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Javan Gibbon released to natural habitat
It was not an easy thing to release Tomtom, a female Javan Gibbon locally known as Owa Jawa, to her natural habitat because she had been living under human care since she was a baby.
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Into the wild – Tomtom, a female Javan Gibbon adapts to her new environment after being released to her natural habitat at the Gunung Tilu Nature Preserve in Bandung regency, West Java, last Thursday. (thejakartapost.com/Arya Dipa)
I
t was not an easy thing to release Tomtom, a female Javan Gibbon locally known as Owa Jawa, to her natural habitat because she had been living under human care since she was a baby.
It took around three years for caregivers at the Javanese Primates Rehabilitation Center in Bandung regency, West Java, to cultivate Tomtom’s wildlife character and survival capacity in her natural habitat.
The center’s caregiver, Sigit Ibrahim, said Tomtom was an Owa Jawa confiscated by the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) from her owner during a raid three years ago. Since she was newly born, Tomtom was accustomed to seeing and eating human food.
“When we first received her, she could walk like a human while in fact, Owa Java is a primate that depends on its arms to swing from tree to tree. They live in trees,” said Sigit after Tomtom’s release to her natural habitat in the Gunung Tilu Nature Preserve in Bandung regency last Thursday.
Tomtom was rehabilitated at the center partly to reinvigorate her natural character. As a wildlife species, Tomtom needs to interact with her community. Recovering her ability to survive in her natural habitat was among the challenges Sigit and his friends from the Aspinall Foundation Indonesia program, which manages the rehabilitation center, had to deal with.
Prior to the release, Sigit and his friends built a 36 square-meter cage on the border of the nature preserve. In the cage, Tomtom had to adjust to her new environment. Although she still received food from her keeper, most of the food was natural food from the forest.
“We chose a banyan tree [to position the cage] because its branches are strong enough for Tomtom to swing. The fruits are also a food source,” said Sigit.
It was not the first time for the rehabilitation center to release primates back to their natural habitat. Sigit said his institution, which was headquartered in the UK, had released primates to their natural habitat on six occasions since 2014. The primates, comprising Owa Jawa and Java Leaf Monkeys, also known as Javan Surili, were released into the mountains surrounded by tea plantations and farming land belonging to state-owned forestry company Perhutani. Tomtom, however, was released into the Gambung Block area in the Gunung Tilu Nature Preserve.
A veterinarian team checked Tomtom’s physical condition to ensure that she was free from infectious diseases before the release. The primate, widely known for its monogamous character, was also able to make social contact with other similar species.
“She is now accustomed to eating natural foods and she is already alert to predators,” said Sigit.
Gunung Tilu Nature Preserve head Didi Rustandi said the diversity of animal species in the 8,000 hectare conservation area was still well maintained. Based on monitoring results from camera trap recordings, leopards could still be found in the area. Gunung Tilu is not only the natural habitat for Owa Jawa and Surili. It also holds mouse-deer, wild boars and Javan Lutung.
“The release ran smoothly because it involved local communities and school students from Gunung Tilu’s surrounding areas. We hope the local community will help conserve this nature preserve because we have only four staff members. This is not enough to conserve an 8,000 hectare area,” said Didi. (ebf)
