Decline of the endemic Hose's langur Presbytis hosei in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Borneo

Abstract

I present data on the decline of Hose's langur Presbytis hosei over a 7-year period in the Kayan Mentarang National Park in the remote northern part of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. In 1996 Hose's langurs were among the most common primates in the Nggeng Bio valley, occurring at densities of over two groups km−2, and could be observed almost daily. A repeat census of the same area in 2003 indicated that these densities had dropped by 50–80%, and observation of the species in the valley had become a rare occurrence. During the 7-year period the forest remained in a relatively pristine condition but, despite being part of a National Park, active protection of the valley was lacking and hunting was common. From interviews with local hunters and Park staff it appeared that hunting for bezoar stones (visceral excretions found in langurs and used in traditional medicine) was the primary reason for the observed decline in Hose's langur. In 1998 a merchant calling at a nearby village had expressed an interest in the stones and guaranteed to purchase them, and this sparked excessive hunting of Hose's langur in the area, to such an extent that 3 years later this hunting was no longer economically viable. This study demonstrates that, with increasing access to markets, hunting large vertebrates for medicinal purposes, even for short periods only, can have a dramatic impact on population numbers. In such cases, habitat protection alone does not guarantee preservation, and more active protection of wildlife is required.