Baby Proboscis Monkey Born in Sanctuary in South Kalimantan

TheIndonesia.id - A baby proboscis monkey was born outside the conservation area of Curiak Island, Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan (South Kalimantan), which is managed by the Indonesian Proboscis Monkeys Foundation (SBI) with Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) and the local government.

"Born in the Proboscis Monkey Research Station area from an alpha adult female proboscis monkey," said the founder of the Indonesian Proboscis Monkey (SBI) Foundation Amalia Rezeki in Banjarmasin, Saturday, April 9, 2022.

She said that this rare event was the first birth of a proboscis monkey in the Proboscis Monkey Research Station area throughout 2022. Previously, in 2019, seven proboscis monkeys were born, bringing a total of eight proboscis monkeys born since the research station was inaugurated in 2018.

According to Amel, Amalia Rezeki's nickname, the birth of a baby proboscis monkey is an extraordinary achievement. Small island areas managed and guarded by SBI and local fishing communities have succeeded in contributing to the increase in the proboscis monkey population in Indonesia.

Amel hopes that all stakeholders can help each other save proboscis monkeys in the area by maintaining their remaining habitat so that they do not change functions that can damage the proboscis monkey habitat and the rambai mangrove forest ecosystem. Not only for proboscis monkey rescue efforts but also for the fate of traditional fishermen who depend on rivers and mangrove forests as a place for freshwater fish that make a living for local fishermen.

To save the remaining proboscis monkeys in the Curiak Island area, Amel and the team at SBI carried out three important and strategic programs in the field of conservation. First, building a "greenbelt" (green belt) as a buffer zone for proboscis monkeys. Second, the "buyback land" program or buyback land that has changed functions. Third, restoration of the rambai mangrove by replanting mangrove trees, especially the rambai tree species which is the main stand and feed for proboscis monkeys.

The Proboscis Monkey Research Station is a role model for the management of proboscis monkey habitat areas outside the conservation area that has succeeded in restoring proboscis monkey habitat and increasing the population of orange and long-nosed monkeys naturally by more than 100 percent within 5 years.

In 2016, the population of proboscis monkeys which is the fauna mascot of South Kalimantan on Curiak Island was around 14 individuals. Then until April 2022, this has increased to 31 individuals.