Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Asia > Cambodia > Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Summary

• Yellow-cheeked crested gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) are present in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It has been estimated that 149 (CI: 15-273) groups occur in the site.
• The gibbon population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 2,225 km².
• Key threats to gibbon are gold mining and logging.
• Conservation activities are not documented.

Site characteristics

Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary (PPWS) is located in the west of Mondulkiri Province, northeastern Cambodia. The site was first designated as a forest reserve by King Sihanouk in 1962 to protect the wild bovine species, Kouprey Bos sauveli. In 1993 the site was designated as a wildlife sanctuary (Channa & Gray 2009). PPWS covers 2,225, more than 15% of the total area of Mondulkiri province. The area is characterised by higher elevation and relief in the southeastern Laoka Hills portion, and lowlands in most of the sanctuary (Channa & Gray 2009). The forest in PPWS is part of one of the largest relatively pristine landscapes in mainland Southeast Asia, comprising a mosaic of dry dipterocarp forest and woodland, evergreen forest and semi-evergreen forest (Channa & Gray 2009). Although the flora and fauna of PPWS have not been adequately studied the site appears to contain populations of a number of species of global conservation concern, including Banteng Bos javanicus, Jungle Cat Felis chaus, Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea and White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davi- soni, Gyps vulture spp. and Siamese Crocodile Crocodylus siamensis (Channa & Gray 2009). An unknown number of Indochinese Tiger Panthera tigris corbetti are also present at the site (Channa & Gray 2009).

Table 1. Basic site information for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Area	2,225 km²
Coordinates	12.758251 N, 106.865597 E
Designation	Wildlife Sanctuary
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical dry forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Based on a survey in 2008, 149 (95% CI range: 15-273) gibbon groups inhabit PPWS. This includes 89 groups in semi-evergreen forest; 18 groups in riparian semi-evergreen forest; 36 groups in evergreen forest and 6 groups in riparian evergreen forests (Channa & Gray 2009). Assuming an average group size of 4 individuals and ignoring non-mated individuals, the population estimate for the site is approximately 600 individuals (Channa & Gray 2009).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Species	Year	Total number indiv. (95% CI)	Total number groups (95% CI)	Density ​​[groups/km²​] (95% CI)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Nomascus gabriellae	2008		149 (15-273)	0.12-0.19	Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, entire area	Fixed-point triangulation	Channa & Gray 2009

Threats

Key threats to yellow-cheeked crested gibbons within PPWS appear to be habitat loss and degradation caused by legal and illegal extractive activities, primarily gold mining and selective logging (Channa & Gray 2009). In addition, habitat degradation associated with gold mining includes harvesting of wood, for fuel in mineral processing and for the construction of stairs and supports for underground mines (Channa et al. 2009). Survey teams in 2008 recorded evidence of illegal logging and associated infrastructure in the reserve. Most loggers appeared to be from outside Mondulkiri, and targeted Afzelia xylocarpa, a globally threatened and valuable tree species (Channa et al. 2009).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & urban areas	High		Semi-permanent settlement within the boundaries of the site including temples, schools and karaoke parlours developed adjacent to a gold mine (Channa & Gray 2009).	Ongoing (2009)
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High		Gold mining and associated activities, e.g., wood harvesting and illegal settlement (Channa & Gray 2009).	Ongoing (2009)
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		Selective logging and harvesting wood for fuel and construction material (Channa & Gray 2009).	Ongoing (2009)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	Not reported
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	Not reported
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site is designated as a wildlife reserve (Channa & Gray 2009).	Ongoing (2009)
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Channa, P., & Gray, T. (2009). The status and habitat of yellow-cheeked crested gibbon Nomascus gabriellae in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Mondulkiri. Phnom Penh: WWF Greater Mekong-Cambodia Country Programme.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 21/01/2022