Population assessment of the endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock Harlan, 1834 at Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park, Bangladesh, and conservation significance of this site for threatened wildlife species

M Tarik Kabir,Shahrul Anuar Mohd Sah,Thad Q Bartlett,Susan M Cheyne,M Farid Ahsan,Susan Lappan,Nadine Ruppert

doi:10.11609/jott.7207.13.7.18687-18694

Abstract

Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park (Inani) is a wildlife habitat in Bangladesh located under the Cox’s Bazar South Forest Division, Cox’s Bazar. It constitutes significant habitat for the charismatic and globally ‘Endangered’ Western Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock in Bangladesh. Here, we show that Inani is a poorly-known gibbon habitat with a population of seven groups, comprising a total of 18 individuals. Among them, 77.8% were adults (males and females), and 11.1%, 5.6%, and 5.6% were sub-adults, juveniles, and infants, respectively, indicating low reproductive output. Five of seven groups had no offspring present in the group, and the mean group size of 2.57 individuals/group is low compared to other habitats in Bangladesh. Beside Western Hoolock Gibbon, Inani is home to many threatened wildlife species. The first record of the Slaty-backed Flycatcher Ficedula erithacus in Bangladesh occurred in Inani, adding this new species to the national bird checklist of Bangladesh. The presence of the globally ‘Endangered’ Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, Phayre’s Langur Trachypithecus phayrei, & Elongated Tortoise Indotestudo elongata and the globally ‘Vulnerable’ Northern Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca leonina, Capped Langur Trachypithecus pileatus, Indian Leopard Panthera pardus, & Asiatic Softshell Turtle Amyda cartilaginea highlight the importance of Inani as a conservation area in Bangladesh. The Western Hoolock Gibbon and other threatened wildlife of Inani are now on the verge of local extinction due to a sharp increase in forest resource extraction resulting from the recent influx of large numbers of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, many of whom have settled around Inani. Through stakeholder interviews in the area, we have identified feasible and measurable conservation actions at Inani that are urgently needed to prevent further loss of wildlife and to protect this important gibbon habitat.

Highlights

Inani includes the last remnants of degraded natural forest in Cox’s Bazar South Forest Division and supports many globally threatened wildlife species (Kabir et al 2014, 2015, 2017). These forests form a wildlife corridor between Myanmar and Bangladesh that is recognized in Bangladesh as a prominent Asian Elephant corridor (IUCN Bangladesh 2018)
About a million Rohingya refugees have settled in Bangladesh in successive waves of displacement since the early 1990s, of which 716,915 are new arrivals since 25 August 2017
New information is provided in this paper on the population status of Western Hoolock Gibbons at Inani, and we report the occurrence of other globally threatened wildlife species, indicating the value of the site

Summary

Introduction

Inani includes the last remnants of degraded natural forest in Cox’s Bazar South Forest Division and supports many globally threatened wildlife species (Kabir et al 2014, 2015, 2017). These forests form a wildlife corridor between Myanmar and Bangladesh that is recognized in Bangladesh as a prominent Asian Elephant corridor (IUCN Bangladesh 2018). Html), of which 716,915 are new arrivals since 25 August 2017 (https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/myanmar_ refugees) They have settled at Ukhia and Teknaf upazila (sub district) under the Cox’s Bazar District of Bangladesh. The majority of them have settled around or inside the Ukhia Reserved Forest, Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park, and Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary, administered by the Bangladesh Government and UNHCR. Makeshift camps and fuel-wood collection have had significant impacts on forested areas, resulting in forest degradation and habitat loss, wildlife habitat fragmentation, loss of wildlife corridors, and an increase in elephant-human conflict (UNDP Bangladesh and UN WOMEN Bangladesh 2018)

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Conclusion