WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

An integral part of the forests is its fauna resources. Wildlife resources in Deramakot Forest Reserve (DFR) have received little attention in the past, as the primary objective was timber management. Timber production will remain the dominant factor in planning land use in DFR. But as of late, and in having to meet the requirements under Principle # 9 (identification of High Conservation Value Forest) of the FSC’s Principle and Criteria to ensure continued certification, a simple, practical guide to monitor and document wildlife resources and their habitat in DFR, has been developed by Dr. Isabelle Lackman-Ancrenaz and Marc Ancrenaz (1999). It was not until the year 2001 that this system was put into use.

DID YOU KNOW? DFR is a key habitat for five globally threatened large mammals, namely the Orangutan, Pygmy Elephant, Tembadau (Banteng), Proboscis Monkey and the Clouded Leopard.

Tembadau - Courtesy of H. Matsubayashi

Clouded Leopard - Courtesy of H. Matsubayashi

Five monitoring components are currently being carried out in DFR. These are:

i.	Riverside (four times a year);
ii.	Salt Lick (once a month);
iii.	Orangutan aerial nest count (twice a year);
iv.	Elephant (once a month); and
v.	Opportunistic Sightings (daily).

1.0 Salt Licks

Four natural salt licks in DFR were identified with the assistance of Dr. Hisashi Matsubayashi, a mammalogist from the University of Tokyo, Japan. Natural salt lick is one attribute to High Conservation Value Forest.

Water and soil samples have been collected for analysis and were found to contain high amounts of Ca, Mg, Na and K. Other ocular findings in relation to these salt licks are shown in Table 1.

LOCATION OF SALT LICK *Mammals Caught On Celluloid Hoof Prints Dungs

Compartment 49, 58 and 46
KM 12, Secondary Road 3 Tembadau Elephant Elephant

Samba Deer Tembadau Samba Deer

Greater Mouse Deer Sus Barbatus Tembadau

Samba deer Wild boar

Compartment 70, KM 14
Main Road 2

Clouded Leopard Clouded Leopard Elephant

Leopard Cat Tembadau Samba Deer

Tembadau Samba Deer Tembadau

Samba deer Wild Boar Wild Boar

Wild boar Elephant

Malay Badger

Muntjac – Barking Deer

Compartment 66, KM 17.5
Main Road 2 Orang utan Elephant Elephant

Tembadau Tembadau Tembadau

Sun Bear Samba Deer Samba Deer

Wild Boar Wild Boar

Samba Deer

Malay Civet

Greater Mouse Deer

Compartment 90, KM 29
Main Road 2 None set up yet. Tembadau Tembadau

Elephant Elephant

Samba Deer Samba Deer

Wild Boar

Table 1. Ocular findings of mammals in relation to salt licks in DFR.

2.0 Orangutans

Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) are exceptionally shy animals, which contribute to the fact that their population and distribution cannot be readily assessed by direct sightings. The aerial census methodology by counting Orangutan nests along pre-determined transects, is being used in DFR. This exercise is carried out twice a year and the results are shown in Table 2.

3.0 Opportunistic Sightings

Observations are based on daily opportunistic encounters and calls. Refer to Table 3. Opportunistic sightings (1997 – 2003).

Pygmy Elephant Courtesy of Shan Kee, WWF, Sabah

4.0 Mitigating the impacts of Forest Management Activities on Wildlife

As planned in the FMP, approximately three quarters of DFR remains undisturbed or closed to forest management activities at any given time. This means all forest management activities (silviculture, enrichment planting and harvesting) is focused on a small portion (10,000 ha) of DFR staggered over a period of ten years, which translates to a management cycle of about 40 years. This is planned primarily to encourage plant succession without disturbance, and at the same time they act as a sanctuary for wildlife that thrives in DFR.

Wildlife and their habitat contiguity is ensured simply because DFR is a well managed forest and hopefully, it will stay that way in perpetuity. Regardless of this, mitigating measures are put in place to minimize the impact of human presence and interference to the eco-system.