Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre)

Asia > Malaysia > Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre)

Summary

• Northwest Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) are present in Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre).
• The population size is unknown.
• The orangutan population trend is decreasing.
• The site has a total size of 22.3 km².
• Key threats to orangutans are hunting and logging.
• Conservation activities have focused on ecotourism and rehabilitation of orangutans.

Site characteristics

Kubah National Park was gazetted in 1989 and opened to the public in 1995 (Abu Bakar et al. 2021). The site is situated on a sandstone plateau, where three mountains, Gunung Serapi, Gunung Selang and Gunung Sendok, are found (STB n.d.). Hardened limestone formations have created numerous waterfalls. The park is mostly covered by mixed dipterocarp forest, but it also holds a wide diversity of palms and orchids (STB n.d.). It is estimated that more than 100 palm species are found in the park and surrounding forests (Abu Bakar et al. 2021). Animal species found here include the bearded pig, mouse deer, black hornbill and many species of amphibians and reptiles. One of the main attractions of the park is the presence of carnivorous pitcher plants. Also located within the park is the Matang Wildlife Centre, which is a large enclosed area of rainforest with captive animal facilities (Mohd Azlan, Pail & Silang 2015). Matang was established to conserve endangered species of wildlife in Sarawak, including orangutans, which are rehabilitated and released (Mohd Azlan, Pail & Silang 2015).

Table 1. Basic site information for Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre)

Area	22.3 km²
Coordinates	1.586520 N, 110.172872 E
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre)

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus

Threats

Table 3. Threats to apes in Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre)

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present, but threat severity unknown		Illegal hunting facilitated by the presence of logging roads within the forests (Tisen & Silang 2016).	Ongoing (2016)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	Present, but threat severity unknown		Intensive logging in Sarawak started in the early 1970s (Tisen & Silang 2016)	Ongoing (2016)
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

The Matang Wildlife Centre (MWC) was established in 1998. The centre is within the tropical forest of Kubah National Park with a total area of approx. 2,200 ha. Since 1998, the function of orangutan and other wildlife rehabilitation activities have been carried out at the centre. The centre initially started with 4 orangutans transferred from Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (SWC). Since then, all newly confiscated orangutans have been sent to Matang Wildlife Centre. To date, the centre has trained orangutans and released them to the forest area within the Kubah National Park. Only a few orangutans occasionally return back to the centre for supplementary food; the others have not returned, but signs of them (e.g. old nests) have been seen where they were released (Tisen & Silang 2016).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre)

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Specific activity OR Not reported	Description	Year of activity
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 National Park.	Ongoing
12. Species Management	12.24. Rehabilitate injured/orphaned primates	Rehabilitation of orphans at Matang Wildlife Centre, found within Kubah National Park. (Tisen & Silang 2016).	Ongoing
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	13.4. Run tourist projects and ensure permanent human presence at site	Kubah National Park, and the Matang Wildlife Centre located inside the park, receive visitors. and has an adoption programme to raise funds for orangutan conservation (Sarawak Forestry Corporation).	Ongoing

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre)

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

A study on orangutans at Matang Wildlife Centre has shown their importance as both seed dispersers and predators (Mohd Azlan, Pail & Silang 2015).

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Kubah National Park (Matang Wildlife Centre)

Behavior	Source
Fruit-processing behavior (swallowing, spitting and masticating)	Mohd Azlan, Pail & Silang 2015

External links

Sarawak Tourism Board

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

STB. (n.d.). Kubah National Park. Online: https://sarawaktourism.com/attraction/matang-wildlife-centre/
Mohd-Azlan, J., Pail, T., & Silang, S. (2015). A preliminary study of fruit handling by captive Borneo orangutans Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus and the effects on seed germination.Asian Primates Journal, 5,40–44.
Abu Bakar, N. A., Marikan, D. A. A., Edman, S., & Ali, D. H. A. (2021). Non-Visitors’ Attitude Towards Kubah National Park’s Roles and Functions. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(1), 515–527.
Tisen, O.B. & Silang, S. (2016). Orangutan Conservation in Sarawak, Malaysia.15th National Peat Congress, 2016; Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Sarawak, Malaysia. Abstract No: A-394.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 24/10/2021