Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
Summary
- Northeast Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) are present in Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.
- It has been estimated that 785 (414-1467) individuals occur in the site.
- The orangutan population trend is decreasing.
- The site has a total size of 270 km².
- Key threats to orangutans are logging and clearing land for oil palm plantations, and hunting.
- Conservation activities have focused on helping orangutans survive in fragmented forests by installing bridges, and running research activities and monitoring the population.
Site characteristics
The Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS) is an important floodplain in the state of Sabah, in northern Malaysia. Sungai Kinabatangan, Sabah's largest and longest river (560 km), runs through this floodplain and floods seasonally (BirdLife International 2021). The catchment area of the river is about 1,680,000 ha, covering almost 23% of the total land area in Sabah (BirdLife International 2021). In spite of the intense exploitation of natural resources that has resulted if forest degradation and fragmentation, Kibatangan remains a biodiversity hotspot, harboring a remarkable diversity of wildlife; in addition to orangutans, the area is also home to proboscis monkeys, Bornean gibbons, Bornean elephants, cloud leopards, sun bears and several bird species, including several globally threatened waterbirds, such as Storm's Stork, Ciconia stormi (HUTAN 2019, BirdLife International 2021). In 2002 the government of Sabah gazetted 27,000 ha of highly disturbed forests as the LKWS (Ancrenaz 2004).
Table 1. Basic site information for Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
| Area | 270 km² |
| Coordinates | 5.490476 N, 118.148216 E |
| Designation | Wildlife Sanctuary |
| Habitat types | Subtropical/tropical swamp forest, subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest, Plantations |
Ape status
In the early 2000s, the population in Kinabatangan was 1,125 individuals (CI: 691-1,807), with an estimate of 670 individuals for the then-proposed Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (Ancrenaz 2018). Compared to that estimate, the 2006-2007 surveys revealed a 28% decline in the population, and a further decline was revealed by a 2015 survey which estimated 785 (CI: 414-1,467) (Ancrenaz 2018).
Table 2. Ape population estimates in Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
| 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 morio | 2002-2003 | 1,125 (691-1807) | 0.7-6.0 | 1.5-7.37 | Kinabatangan and surrounding forest fragments | Aerial survey and line transects | Ancrenaz et al. 2004 | ||
| Pongo pygmaeus morio | 2006-2007 | 812 (425-1,418) | Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding forest fragments | Aerial survey and line transects | Ancrenaz 2018 | ||||
| Pongo pygmaeus morio | 2015 | 785 (414-1467) | Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | Aerial survey and line transects | Ancrenaz 2018 |
Threats
Table 3. Threats to apes in Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Quantified severity | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | Unknown | ||||
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | 2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops | High | Approx. 13,000 ha have been converted into oil palm plantations between 2005 and 2014 (Ancrenaz 2018). | Habitat loss due to conversion of forest to oil palm plantations (Ancrenaz 2018). | Ongoing (2018) |
| 3. Energy production & mining | Unknown | ||||
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | Unknown | ||||
| 5. Biological resource use | 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | High | Signs of hunting have been found at the site, such as cartridges, snares and traps (Ancrenaz 2018). | Ongoing (2018) | |
| 5.3 Logging & wood harvesting | High | Logging and clearing land for oil palm plantations (Ancrenaz 2018). | Ongoing (2018) | ||
| 6. Human intrusion & disturbance | Unknown | ||||
| 7. Natural system modifications | Unknown | ||||
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | Unknown | ||||
| 9. Pollution | 9.3 Agricultural & forestry effluents | Present, but threat severity unknown | Pollution in the Sungai Kinabatangan catchment area from palm oil mills, pesticides, fertilizers and sediment from plantations, sediment from logging activities and sewage and refuse from villages along the river (BirdLife International 2021). | Ongoing (2021) | |
| 10. Geological Events | Absent | ||||
| 11. Climate change & severe weather | Unknown | ||||
| 12. Other options | Absent |
Conservation activities
In 1998, the NGO called HUTAN established the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme with support from Sabah's Wildlife Department. Research by HUTAN has shown that orangutans can thrive in highly disturbed and logged forests. In areas where hunting is not an issue, they can use the mixed forest/oil palm matrix as long as they have forest corridors (HUTAN 2019). It is therefore crucial to design orangutan conservation strategies at the landscape level that can incorporate existing oil palm plantations with the network of protected forest (HUTAN 2019).
Table 4. Conservation activities in Lower Kinabatangan 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 | 4.2. Install rope or pole (canopy) bridges | As part of the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme of HUTAN, orangutan bridges started to be installed in the early 2000s to address the issue of habitat fragmentation. This allows venturing males and adolescents to ensure proper gene flow between sub-populations (HUTAN 2019). | Ongoing (2019) |
| 5. Biological resource use | 5.4. Implement road blocks to inspect cars for illegal primate bushmeat | Law enforcement activities include roadblocks to spot-check for poaching (HUTAN). | Ongoing (2021) |
| 5.6. Conduct regular anti-poaching patrols | Since 2002, groups of people from the Kinabatangan community are appointed to become “Honorary Wildlife Wardens”. The Wardens are civilians who are given the same legal powers as rangers from the Sabah Wildlife Department to conserve and manage the natural resources, and to apprehend offenders when necessary. Enforcement activities primarily involve regular patrols by boat, car, and on foot. Patrols are conducted throughout the year and typically consist of two or three Wardens (HUTAN). | Ongoing (2021) | |
| 5.15. Implement monitoring surveillance strategies (e.g. SMART) or use monitoring data to improve effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement patrols | Biomonitoring and research applied conservation and management (HUTAN). | Ongoing (2021) | |
| 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 | 10.2. Involve local community in primate research and conservation management | A major function of the Honorary Wildlife Wardens is to make the public aware of the existence of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, the protection status of wildlife living in the region, the laws regarding wildlife and wildlife trade, and the ongoing presence of the wardens in the site. The presence of the wardens acts as a deterrent to illegal activities ([1]). | Ongoing (2021) |
| 11. Habitat Protection | 11.7. Restore habitat corridors | Establishment of forest linkages that reconnect key forest fragments and allow orang-utans, elephants, and other wildlife to move freely along the banks of the Kinabatangan river (HUTAN). | Ongoing (2021) |
| 12. Species Management | Not reported | ||
| 13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives | Not reported | ||
| 14. Other | Investigations into various encroachment activities, such as sand dredging, illegal timber extraction, land degradation from illegal drains, forest conversion, and water pollution (HUTAN). | Ongoing (2021) |
Challenges
Table 5. Challenges reported for Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
| Challenge | Source |
|---|---|
| Not reported |
Research activities
Research activities in LKWS have been mainly focused on surveys and biomonitoring, studies on orangutan ecology in fragmented and degraded forest as well as agricultural landscapes. In addition to orangutans, other species that are subject of research studies include elephants, proboscis monkeys, swiftlets and hornbills. For a full list of research articles visit https://www.hutan.org.my/research-articles/
Documented behaviours
Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary
| Behavior | Source |
|---|---|
| Bunk nests: Build a nest a short distance above the nest used for resting (during rain) | Van Schaik et al. 2003 |
| Sun cover: Building cover on nest during bright sunshine | Van Schaik et al. 2003 |
| Hide under nest: Seek shelter under nest for rain | Van Schaik et al. 2003 |
| Raspberry: Spluttering sounds associated with nest building | Van Schaik et al. 2003 |
| Branch as swatter: Using detached leafy branches to ward off bees/wasps attacking subject (who is usually raiding their nest) | Van Schaik et al. 2003 |
| Bouquet feeding: Using lips to pick ants from fistful of dry, fresh, or rotting leaves | Van Schaik et al. 2003 |
| Branch dragging display on ground | Van Schaik et al. 2003 |
| Hiding behind detached branch from predators or humans | Van Schaik et al. 2003 |
External links
Relevant datasets
References
Ancrenaz, M., Goossens, B., Gimenez, O., Sawang, A., & Lackman-Ancrenaz, I. (2004, November). Determination of ape distribution and population size using ground and aerial surveys: a case study with orang-utans in lower Kinabatangan, Sabah, Malaysia. In Animal Conservation forum (Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 375-385). Cambridge University Press.
Ancrenaz, M. (2018). Wildlife Surveys in the Lower Kinabatangan. Report to Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project, HUTAN.
BirdLife International (2021). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Kinabatangan floodplain. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/11/2021.
HUTAN (2019). Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme, 2019 Yearly Activity Report. https://www.hutan.org.my/wp-content/uploads/Reports/Internal%20reports/Report_2019.pdf
Boonratana, R. (2013). Fragmentation and its significance on the conservation of proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) in the Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah (North Borneo). In Primates in fragments (pp. 459-475). Springer, New York, NY.
Van Schaik, C. P., Ancrenaz, M., Borgen, G., Galdikas, B., Knott, C. D., Singleton, I., ... & Merrill, M. (2003). Orangutan cultures and the evolution of material culture. Science, 299(5603), 102-105.
Page completed by: Marc Ancrenaz & A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 10/12/2021