Selamatkan Yaki! Conservation of Sulawesi Crested Black Macaques Macaca nigra

Abstract

The Island of Sulawesi is the largest in the Wallacea region, a biodiversity hotspot where Asian and Australasian flora and fauna met and merge. Wallacea is one of 25 regions described as a biodiversity hotspot; designation is attributed to areas with a high degree of endemism and where 70% of primary vegetation has already been lost, namely due to its high diversity of endemic wildlife (Myers et al. 2000). Endemism is greater on the island of Sulawesi than any of the other Indonesian islands (Whitten et al. 1987); estimations suggest that 96/380 (25%) bird species and 79/127 (62%) mammal species, though this rises to 98% if only flightless mammals are consi­dered i.e., bats are excluded, are unique to this island (Holmes and Phillips 1996). Unfortunately, the survival of this biodiversity is under threat as many of the species found in Sulawesi are listed as critically endangered, endangered or threatened by the IUCN red data list; examples include the anoa (Bubalus depressicournis), maleo (Macrocephalon maleo), Sulawesi forest turtle (Leucocephalon yuwonoi), dwarf pygmy goby, (Pandaka pygmaea), the “potentially extinct” duck-billed buntingi (Adrianichthys kruyti; Harrison and Stiassny 1999), along with a great deal of flora e.g., Shorea montigena (IUCN 2008). The importance of wildlife on Sulawesi is so great that it has even been suggested that conservation efforts should be prioritised towards preserving the habitat and species of Sulawesi, ahead of that found on other islands in Indonesia (Wilson et al. 2005). Despite this, the majority of conservation funding and effort is directed towards other islands within Indonesia (Wilson et al. 2005) and it would seem that priority is given to islands noted for their charismatic megafauna. No one can doubt the appeal of elephants, rhinos, tigers, orang-utans and gibbons, but a jewel in the biodiversity crown of Sulawesi, which it seems is often overlooked, is the radiation of seven endemic and extant macaque species.