Watch Bekantan Swimm For Their Supper In Rare Video

Proboscis monkey might be best known for their giant, bulbous noses, but scientists are sniffing out another of these monkey’s unique attributes: their swimming abilities. To discover more about these water-loving primates, conservation biologist Amalia Rezeki recently spent a few weeks on Indonesian Borneo's Bakut Island filming the animals and their behavior in mangrove forests. (Read about swimming pigs and other surprising animals that love water.) "The main primate in the area that people think of are orangutans. We thought that a video about these monkeys' swimming abilities would help bring some positive attention," says Rezeki, who works with Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia, a nonprofit that works to protect proboscis monkeys, also called bekantan. Due to loss of their mangrove habitat and hunting, proboscis monkeys are listed as endangered, with fewer than 7,000 animals left in the wild. Rezeki's expedition discovered several monkeys on the island, suggesting the species is still hanging on.

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Bekantan Goes Global

Mimpi besar Amalia Rezeki bersama timnya di Yayasan Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia (SBI) yang dicanangkan oleh Prof. Dr. H.Sutarto Hadi, M.Sc.,M.Si, rektor Universitas Lambung Mangkurat (ULM) yang juga pembina SBI ini pada peringatan hari bekantan tahun lalu, "

Prof. Dr. H.Sutarto Hadi, M.Sc.,M.Si, rektor Universitas Lambung Mangkurat (ULM) 

Bekantan Dari Banua Untuk Dunia " sepertinya mulai terlihat capaiannya. Perjuangan SBI untuk menjadikan, Kalsel sebagai pusat riset, konservasi dan ekowisata bekantan didunia mulai dirasakan. Baru-baru ini Amalia Rezeki ketua SBI, yang juga dosen muda difakultas pendidikan biologi ULM diundang ke Australia untuk beberapa tangkaian kegiatan, seperti Konferensi Internasional, workshop dan mengisi kuliah umum disalah satu perguruan tinggi terkemuka dinegeri kangguru tersebut, yaitu University Of New Castle dengan tema " Selamatkan Bekantan - Selamatkan Peradaban Manusia".

Amalia Rezeki - Prof. Julian dari Inggris

Disisi lain SBI telah membangun kerjasama dengan beberapa perguruan tinggi diluar negeri, bersama Universitas Lambung Mangkurat dalam bidang riset ekosistem lahan basahnya yang merupakan habitat bekantan. SBI yang juga mitra binaan BKSDA Kalsel dibidang konservasi mengembangkan kegiatan wisata minat khusus, melalui Summer Course dan internship serta volunteer konservasi.

Kunjungan dari University College London

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Proboscis Monkey Conservation Seminar

Amalia Rezeki Biologist Conservation

Proboscis Monkey Conservation Seminar, Wednesday 19Th, June. 4.30PM - 7 PM University Of Newcastle - Australia.

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The Bekantan Savior is Amalia Rezeki

Amalia Rezeki Founder Of SBI foundation

The days of this young woman are spent educating prospective "unsung fighters" since 2014. Her goal is to get good deeds by sharing knowledge with students.

Amalia Rezeki, lecturer at the Faculty of Biology at the Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM), does not want to waste even her spare time.

Time for her is a capital given by Allah Subhanahu wa Taala (glorified and exalted be He) that its benefits has multiplied through her love for others, the environment, and other living things, such as bekantan.

As a biology lecturer, Amalia Rezeki's love for proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) has no doubt. Most of her life is dedicated to preserving and protecting the long-nosed animal which is an icon of South Kalimantan.

She is the first woman in Indonesia who has dedicated herself sincerely and consistently since five years to protect the proboscis monkey from extinction.

In supporting this effort Amalia founded the Indonesian Bekantan Friends Foundation (SBI), with a mission to save proboscis monkey (Save Bekantan). This effort is inseparable from guidance from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry through the South Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA).

The dedication to the preservation of proboscis monkey is not an appreciation, but a form of responsibility as a citizen, science, and faith as the vicegerent of the earth and for the sustainability of future generations.

"As a key species, saving bekantan for us is saving the planet," said Amalia Rezeki, who is also a final semester student at the environmental doctoral program of ULM.

First in the world

The recipient of the 2015 She Can Award in the field of Bekantan rescue turned out to not only set up a rescue center, but also built a proboscis monkey research station and wetland ecosystem in the Curiak Island - Barito Kuala. For this she collaborated with her almamater college.

This simple research station was inaugurated by ULM Rector Prof. Dr. H. Sutarto Hadi, M.Si, M.Sc. and Prof. Timothy Roberts Killgour from the University of New Castle Australia in 2018.

Previously, the single daughter and her friends built a Bekantan research laboratory which is now an internship for veterinary students from various universities not only from within the country, but also from abroad.

On the other hand Amalia realized that saving proboscis monkeys could not only protect it as an animal, but the importance of preserving the habitat and carrying capacity area for its survival.

For this reason, since 2014, she has carried out the Rambai (Sonneratia caseolaris) Mangrove Forest Restoration movement by releasing land that was once the habitat of proboscis monkeys and then changed its function to reforest.

This effort received support from various stakeholders. Thousands of rambai trees which are the main food and stands of proboscis habitat, she planted with his friends and students as well as the local community.

In this area she also founded the world's first Rambai Mangrove Center (MRC). The area that is not so wide is made as mangrove houses, as information centers and mangrove rambai nurseries.

In addition, there is a mangrove arboretum which is a pilot area for typical wetland plants. For her efforts she received much appreciation from universities abroad.

Every year there are several foreign universities that send students to learn about the conservation of proboscis monkeys and wetland ecosystems.

Amalia's struggle in preserving proboscis monkey was apparently not spared from various obstacles and trials. Weakening efforts from parties who are not happy with this business often occur, not only threatening the mind, but also physically.

Perseverance and patience that keeps her from protecting the proboscis monkey from extinction. "Tears can be exhausted by this tyranny, but our sweat will not stop dripping wet the body in an effort to save proboscis monkey and planet earth," said Amalia with teary eyes.

Her sincerity and patience yielded results that should be grateful for together. The fruit of her struggle with the team at SBI, is now starting to grow a real concern, both from the government and the community.

Proboscis Monkey Conservation

Now people are starting to take care of proboscis monkeys and their habitat. Likewise, the regional government began issuing regulations for saving bekantan, including developing sustainable tourism based on bekantan as a vehicle for recreation and education.

For her tireless efforts to preserve the proboscis monkey, the biology education lecturer and the SBI team on Foresters Day 2019 received an award from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry through the South Kalimantan BKSDA which was handed over by the Governor of South Kalimantan H. Sahbirin Noor as a conservationist for bekantan.

Sumber : Antara News

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Proboscis Monkey Seminar

Prof. Tim Robert - UON
Australia

However, a tour along the mangrove-bedecked waterways of the Bornean forests is almost certain to yield photos of the unique proboscis monkeys, also known as bekantan. Its prominent nose, particularly pendulous in adult males, easily identifies this species.

The bigger the nose a male bekantan has, the likelier it is that he will have a large, multi-female harem.

Their specialised digestive system allows them to feed primarily on mangrove leaves and give them a pot-bellied appearance.

Due to loss of their mangrove habitat and hunting, proboscis monkeys are listed as endangered, with fewer than 7000 left in the wild.

Visiting Borneo in 2018, my students and I spent time with a remarkable person who is raising awareness of the sorry plight of the proboscis monkey. Amalia Rezeki is a conservation biologist at the University of Lambung Mangkurat in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan who runs Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia, a non-profit that works to protect the proboscis monkeys.

Amalia has dedicated most of her life to preserving the long-nosed animal. She has built a proboscis monkey research station and a sanctuary for the rewilded animals on an island in the Barito River.

She is collaborating in a bekantan research project with Charles Lee from UON Singapore, and Matt Hayward and myself from UON.

Her tireless efforts to preserve the proboscis monkey are bearing fruit, with local people starting to take care of proboscis monkeys and their habitat, and the regional government issuing regulations for saving bekantan, including developing sustainable tourism based on bekantan as a vehicle for recreation and education.

I'm delighted to report Amalia Rezeki will visit us at UON and will present a seminar at NewSpace on June 19.

Bekantan Research Station

Backup artist will be yours truly, speaking about orangutans and oil palms.

Emeritus Professor Tim Roberts is from the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle.

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