Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan (Antaranews Kalimantan) - Environmentalist organization Sahabat Bekantan Indonesia (SBI) had about 20 times evacuated proboscis during 2015 and up to April 2016.
"Some 12 bekantan (proboscis) have been released, seven are being treated, but the other three could not be saved due to serious burns," said SBI Chairman Amalia Rezeki in Banjarmasin on Wednesday.
She said the seven proboscis monkeys still in treatment, including two proboscis newly taken from the village of Sungai Kali, Barito Kuala (Batola), after previously rescued by SBI and South Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA).
SBI hopes a mother and a baby proboscis in treatment to be immediately released considering bekantan better adapt and undergo stress recovery process in nature, because medically no serious injuries found.
As is known, proboscis monkeys are protected animals under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance 1931 No. 134 and No. 266 in conjunction with Law No. 5 of 1990.
Based on international conservation organizations, proboscis are included in the IUCN red list. Proboscis categorized under threat, because these wildlife populations are on the verge of extinction.
They sustainability increasingly threatened by the increasing proliferation of land use changes and habitat made narrower.
The condition is exacerbated by poaching and illegal wildlife trade. That led to the long-nosed monkey population dwindling, added Amalia who also known as a young lecturer at the University of Lambung Mangkurat.
According to Amalia based on study in 1987, the population of proboscis in Kalimantan island reached 250,000 and 25,000 of which were in protected areas (MacKinnon, 1978).
The population was then dropped sharply in 1995 to about 114,000 head and left only 7,500 in the conservation area (Bismark, 1995). This means that within the last ten years the population of proboscis monkeys in Kalimantan was reduced by about 50 percent.
Meanwhile, in South Kalimantan a research conducted by BKSDA in 2013 found bekantan amounted to only about 3,600 to five thousand.
With the rise of land use, trade in wildlife and forest fires, their population is expected declines very drastic.
Pewarta: Hasan Zainuddin
edited by mahdani