Unique carnivores of Borneo

KOTA KINABALU: Twenty-four carnivore species are unique to the Borneo island, international conservation experts gathered here confirmed. They have also got a better understanding of the carnivores found in the world's third biggest island and have taken moves to classify some of these carnivores as “critically endangered” species.

This came about at the three-day brainstorming session of the first Borneo Carnivore Symposium that ended here on Saturday. Almost 200 delegates from 15 countries presented and discussed the diverse range of carnivore species on the island, which included cats such as the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), civets such as the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga), known locally as tangalunga, Sunda stink badger (Mydaus javanensis), also referred to as the Malay badger or teledu, and the playful otters.

Threatened species: A specimen of the endangered Borneo ferret badger. — Photo courtesy of Andreas Wilting and Sabah Parks

The findings at the symposium will determine priorities for Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, the countries sharing Borneo island, to take steps to preserve the carnivores, many of which are rare and some thought to be extinct only until a few years ago. “Coming together of scientists, conservationists and government agencies is the first step towards efforts to ensure the survival of all our carnivores,” said Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu.

“One of our goals was to establish a knowledge base for the priority areas and threats faced by these unique carnivore species,” said Dr Laurentius, the organising chairman of the symposium. He said like other species of wildlife, the carnivores need adequate and different types of forests to support the wildlife and plant life diversity.

Elusive feline: The mysterious Borneo bay cat. — Photo courtesy of Joanna Ross and Andrew Hearn of Oxford University’s WildCRU

“If developed for other uses, such as cultivation of oil palm, it has to be with proper landscape planning to ensure the species' survival,” Dr Laurentius added. According to Dr William Duckworth, director of the Small Carnivore Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC), the symposium will be used to upgrade some of the carnivores on the IUCN/SSC red list of threatened species.

He added that one of the species to be upgraded is the Borneo ferret badger (Melogale everetti) that is found in Sabah's Crocker Range highlands. “We really do not know much about the Borneo ferret badger, even about its habitat.

Thought to be extinct: The world’s most endangered otter species, the hairy-nosed otter. — Photo courtesy of Dr Nicole Duplaix

“All confirmed records only come from the high elevation areas of Sabah's Crocker Range and the Kinabalu National Parks,” he said. Other carnivore species, including the elusive Borneo bay cat (Catopumabadia) were recorded in Kuching and the Baram region of Sarawak, while the recently rediscovered hairy-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana) and otter civet (Cynogale bennettii) would also be listed.

-thestar online.