, and the winners were Michael Yang (Y6) and Annabella Deayton (Y5).
Over the Easter Holiday four teachers took a trip to Borneo to see all the great work Masarang and the Sintang Orangutan Centre are doing for the animals and the local community. Teachers visited the new forest school, ran lessons at local primary schools, and put on a professional development session for local teachers. They also took donations collected by some secondary school students at VSA.
We look forward to our continued support of Masarang HK in the coming school year.
Have a lovely summer everyone!
Posted in Hong Kong, Masarang Club, Supporting, Uncategorized
Posted by: Admin | July 4, 2019
Slow Loris
Slow Lorises Sarah and Satu at Tasikoki
The article and film link below were prepared by Gavin and Billy, at Tasikoki. Our Masarang hk Team also included some general facts about slow lorises as well some details about the suffering they go through as part of the ‘pet trade’. Please consider volunteering at Tasikoki or help by offering food/support/donations for the slow loris care at Tasikoki via Masarang hk: www.Masarang.hk
Tasikoki Slow Lorises
In January 2016, 25 Javan Slow Loris were confiscated from a single smuggler who was taking them to the Philippines. All the slow lorises were taken to Tasikoki for rehabilitation.
They were put into temporary accommodation and closely monitored. All were highly stressed, malnourished and suffering from oral hygiene issues due to the cruel treatment they suffered at the hands of the smuggler, though this treatment is common for slow lorises in this ‘pet trade’. The detail of this treatment is given below. All 25 were suffering from problems such as abscesses, infections and even the inability to eat solid foods in some cases.
In Summer 2016, two volunteers were so taken with the ‘slowies’, as we had taken to affectionately calling them, they were determined to provide better accommodation for them. Gemma and Paul raised US$800 in two weeks and that money funded the repair of a disused aviary to cater just for the slowies.
Unfortunately, by this time only 17 slowies remained as the rest had succumbed to their injuries and the stress they had been put through before they arrived at Tasikoki.
Over the space of a week, each surviving slowie had a full health check and was moved into their new homes in what the volunteers christened “Slow Loris Lane.”
They were closely monitored over the next few weeks and were given a diet rich in special foods bought in from the UK that catered to species that consume a great deal of tree sap in their diet.
Volunteers were instructed in the art of the Bug Hunt which rapidly became one of the most popular activities volunteers could experience. The slowies are nocturnal animals and each slowie would normally eat between 30 – 40 insects a night. We had to catch a lot of bugs!
We have now a sponsor based in the Netherlands, a company called Protix, that has developed a line of insect protein-based food supplements. In the last 18 months Protix has donated several dozen kilos of insect protein and it has made a marked difference to the health of the slowies. We are very grateful for any donation they could offer.
We use the Protix supplements several times a week and continue to Bug Hunt. After doing a great deal of research we tried supplementing the slowie diet with the small house geckos that are everywhere here. I can safely say that watching grown men and women trying to catch these geckos is one of the most farcical things you will ever see, but it is worth it as the extra protein in their diet continues to make a marked difference in the slowie’s general health. A short film showing the great work the volunteers are doing and how the Protix products are really helping the slowies in particular is Here.
Since they moved into Slow Loris Lane we have had a birth and unfortunately some more casualties amongst the group and we are hopeful that the remaining 11 slowies will eventually be relocated back to Java where they will have to spend the remainder of their lives in captivity but at a rescue centre dedicated to slow loris. The sad truth of their being poached means that the damage caused to their teeth means that our slowies could never survive in the wild again.
Please help us take care of them, whether volunteering yourself or donating supplies/funds and mark the donation “Slow Loris Care’. We would be very grateful for any assistance you could give.
The Tasikoki Team
Slow Loris Facts
In wildlife conservation, media exposure of an endangered and hitherto unknown species can be a good thing. Indeed, public awareness is one of the most powerful tools for conservation. Just look at how quickly the pangolin, an animal that most people had probably never even heard of until a few years ago, has become an icon for conservation on par with the elephant and gained similar levels of support for the end of its illicit trafficking.
Sometimes however, media exposure can backfire and make an already uphill battle even harder. Case in point: The Slow Loris.
The slow loris (Genus: Nycticebus) is a tiny primitive primate belonging to the group known as prosimians, which also includes bushbabies, tarsiers and lemurs. There are several species distributed across South and Southeast Asia, with the one housed at Tasikoki being the Javan slow loris (Nycticebus). Though it is indeed a very slow mover, it is not defenceless. Far from it. Beneath it’s cute and fluffy exterior hides an insidious secret: the slow loris is the world’s only venomous primate.
An unusual cocktail of saliva-borne toxins and secretions from glands on the animal’s elbows, slow loris venom has been known to cause anaphylactic shock, slow-to-heal necrosis (flesh rotting) and even death in humans. More often however, it uses this to catch its prey of insects and small animals (it also eats fruit and tree sap). Recent research has also found the markings on its face act as a warning to predators of its toxicity, in the same way that the colouration of a poison dart frog is a warning of its. However, there is only one recorded death by slow loris bite in scientific literature.
Ironically, this facial defence mechanism has also helped to contribute to the slow loris’ decline in the wild. Combined with its small size, fluffy fur and large eyes, it has helped to make the animal very endearing to humans and a popular target for the illegal pet trade. The demand for slow lorises as pets has skyrocketed in the wake of viral YouTube videos showing captive ones being tickled by their owners, adding further woes to a species already struggling with the loss of most of its habitat to agriculture.
Today, the pet trade in slow lorises is the leading cause of their decline in the wild, in spite of the fact that they are completely unsuitable for domestication by just about every measure. Lorises in the wild are nocturnal, don’t like loud noises, travel vast distances in search of food and have a highly varied diet. Contrast this to a well-lit, noisy house, a tiny cage and a monotonous diet and it’s easy to see why pet lorises suffer so much psychological stress and health problems such as obesity, diabetes and pneumonia.
There’s also the issue of animal cruelty. In order to prevent envenomation of their customers, ‘pet vendors’, for want of a better title, will clip the teeth of lorises using crude instruments like wire cutters or pliers and not include any anaesthetic. Imagine somebody doing the same thing to your teeth and you have some idea of how excruciating this procedure is for the lorises.
Worse still, not only can this often lead to death by infection and blood loss, but the makeshift nature of this ‘operation’ means that not all of the loris’ teeth are clipped, meaning that its owner can still get the full dose of venom if they are bitten with intact teeth. Even the process of transporting lorises from the wild to the market, often in cramped, poorly ventilated containers, carries a mortality rate as high as 90%.
As with any species, the loss of the slow loris will probably have far-reaching impacts on the rainforest ecosystem. Although not much is understood about its ecology due to its secretive nature, it is a known seed disperser and pollinator. It is also known to have a slow reproductive rate, producing only one baby every 16 months. This makes it unable to replenish its population fast enough to keep up with the rate of trafficking and it is likely that several plant species will decline along with it as a result.
If you want to help the slow loris, the best thing you can do is to not only not buy one as a pet, but also to keep your eyes and ears open for those who do. If you know of somebody who is thinking of buying a slow loris, talk them out of it. Conservation issues aside, possessing a slow loris is illegal under international law and punishable by up to 5 years in prison in some countries, so you’ll be doing the potential buyer a favour just as much as you’ll be doing lorises one. And don’t let them off if they say the loris they plan to buy was born in captivity. Breeding lorises in captivity would require in-depth knowledge of their breeding biology and suitable breeding facilities, things a pet shop owner almost certainly doesn’t have. Therefore, it is very likely that any slow loris up for sale is a wild caught one.
Avoid places offering tourist photo-ops with slow lorises and keep an eye out for online videos of slow lorises being offered for sale. If you come across the latter, you can report it to us: masarang.hk@gmail.com
Thank You.
The Masarang HK Team
Posted in International, Supporting, Tasikoki Project
Posted by: Admin | June 24, 2019
Victoria Shanghai Academy Team Visits Sintang Orangutan Centre
By Adam Hill, Head of Year Four at Victoria Shanghai Academy, Hong Kong
The VSA Team and visiting teachers from nearby communities. The sharing session included using and donating Gavin Coates’ book ‘Earthy’s Best Friend’ as well as ‘Smog ‘by Chris Gadbury, who is also a teacher at VSA. The books were greatly appreciated.
In April 2019, it was my pleasure to return to Sintang and Tembak two years after my first visit. My colleagues and I represented Victoria Shanghai Academy (VSA) and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. VSA is proud to have supported Masarang HK for many years and we appreciate the work the charity does by helping to support the foundations and rescue centres initiated by Dr Willie Smits, including the Masarang Foundation and the Sintang Orangutan Centre. It is wonderful to see the difference that the projects are making to the environment, wildlife and people of Indonesia.
My colleagues and I visited the Sintang Orangutan Centre and the Forest Schools in Tembak and Jerora. Other highlights included training local teachers, visiting local schools and getting to know the wonderful and dedicated staff at SOC.
The video below was created to capture and share our experiences from this recent trip. For more information, please visit my blog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tm-5otRAdM
Opening the VSA-sponsored enclosure at Jerora enabling the first 5 orangutans to go to forest school
The VSA team at Jerora
Dedicated animal-lover and VSA teacher, Karin Samuel, and hand-made orangutans. This Masarang hk initiated project is aimed at supporting local women’s collectives as well as SOC. The dolls are available from SOC, Tasikoki as well as Masarang HK: Masarang.hk@gmail.com
Donating games and equipment to students at local schools
VSA Team and Jerora Elementary School Staff after a visit and a sharing session
Posted by: Admin | June 21, 2019
World Rainforest Day 2019
Happy World Rainforest Day
In the battle against deforestation, Indonesia is on the frontline. Every year, every month, every day, perhaps even while you are reading this article right now, vast swathes of its pristine rainforest and the attendant biodiversity is annihilated to feed the seemingly bottomless pit that is humanity’s appetite for palm oil.
As well as wildlife, this ecocide also negatively impacts Indonesia’s poorest and most vulnerable groups of people, including indigenous groups. The loss of the rainforest to them also means the loss of life sustaining resources they need for their basic survival and to help them stay one step ahead of desperate poverty. Without tree roots to bind the soil together, communities living at the base of hills live in fear of village-destroying landslides and floods. The more open landscape of a degraded or razed forest is also much hotter and drier than a pristine one and therefore more vulnerable to fires. And perhaps the saddest thing is that many indigenous people do have rights to their land and the legal right to defend them. But many are not aware of this and as such, are not able to legally defend themselves or recognise it when palm oil companies are trying to deceive them into handing over their land to them.
This is where Masarang, and particularly its founder, Dr. Willie Smits come in. Since the 1980s, Dr. Smits has been living and working in Indonesia researching how to protect and restore the rainforest and in 2001, founded the Masarang foundation to support, research and implement ways that also benefit the local people, a crucial but often overlooked key to the success of conservation.
Indeed, Masarang’s reforestation work in Sulawesi and Kalimantan in Borneo has the local people heavily involved at just about every level. The plant nurseries Masarang grows young trees for reforestation in are managed with the involvement and help of local schools, religious groups and NGOs. In Kalimantan, Masarang has worked closely with the indigenous Dayak people, using their traditional knowledge to implement the most efficient, productive and ecologically suitable reforestation methods. In return, they also educate them about their land rights so that palm oil companies won’t be able to so easily steal their land from them anymore. And of course, much of Masarang’s reforestation work has centred on agroforestry schemes using crops that require diverse, healthy plant communities to grow properly, providing local people with food, income and incentives to protect the rainforest.
This long-term source of income also means that they do not have to sell their land to the palm oil companies for short-term profit or survival.
It’s an approach that has had real, demonstrable consequences for local biodiversity and ecosystem function. Back in 2001, the mountain from which the Masarang foundation takes its name had been mostly burned and denuded for over a century. Local temperatures were soaring, water sources sometimes ran dry and with no trees to bind the soil or improve its hydrological function, floods and landslides were a regular occurrence. But when Masarang bought the land rights to the mountain, they planted over a million trees and since then rainfall has increased, springs that had disappeared long ago started running again (providing more water and higher yields for rice paddies), temperatures have dropped significantly and animals such as owls and Sulawesi toads have reappeared in the new rainforest.
A similar story also played out in the valley of Pulisan in Northern Sulawesi. Here, Masarang planted trees on 80 hectares of barren grassland (including thousands of sugar palm trees) and in the ten years since wildlife has returned to the area, including two large groups of the critically endangered crested black macaque, now numbering almost 150 individuals. Meanwhile in Kalimantan, Dr. Smits has been working on reforesting half a million acres of land with methodologies based upon the results of the Masarang Foundation.
With such ecological and social successes as these, agroforestry represents a viable means to address two of the developing world’s most serious problems (poverty and biodiversity loss) at once.
Thank you to all in HK that have helped with planting trees at the projects, including the small group of Island School students that raised funds by selling home-made (non-palm oil) spreads.
Should anybody like to visit or volunteer, please contact us for details: Masarang.hk@gmail.com
Should you wish to volunteer at Tasikoki, please contact Gavin at: volunteer@tasikoki.org.
Should you wish to plant trees, Ark Eden in HK offers great local opportunities: https://www.arkedenonlantau.org
Thank you for your interest and support.Hope you have a treely (!) wonderful day.
Masarang hk Team
Posted in International, Supporting
Posted by: Admin | June 16, 2019
World Sea Turtle Day 2019
A young turtle hatchling rushing to get to sea from the Masarang Tulap Beach hatchery
A group of educators from HK schools and universities visiting the Tulap project
It’s World Sea Turtle Day on the 16th of June and what better time to talk about sea turtles? Around the world, sea turtles are perhaps the most well-known and beloved group of reptiles. Whereas many people recoil at the sight or even the thought of lizards, snakes and crocodiles, sea turtles seem to hold a special place in their hearts.
Unfortunately, as with similarly beloved species like orang-utans, public affection does not always translate into eco-friendly lifestyle changes that would benefit that species. All seven species of sea turtle are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered by the IUCN due to climate change, being caught as bycatch and most infamously of all, plastic pollution. However, just as people still buy products with palm oil even if they love orang-utans, their supposed love of turtles does not seem to stop them from buying single-use plastics, eating fish caught using unsustainable methods and making little attempt to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible.
Yet in spite of these ongoing threats, hope does still exist for sea turtles, perhaps more so than for many other endangered species. Thanks to programs like Blue Planet 2 and A Plastic Ocean, consumers are at least starting to rethink their plastic usage and some countries like the UK have seen single-use plastic usage fall by as much as 53%. Meanwhile, conservation efforts over the past several decades have led to an increase in the populations of many turtle species, particularly green turtles.
One such conservation effort is the sea turtle conservation project carried out by the Masarang Foundation, which is well placed to carry out such efforts due to its strategic location. Just an hour’s drive away from Masarang’s headquarters in Tomohon, Sulawesi, lies Tulap beach, a 3 km stretch of prime turtle nesting gound. Five species of turtle are known to nest here from March to September, namely the Green, Loggerhead, Olive Ridley, Hawksbill and even the elusive, critically endangered Leatherback Turtle.
Tulap Beach
To ensure that the beach remains in prime condition for the turtles, Masarang conducts regular beach clean-ups with Tasikoki volunteers, removing what would otherwise be a plastic obstacle course adding to an already arduous climb up the beach. Clutches of eggs that are laid here are then gathered up every night and incubated in a turtle hatchery, after which the hatchlings are hand released into the sea to ensure that they survive this perilous journey of their lives without being picked off by crabs or seabirds. The survival percentage of the turtle hatchlings from our hatchery is 94%, which is mostly due to the 20 years experience and releasing over one million hatchlings by our Tulap manager Melky, who knows exactly how to find the nests, and how to perfectly rebury them immediately in our hatchery at the right depth for each species. This is important because after more than a day the embryo’s can be disturbed when relocating the nests. While visitors and volunteers with Masarang are allowed to see hatchlings and, on rare occasions, nesting mothers on the beach during night safaris, these are kept to a minimum and then only done in the presence of an experienced guide to reduce disturbance to the turtles.
Masarang staff Melky collecting eggs to transfer to the hatchery to protect them from poachers
Additionally, in light of the very small population of green turtles in local waters, Masarang has also stepped in to help fulfil a vital role that they would otherwise play in their ecosystem: sea grass maintenance. As a result of the absence of green turtles and dugongs due to local hunting pressure, the sea grass off the beach at Tasikoki had become severely overgrown, reducing the amount of light reaching the sea floor. This prevented the growth of small corals and also reduced the overall diversity of fish, crustaceans, marine invertebrates and other species living there.
So in order to address this issue (as well as to give Tasikoki volunteers a break from their usual duties), last year Tasikoki’s volunteer coordinator, Gavin, started a weekly activity to go snorkelling over the sea grass beds to trim the longer growths. Though this may seem more like a way to cool off in the fierce tropical sun (which it is) than an effective conservation strategy, but Tasikoki workers and volunteers have already reported dramatic and positive changes in the biodiversity of the sea grass beds, with species that had not been seen there in years prior to the project suddenly staging a comeback. With luck, the work of the Tasikoki teams and wonderful volunteers and others around the world fighting for turtle conservation, before too long perhaps the turtle numbers will once again be high enough to pick up where they left off on trimming these lawns of the sea. In addition the seagrass becomes a valuable additional component in our organic compost, contributing valuable nutrients to grow more organic food for the animals at the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue and Education Center.
Thank you for the support on this special day for sea turtles to our highly appreciated supporters:
1. Island School, HK, and Morgan Stanley, HK, for funding the hatchery and a poacher rehabilitation programme.
2. LUSH for donating funds from their SLush fund last year for a project aiding security and protection for the turtles and eggs at Tulap beach. We hope to continue getting funds from their new Re:Fund system of support. Fingers crossed! https://hk.lush.com/article/goodbye-slush-hello-refund.
3. All the students, volunteers and supporters who are helping to clean the beach, protect the turtles/hatchlings and fund the important work being done by the Foundation.
4. Thank you to Ross Burrough, HK, for the photographs.
We are all grateful for this kind help and assistance. With over one hundred eggs in every nest on the beach, hundreds of thousands of turtle eggs have been protected at the Turtle beach over the last few years and this has resulted in hundreds of thousands of sea turtles getting a chance at life!
Please visit, volunteer, donate equipment or funds if you can to help the Foundation sea turtle projects.
Volunteer or Visit: volunteer@tasikoki.org
Donate Time, Equipment, Funds: masarang.hk@gmail.com
Thank you.
Masarang HK Team
Posted in Hong Kong, International, Masarang Club, Supporting, Tasikoki Project
Posted by: Admin | June 4, 2019
Book Review: Running Wild
Author Michael Morpurgo has written a lot of books about animals and the environment. But few can claim to hold the same level of poignancy and relevance as his 2009 children’s novel, Running Wild, which was recently adapted into a stage play in the same vein as one of his other great novels, War Horse.
When his beloved father is killed in the Iraq War, nine-year-old Will and his mother travel to Indonesia for a holiday that turns into a nightmare when the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami strikes their beach resort. Miraculously, Will is saved when Oona, the elephant he is riding, senses the incoming wave early and takes off deep into the nearby jungle with him. Now orphaned with little chance of rescue and only Oona for company, he is forced to rely on her and his own wits to survive in this hostile but beautiful environment. In doing so, he encounters and grows to love some of the rainforest’s most endangered inhabitants from Sumatran tigers to orangutans, learns of the horrors inflicted by those who exploit them for their own profit, and is sent on a life affirming quest to protect this extraordinary corner of Earth.
Morpurgo has described Running Wild as a story with a need to be told, and it shows in his vivid, brutally honest depictions of Indonesia’s real world environmental problems. The sheer ecological horror of palm oil and poaching is far greater than many children, even ones who are aware of these issues, probably realise and this book makes no attempt to shield them from that. Through Will’s eyes you witness first-hand as orangutan mothers are gunned out of the trees and their babies are torn screaming from their bodies by hunters. You weep as he does when the tiger he has befriended is turned into a lifeless rug by a millionaire wildlife trader. And the journey through a blackened, polluted patch of land stripped bare for mining and palm oil is so hellish it might as well be a scene from Dante’s Inferno.
But at the same time, Morpurgo also recognises the need for limits on doom-and-gloom environmentalism and makes a point of also showing what is being done to protect the rainforest, mainly the orangutan rehabilitation work of a woman who has spent her whole life in the jungle trying to save them. Through this and a series of informative fact files at the end of the book, a call to action is sent to readers to do whatever they can to defend orangutans and their home by reducing their palm oil use and supporting conservation efforts.
Of course, education through entertainment is only really effective when the reader has an emotional connection to what is happening. That is to say, a compelling character they can identify with to go on the journey with, which Running Wild definitely provides. In spite of his extraordinary circumstances (and to some extent, because of them), Will spends much of the first third of the book in a place of grief that all too many of us can relate to, particularly those who have lost loved ones in armed conflict or natural disasters. His initial uneasiness with his new surroundings is also very relatable too. But through holding on to happy memories of his past and his friendship with Oona, he is able to not only overcome his grief but also to focus his mind on the everyday tasks of survival. This in turn gives him the strength both to face the many, many trials that it and man throw at him, and to keep fighting for his animal friends and the forest they depend on.
Speaking of rainforests, if Morpurgo has never been to one before he gives little indication of it here. His descriptions capture perfectly all the physical attributes of the rainforest, good and bad. The energy sapping heat, the drenching but refreshing rain showers that come out of nowhere, the constant hum of ever present insects. It’s all here. Where his research does seem to have skimped somewhat however is on the actual wildlife of Indonesia, which is ironic for a book about wildlife conservation. Amongst all of Running Wild’s accurate depictions of tigers, orangutans, elephants, gibbons, sun bears and crocodiles, there are also cases where it confuses native animals with non-native ones (i.e. hornbills with toucans) or includes species that shouldn’t be there at all (there are definitely no lemurs in Indonesia, Mr. Morpurgo). Definitely a minor source of irritation for those us familiar with the biodiversity of this region.
On the whole however, Running Wild is a moving, immersive and timely must-read for any budding conservationist.
Anecdote: Many of the animals written about are currently being rehabilitated in Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre and the Sintang Orangutan Centre. Both Centres need all the help they can get.
The cost of food for the animals at Tasikoki alone is more than Euro 4,830 a month (approx. HKD42,000).
Please donate and mark the donation ‘Food for Rescued Wildlife’.
Bank Deposit (Our preferred option)
Payment can be made by direct deposit into the bank account of:
Bank: The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, No.1 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong
Account No: 848-130969-838 (HKD Savings)
Account Name: Masarang HK Society Limited
Swift code: HSBCHKHHHKH
Crossed Cheque
Please make Cheques Payable to “Masarang HK Society Limited”
and deposit it directly into our bank account or post it to:
Masarang HK Society Limited
PO Box No. 10556
General Post Office
Central, Hong Kong
PayPal
You can use PayPal to donate to us.
We are a Hong Kong based Charitable institution and were granted tax exemption status under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance on 23 May 2014.
If you would like an official donation receipt, for donations over HK$100, please email us details of the deposit record (e.g. date and amount) via masarang.hk@gmail.com
Posted in Hong Kong, International, Supporting
Posted by: Admin | May 22, 2019
International Day for Biological Diversity, 2019
We live in a challenging, frightening time in Earth’s history. An estimated 60% of all wildlife has already been lost because of human activity. Earlier this month, a devastating UN report was released revealing that an unprecedented 1 million plant and animal species are under threat of imminent extinction within the next few decades, constituting a serious threat to our own species’ survival. Given the interconnectedness and interdependence of different species on each other within ecosystems, it is likely that the actual number that are threatened is even higher than that. Given such dire statistics, it can be difficult, sometimes all but impossible, to remain optimistic.
But somehow, in spite of the difficulties, we must do just that if we are to keep our heads above water and power on in our fight to protect nature. One of the ways to do this is to remember that there are people and organisations out there who have been working and will continue to work tirelessly for the conservation and restoration of wildlife and their habitats. One of these of course is the Masarang Foundation. Working in Indonesia, a country that is a world leader both in its biodiversity and in threats to that biodiversity, Masarang not only rescues and rehabilitates victims of the wildlife and bushmeat trades through the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue and Education Centre and Sintang Orangutan Centre, but is also growing back rainforest in North Sulawesi through its agroforestry schemes. The latter has proven to be a particular success, with thriving rainforest ecosystems being almost fully restored within as little as five years.
So to mark International Day of Biological Diversity, here is a list of some of the species housed at Tasikoki, the threats they face and the efforts being put in place to help them.
- Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria): Anyone who thinks of pigeons merely as drab birds scrounging around on the streets has clearly never heard of the Victoria crowned pigeon.
Found in Papua New Guinea, this is not only the largest species of pigeon (reaching weights of up to 3.5 kg), but also one of the most beautiful with its greyish blue body and a fan-like crest of filamentous feathers like miniature peacock tail feathers. Being so large, it lives mainly on the ground in pairs or small groups, although it can fly and will roost in trees at night. It lives almost exclusively in lowland rainforest, which unfortunately is also the preferred type of land for palm oil plantations. Furthermore, the bird is also threatened by hunting for its meat, extravagant plumage and for captive collections. As it only lays a single egg at a time, its populations cannot keep up with the current levels of exploitation. However, the same beauty that is driving its decline could also help to save it, as it could make it a draw for ecotourism. It is listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List.
- Moluccan Cockatoo (Cacatua moluccensis): Also known as the salmon crested cockatoo, the Moluccan cockatoo is found on the islands of Seram and Ambon in Eastern Indonesia. Like many large Australasian parrots, it requires large bodied trees for nesting and feeds on fruits, seeds and nuts (including coconuts).
One of the Moluccan Cockatoos at the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre that was rescued from the illegal wildlife trade
Although it occurs in primary, secondary and logged forests, studies have found its population densities to be highest in primary lowland rainforest, highlighting both the importance of this type of rainforest for its long term survival and the threat posed to it by habitat destruction. Indeed, habitat loss due to commercial logging has shrunk their range to a single locality on Ambon and the eastern reaches of Seram. Protected areas on the latter island could support just under 10,000 birds but worryingly, a third of this land is earmarked for logging concessions. The pet trade and persecution by coconut farmers are also big threats. However, education programmes have been put in place for this species and it could also be used as an ecotourism draw to the areas where it lives, incentivising their protection. It is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.
Orangutan Help Luxembourg Committee Members at Tasikoki making enrichment for the cockatoos and a volunteer giving enrichment and being watched/supervised (!) by a Moluccan cockatoo.
- Javan Deer (Rusa timorensis): Native to Bali, Timor and of course, Java, the Javan deer has also been introduced to other islands in the Indonesian archipelago such as Sulawesi, as well as Australia, New Zealand and other islands in the South Pacific. It lives in dry, open forests and savannahs, but is adaptable enough to live in mountainous and marshy areas as well, which helps explain why it has adapted well to its reintroduced range.
Like many of the animals housed at Tasikoki, it is heavily threatened by hunting. However, it also faces a much more unexpected threat for a large mammal: invasive plants. In the 1980s and 90s, acacia trees were introduced to several of the Javan national parks where the deer lived in order to create a fire break around their habitat. However, the ecological implications of this were not properly assessed and the trees have since spread into thick thickets that restrict grass growth and are hard for the deer to penetrate, leading to significant losses in grazing area for them. The invasive weed, Lantana camara, poses a similar threat by crowding out native plants. It is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List.
A big thank you to Hye-Jin and Jonathan who celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary by sponsoring the current enclosure to make it more secure for the 32 Javan deer at Tasikoki. The photo below shows that the deer are very much at home at Tasikoki, but perhaps a much more secure enclosure would also protect Olof’s wonderful permaculture garden as well as Evergreen’s sponsored food forest trees!
Javan Deer going ‘walkabout’ at Tasikoki
Willie and another ‘free’ spirited Javan Deer at Tasikoki
- Siamang Gibbon (Symphalangus syndactylus): The largest species of gibbon, the siamang is also notable for its large throat pouch which, when fully inflated, can be as large as its head. This pouch helps to amplify its loud, hooting calls, which it makes as a territorial display as well as in response to disturbances. Although it is found across much of Sumatra, its population is heavily fragmented due to the loss of its habitat to palm oil, illegal logging and fire. It is also a popular species for the pet trade and is thought to be one of the most heavily traded of all gibbon species. Fortunately, a considerable portion of its populations lives in protected areas and it is hoped that efforts to better train and equip law enforcement agencies in these areas will lead to a higher prosecution rate of poachers. It is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List.
Our ‘Betty’ at Tasikoki was confiscated from a boat that was intending to take her to the Philippines. She is now a candidate to go to a sanctuary island. We are keeping our fingers crossed and sincerely hope we get support to find her a mate from another rescue centre in the meantime.
- Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata): Distinguishable from the similar looking green turtle by the jagged edge of its shell and its sharp, narrow beak, the hawksbill turtle is one of five species that nest at Tulap beach near Tasikoki. Also unlike the green turtle, it feeds not on sea grass on algae, but on sea sponges and anemones and by removing these from reefs, it improves the access of small reef fish to larger feeding areas. But in a more unfortunate dissimilarity to the green turtle, whose numbers have been slowly increasing thanks to improved conservation measures, the hawksbill turtle still remains one of the most threatened of all sea turtle species, mostly because of the wildlife trade. Ever since the mid-1800s, the ornate shell of this turtle has widely prized for making tortoiseshell jewellery and ornaments, with much of the demand today coming from Eastern Asia. Its carnivorous diet also makes it vulnerable to long line fishing, as it can be caught on fishing hooks when it tries to feed from the bait, leading to severe, often fatal internal injuries. Fortunately, Masarang is on hand to protect the hawksbill turtle through intercepting and rehabilitating animals captured for the wildlife trade and through protecting their nests at Tulap from egg thieves. It is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List.
Tulap Turtle Beach under a rising moon. At the right turtle eggs being collected from a nest to place in the secure hatchery on Tulap beach.
Chiemi and Takashi from LUSH Japan, helping to collect turtle eggs and take them to the hatchery with Willie and Melky, a long-term dedicated turtle protection team member.
Thank you to LUSH for donating SLush funds for Turtle and turtle beach and nest protection on our Tulap beach.
Posted by: Admin | May 18, 2019
2019 Biodiversity Walk’n’Talk
In celebration of Earth Day, Masarang HK shared another successful Biodiversity Walk’n’Talk with the students, families and teachers of VSA Primary School. We explored the different habitats in Aberdeen Country Park and found some of the species that they support including mammals, reptiles, birds, plants, amphibians and bugs. As this year’s Earth Day theme was “Protect our Species” the day enabled us to think about the threats facing Hong Kong’s biodiversity and what we can do to help protect and conserve it.
We not only learnt about Hong Kong’s wonderful biodiversity, but were able to contribute our records toward the City Nature Challenge, a weekend competition where cities around the world compete to see who can make the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people. We feel very proud to have had the chance to contribute as Hong Kong came 2nd in recording the most number of species (3,596 species), which goes to show how amazing our biodiversity is!!
We are very grateful to celebrate Earth Day with VSA Primary and would like to thank the students for writing the wonderful blog below, describing their experience.
Blog contributed by Kanishk Gosalia (Y5A1), Matthew Wong (Y5A4) and Anderson Yeung (Y5A4)
On 28 April, we went on an intriguing trip to the Aberdeen Country Park organized by the Primary PTA. The Biodiversity Walk’n’Talk was led by Ms Sharne McMillan of Masarang Hong Kong who is an expert ecologist studying PhD at the University of Hong Kong.
The wonders of nature we saw were astonishing. We observed countless bizarre creatures, from the wild boar with a rather dirty coat of fur, and the coy of giant proportions, to the spider with a web of gold.
We saw traces of magnificent beasts prowling the lush terrains of Hong Kong as we tracked along the path of the country park, we uncovered species after species, marveling at their splendid features. We crossed terrain after terrain, from the bridge of the Aberdeen Lower Reservoir to the barren forest floor.
We learnt about the fragile balance of biodiversity and the human activities that are threatening this balance. We learnt about how our minuscule Hong Kong contributes more than 33% of our total bird species in China, and how our city houses more than 3300+ native vascular plants.
All in all, this experience has greatly enriched us with knowledge and wonders. We recommend you to join this most amazing of walks as it can make humans understand what the ecosystem is all about and how we can help it.
Posted in Hong Kong, International, Supporting
Posted by: Admin | May 11, 2019
Release of Sulawesi Bear Cuscus and Dwarf Cuscus
With your help, Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre working with the Nature Conservation Agency of North Sulawesi (BKSDA) have released cuscus during the celebration of 2019 Earth Day. Two bear cuscuses (Ailurops ursinus) and a dwarf cuscus (Strigocuscus celebensis) were released into Batu Putih Nature Tourism Park forest in North Sulawesi. The cuscus is native to that area.
Kelly, a female bear cuscus, was confiscated by the Nature Conservation Agency from Gorontalo on July 2018. Another bear cuscus, a male named Unyil, was saved from Kotamobago on September, 2018. Both of these cuscus were part of the illegal ‘pet’ trade. Imut, a male dwarf cuscus, was saved by residents from a restaurant in Manado and submitted to Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre on April, 2nd, 2018. After going through a health examination (including endoparasite and ectoparasite examination) and having a period of rehabilitation so they could recover from their experience, the cuscus were ready to return to the wild.
Each year, Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre rescues cuscus and other wildlife, rehabili tates the animals, and returns them to the wild, if possible.
Photographs below show the release of the Imut, the dwarf cuscus.
We are grateful that some areas in Indonesia ensure that cuscus are protected.
Just a few days ago the city of Bitung, near Tasikoki, prepared a new regulation to ensure that cuscus and other species that had been removed from the protected list were reinstated. This meeting was attended by staff of Tasikoki. We are very pleased that the city of Bitung has made this decision.
What is a cuscus?
Even if you’re not a big wildlife enthusiast, it’s probably fair to assume that many of the species housed at the Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue and Education Centre are very well known to you. Orangutans, parrots, deer, macaques. These are all charismatic animals that are recognised and loved across the world, especially by those who come to Tasikoki to volunteer with them.
Ironically though, the animal that Tasikoki has as its symbol is one that the vast majority of people (including myself until recently) know almost nothing about. Many probably wouldn’t even be able to identify it on the centre’s sign. That animal is the Sulawesi Bear Cuscus (Ailurops ursinus).
It’s certainly a strange looking animal, with its big claws, dense woolly fur and a prehensile tail that is almost as long as the rest of its body. But its peculiarities aren’t purely aesthetic. Despite its name it is not in fact a bear or even a close relative of one, but a marsupial. Though mostly confined to Australia, members of this group of mammals are also found in parts of Asia and the Americas due to the continents being connected to each other in prehistory. In Asia, cuscuses (of which there are multiple species) are found on several Indonesian islands including Papua New Guinea, Waigeo and of course, Sulawesi.
Though the Sulawesi bear cuscus is far from the most extensively studied mammal, we do nonetheless know a fair bit about its ecology. It lives high up in the canopy of primary rainforests in the lowlands of Sulawesi island, usually in pairs or groups of three to four. As with all marsupials, the young are born only partially developed and spend the rest of their development growing inside their mothers’ pouch until they are old, large and strong enough to leave it, which in the case of this species is at around 8 months old. Like the koala, it feeds largely on leaves, although it is nowhere near as specialised in its dietary preferences, being known to feed from at least 31 different plant species and to supplement its diet with flowers and unripe fruit. In another similarity to the koala, this low nutrient diet leads to it spending over 60% of its day resting and sleeping in order to digest its food, and any movement it does make is usually very slow.
However, while this slow paced lifestyle works as an evolutionary strategy, it is also part of what is driving the cuscus towards extinction. Like many of the species housed at Tasikoki, the cuscus is hunted for the bushmeat trade –as well as for its fur–and this intensive hunting pressure has reduced its population by as much as 95% in some areas. Needless to say, its slowness makes it easy to catch. Its strong affinity for primary rainforest makes it particularly vulnerable to the rampant deforestation happening across its range, as it cannot easily colonise modified or disturbed landscapes. When it does venture into such landscapes like, say, cocoa plantations, it suffers from persecution by farmers who perceive it as a crop raider, despite it receiving protection by the Indonesian government as a protected species.
At present, the Sulawesi bear cuscus is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. However, if the threats it faces are not soon curbed, it could quickly reach population lows worthy of ‘Endangered’, ‘Critically Endangered’ or worst of all, ‘Extinct’ thanks to its specific habitat requirements and slow reproductive rate (each female only raises a single joey at a time).
Fortunately, Tasikoki is doing what it can to help both the bear and the dwarf cuscus and we are grateful for your help and support.
Posted in Hong Kong, International, Supporting, Tasikoki Project