The tiger in the suitcase - an isolated incident?

This post now on Google News 


The airport cub, still in the suitcase. Photo credit: "Wildlife Checkpoint, Suvarnabhumi Airport." Used with permission.

 This past August 22, a hot story popped up in headlines around the world. A 2-month-old tiger cub was spotted by x-ray in a suitcase at a Bangkok airport. The tiger was drugged but alive, crammed among tiger toys and blue jeans in the suitcase. A 31-year-old Thai woman was arrested.

The drugged cub, awake but dopey, soon after removal from the suitcase. Photo credit: "TRAFFIC the wildlife trade monitoring network"  Used with permission.

The story was riveting - would the cub die, impaired from the lack of oxygen or the drugs?

The revived cub. Photo credit: TRAFFIC the wildlife trade monitoring network. Used with permission.

A couple of days later, the baby tiger was photographed looking alert and healthy. Apparently no permanent damage, other than loss of its mother and freedom.

But few of the articles I saw about the concealed tiger cub addressed the bigger picture. The smuggling of tigers or tiger body parts is not an isolated incident, or even a rare event. In fact, it happens daily on a massive scale. These operations are largely undercover. On September 15 in Ha Noi,Viet Nam, police uncovered a wildlife-bone trade network operated by a couple at their home. Nearly 900 kg (1,984 lbs) of animal bones from four different locations were confiscated.  

The haul included 6 complete tiger skeletons and 6 skulls, 32 kg of additional tiger bones - even though it's estimated that only 30 wild tigers remain in all of Viet Nam.

The confiscated bones in Ha Noi also included 3 clouded leopard skulls and 1 skeleton, 6 bear skulls and one stuffed bear head, in addition to 730 kg of other wildlife bones and dried wildlife body parts. What are all these bones for?

Very pricey "tiger-bone glue" is thought (erroneously) to improve virility

Tiger bones and other wildlife bones are boiled down by wildlife dealers to make "bone glue," a popular traditional medicine, and one of the most expensive. According to traditional medicine guides, pure tiger bone glue is taken as a tonic to enhance masculinity, although in reality it has no medically demonstrable effect.

Wildlife and body parts altered to pass for more expensive species

Before a sale, various animal bones are often made to look like tiger bones by carving or grinding them. Even living leopards may be made to seem like tigers before sale. Their bodies may be pumped full of water and agar (doubling their weight) and they may be painted with black stripes. I would find it hard to believe that such a scheme could work, had I not seen, myself, primates painted different colors to resemble more expensive species, in the wildlife markets of Jakarta.

Tigers are on the brink

In 1900, the world had more than 100,000 tigers. Since then, humans have reduced that number to around 3200 in the wild. Some estimates are as low as 1500.  But even those numbers seem higher than they effectively are.  The 6 remaining tiger subspecies survive in numerous small populations - a population defined as individuals living in close enough proximity to interbreed.  These pockets are scattered over 13 countries. Altogether, the actual land space occupied by today's wild tigers is only about 7% of the area they once covered.

It's been estimated that none of the isolated wild tiger populations has more than 250 mature breeding individuals. A population that small can be negatively affected by inbreeding, or heavily impacted by a new disease vector or a change in local prey or habitat. When a population gets too small, it loses its resilience and can just collapse for any or all of these reasons. Who knows what that number is for tigers?  At 250, they're no doubt approaching it.

What are the human threats to tigers?

As tiger numbers have plummeted 97% over the last 110 years, the Javan, Bali, and Caspian tiger subspecies have gone extinct. During the same period (1900-2010), the human population has skyrocketed from 1.7 billion to 6.87 billion today. Humans are responsible for the drop in tiger numbers and the extinctions, by a variety of insults. The primary threats to tiger survival are habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, poaching, scarcity of prey, and retributive killing.  

Habitat loss includes clearing of forests for timber, palm oil plantations, agriculture, livestock grazing, human settlements, as well as habitat fragmentation by roads and rapid development. Prey are scarce for the same reasons - loss of habitat and fragmentation of habitat, and poaching (for food or trade). Tigers are sometimes hunted and killed by frustrated farmers and livestock herders when the predators are blamed for livestock deaths. That's retributive killing.

Poaching is a major source of tiger mortality

Tigers are shot, trapped, snared for lots of reasons: to be sold as prestigious skins for the homes of the rich and powerful, for the pet trade (especially as cubs), and largely to supply the illegal trade in tiger parts used for Chinese traditional medicines, such as the above-mentioned "bone glue."  But bone glue is only one of many products containing tiger ingredients.  This is a huge problem in Asian countries where many people believe they can acquire the characteristics of the animals they eat. The BBC's Andrew Harding reported on a "penis emporium" in Beijing where a dish of "tiger penis hotpot" costs  $5,700 (USD). Supposedly, men order it to improve their virility, although Harding's waitress at the emporium admitted to Harding that eating tiger penis has no effect on virility. Said the waitress, "People just like to order tiger to show off how much money they have." When consumers will pay such prices for tiger parts, you can imagine the money that tiger poachers or dealers can make. Some poachers or dealers store their tiger corpses or tiger parts to sell in later years, when the animals have become even more rare and prices will be even higher. That sounds familiar. I heard the same thing about the endangered blue-fin tuna which is still overharvested - that some fish dealers are stockpiling the blue-fin in freezer vaults, for the day when the species is extinct, and prices will go through the roof. (See the documentary End of the Line for more info about this.) Along the same theme, several conservationists in Southeast Asia told me during my recent stay there that the rarest birds and primates are the most targeted by poachers, because the rarest are the most prestigious possessions, are thus most coveted, and will command the highest price in the markets. Some trappers focus on an endangered species as the price escalates, until the animals are extinct or so rare it's impossible to find them, then the poachers switch their attention to another rare species. In Southeast Asia, many local people will trap whatever they can catch, because they know that whatever it is, they can sell it at a nearby wildlife market - as food, a pet, a skin, medicine ingredient, etc.

Tigers as pets

In a poll by Animal Planet, tigers were voted the world's most popular animal, followed (in order) by dogs, dolphins, horses, lions, snakes, elephants, chimpanzees, orangutans, and whales.Is this a factor in Asians' willingness to pay exorbitant prices to eat tiger parts? Probably. It's definitely a factor in a  bit of news I found shocking: the Association of Zoos and Aquariums estimates that up to 12,000 tigers are being kept as private pets in the United States, significantly more than the world's entire wild population; 4,000 are believed to be in captivity in Texas alone. Part of the reason for America's enormous tiger population relates to legislation. Only nineteen states have banned private ownership of tigers, fifteen require only a license, and sixteen states have no regulations at all. Ouch! That's another can of worms, which I won't explore here, although I have prior posts on the widespread sale of exotic (foreign) wildlife within the U.S., and the extensive smuggling of monkeys, parrots, snakes, lizards, even chimpanzees across borders into the U.S. (See list below.)

Tigers need help!

Tigers are critically endangered, predicted by many to be extinct in the wild within 20 years, and protected by the CITES international treaty as well as by various federal regulations of the countries where they live and where their body parts are shipped to. But with international crime syndicates now involved in the highly profitable wildlife trade, and source countries' wildlife departments sorely understaffed, tigers are freely poached from preserves where they are supposed to be entirely protected. Some tiger preserves have been completely drained of tigers by poachers. Tigers and tiger parts are shipped through airports where security personnel can often be paid off - I was told this myself repeatedly by wildlife dealers in Indonesia. Tigers and tiger parts are smuggled the same way drugs are: in the trunks of cars, in boats, in planes, in suitcases. When the Thai woman was caught with a tiger in her suitcase in August, we all thought, "What a nut! Who would try something so stupid?!" The fact is, anybody and everybody would, everyday. They would and they do. That's why we have 3200 wild tigers left today, at the end of a century that began with more than 100,000.

What's being done?

In this year, the Chinese Year of the Tiger, the first ever Global Tiger Summit will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia, from Nov. 21-24. At the Summit, Russia will host ministers and heads of state from the 13 countries that still have tiger populations to sign a declaration on joint cooperation for tiger conservation, and to initiate a global tiger recovery program which seeks to double the number of tigers by the year 2022, the next Chinese Year of the Tiger. That means increasing tiger numbers to 6,400 from the current historic low of 3,200.

What you can do

Stopping the deforestation and the poaching are two essential ingredients to helping these beloved animals rebound. Ways to help with that include:

• support organizations that are working hard on the scene to stop deforestation in the countries where tigers live (such as Greenpeace)
• support the organizations that are seeking enforcement of anti-poaching laws in Southeast Asia, and are seeking to have violators prosecuted (such as TRAFFIC: the wildlife trade monitoring network)
• avoid buying products that contain palm oil
• write your own legislators and ask them to do the same

See World Wildlife Fund's page about the upcoming tiger summit for suggestions about what you personally can do to help protect the remaining wild tigers. One piece of good news is that tigers are prolific breeders, and given the needed resources, could actually rebound quickly.

A postscript

The 6 surviving tiger subspecies, in descending numbers, are the Bengal tiger, Indochinese tiger, Malayan tiger, Sumatran tiger, Siberian tiger, and South China tiger (not seen in the wild since 1987)

The 13 countries that still have wild tigers are all Asian: India (with the most), Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia, Nepal, and Bhutan.

My previous posts on Southeast Asia:

Orangutans dwindle as Borneo, Sumatra converted to palm-oil plantations August 3, 2010

My search for a wild orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra August 16, 2010

Laws flaunted: flourishing pet trade threatens orangutans' survival August 23, 2010

Wildlife trade rivals drug trade in profits September 20, 2010

Some of my previous posts on exotic wildlife in the U.S. and animal smuggling:
Monkeys and parrots pouring from the jungle. September, 2008.
The U.S. imports 20,000 primates per year. February, 2010
The great apes are losing ground. March, 2010

Keywords: tigers extinction Global Tiger Summit Russia tiger bones Ha Noi Viet Nam penis emporium wildlife trade tiger glue wildlife body parts pet trade wildlife markets most popular animal TRAFFIC the wildlife trade monitoring network Greenpeace ProFauna Southeast Asia

Wildlife trade rivals drug trade in profits

I recently wrote a post about Indonesia's illegal trade in wildlife, focusing on orangutans. As one of our closest relatives, orangutans act and look a lot like humans, especially the babies. People world-over seem to share a fascination for the red-haired apes; they're featured in movies, commercials, and as "poster children" for conservation organizations. Unfortunately, their high visibility has done little to protect orangutans from impending extinction. In fact, their human-like antics contribute to their demise by making them extremely popular as pets - one of the major threats to their survival.

While orangutans are as widely available as ever for pet-seekers, dealers no longer display them openly in the marketplace. With all the media attention on the apes' endangered and protected status, dealers and police as well find it difficult to pretend that orangutan sales are legit. Orangs are more likely now to be sold in the same clandestine ways drugs are sold - at prearranged meetings, or in homes or other private locations.

Greater slow loris at Jatinegara market in Jakarta. Photo by Sally Kneidel

What about the less celebrated primates of Southeast Asia? 
Southeast Asia has 70 species of primates, with 39 species in Indonesia alone. That's an astonishing number; in my experience, it's unrivaled by anywhere else in the world. During my recent visits to three wildlife markets in Jakarta (Indonesia's capital), I saw plenty of primates openly exhibited for sale, although there were many more species for sale that I didn't see.

"The shy one"
At all three Jakarta markets, I saw the greater slow loris for sale, an internationally protected primate  species that's listed in CITES Appendix I and on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The greater slow loris is totally protected by Indonesian legislation as well. Yet these animals were paraded brazenly, were even hawked aggressively to me and my companion as highly desirable and cuddly purchases. They were called "kuskus" by the dealers, “kukang” or “malu-malu” (the shy one) by local people outside the markets.  A consultant for TRAFFIC told me about seeing lorises in markets dyed black and dressed  in clown outfits – selling for higher prices. Mortality is high in pet lorises, from infections after having their teeth pulled out with pliers, and from stress and inappropriate food. But lorises are relatively inexpensive and considered easily replaceable in Indonesia. Which means their capture rate must be quite high to maintain a steady flow into the markets.

Greater slow loris at Barito market, Jakarta. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Greater slow loris at Barito market in Jakarta. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I saw dozens of long-tailed macaques for sale in all the markets. Many looked so young as to be barely weaned. They all seemed bedraggled and frightened. Many appeared hungry and sick. One was dyed orange to look like a more expensive baby silvered-leaf monkey.

Baby macaque at Barito market, Jakarta. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Infant macaques at Pramuka market. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Frightened young macaque at Jatinegara market. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I kick myself for not stopping in Medan

I seriously regret not going to the animal markets in the city of Medan, on Indonesia's island of Sumatra. I went through Medan twice, but didn't realize what I might have learned about the illicit animal trade if I'd stopped and snooped around. As it turns out, a lot of the primates for sale in Jakarta were caught on Sumatra, a less populated and more forested island than the island of Java, where Jakarta is.  So Javan dealers acquire wildlife from Medan (or from Borneo) to supply the huge markets of Jakarta, markets like Pramuka.

Indonesia's biggest wildlife market: Pramuka, in Jakarta. Photo by Sally Kneidel

A great bit of sleuthing

The diligent Chris Shepherd of TRAFFIC surveyed the wildlife markets of Medan sixty-six times between 1997 and 2008. During that period, Shepherd observed 1,953 primates of 10 species for sale, most of which are recognized as threatened to varying degrees by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.  Those 10 species were the greater slow loris, long-tailed macaque, pig-tailed macaque, silvered leaf monkey, ebony leaf monkey, Thomas's leaf monkey, Sumatran leaf monkey, Siamang, agile gibbon, and white-handed gibbon.

 Thomas's leaf monkey in a Sumatran national park, a species openly for sale in Medan. Photo by Sally Kneidel

White-handed gibbons in the treetops of Sumatra. This species was also seen in a Medan market by Chris Shepherd. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Shepherd made the effort to cultivate relationships with Medan dealers so they would talk to him about trends and sources. The dealers told him that high-profile species such as orangutans drew the attention of law-enforcement officers, but other totally protected species such as the loris rarely did. The macaques and other most common species were completely ignored by enforcement agencies, although according to Indonesian law, no primates may be legally harvested for commercial purposes.  Given the absence of enforcement, it's not surprising that the dealers expressed to Chris little fear of prosecution.  The dealers also felt no need to get the permits that are legally required to sell wildlife of any kind in Indonesia.  According to the Medan dealers Shepherd interviewed, primates are in demand and sell very quickly. Customers pay more for rare species, thus increasing the incentive for trappers to target the rare and threatened.

What's going on with the legal protection of these animals?
Indonesia is a lovely and deeply exciting country, but it does have a reputation for government corruption, bribery, and generally ineffective law enforcement. I was told several times that if I got a traffic ticket, I should just pay the policeman and that would be the end of it. Many wildlife dealers told me that animals purchased at the markets could be smuggled through airports by paying the security screeners, if they happened to say anything. I didn't test either of these assertions, but heard these comments so many times, I concluded there must be some truth to them. Since returning home, I've learned that academic studies confirm the weak enforcement of laws in Indonesia.  Given the lack of financial resources in the country, it's not that surprising.

Recommendations from an expert
Chris Shepherd closed his 2010 paper on the illegal primate trade in Indonesia with recommendations to address the problem of illegal sales of protected primates.He says that Indonesia has adequate laws and regulations to protect primates from over-exploitation. He recommends that the Natural Resources Conservation Agency in North Sumatra should be encouraged to monitor wildlife markets frequently and to take action against individuals involved in capturing and selling primates illegally. Persons illegally keeping or trading primates should be prosecuted and given maximum sentences, and as a deterrent to others, the prosecutions and punishments should be widely publicized. Furthermore, markets where illegal trade in wildlife occurs should be closed down by appropriate authorities. I agree with that, for sure.

Can promotion of eco-tourism help too?
Most humans consider animals to exist for our exploitation: as food, beasts of burden, companions, or commodities for profit.  But eco-tourism provides a new category. Animals, protected and nurtured in their own habitats, can become a livelihood - a livelihood that can be especially valuable in impoverished countries like Indonesia. True, a little delayed gratification might be required to cultivate a family livelihood that can sustain generations, as opposed to a handful of cash today.

It may be working in Bukit Lawang
I stayed in the small village of Bukit Lawang, a Sumatran town next to Gunung Leuser National Park. Bukit Lawang is a good example of an entire village cashing in on the tourists who come to see wildlife in the park, mainly primates. Some families run guesthouses, some hire out as forest guides, some work in restaurants, or operate kiosks that sell drinks and snacks.  Poaching of animals and plants is still rampant in Gunung Leuser National Park. But since poverty and unemployment are cited as major drivers of poaching, I'm guessing that villagers employed in eco-tourism are less enthusiastic about poaching than they might have been at one time. It would be an interesting study, I think - do people making a living in eco-tourism change their attitudes about illegally capturing or selling wildlife? Does anyone know the answer to that?

Another piece of the solution

For anyone who wants to help, consider making a donation or offering volunteer work to TRAFFIC, a great organization working hard to combat the illegal trade in wildlife. TRAFFIC has some fantastic reports, many by Chris Shepherd or Vincent Nijman, available for free download on their website. Or contribute to the efforts of Greenpeace, an NGO working to protect the forests and wildlife habitats of Southeast Asia.  Another option is Indonesia's own ProFauna, an NGO working on behalf of Indonesian wildlife.

Paper referenced above:
Chris R. Shepherd. 2010. "Illegal primate trade in Indonesia exemplified by surveys carried out over a decade in North Sumatra."Endangered Species Research 11:201-205. Available on TRAFFIC website.

My previous posts on Southeast Asia:
Orangutans dwindle as Borneo, Sumatra converted to palm-oil plantations August 3, 2010
My search for a wild orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra August 16, 2010
Laws flaunted: flourishing pet trade threatens orangutans' survival August 23, 2010

Resources to help you take action:

• TRAFFIC the wildlife monitoring network
• ProFauna Indonesia 
• Greenpeace International
• On both TRAFFIC and Greenpeace websites, enter the word Indonesia in the search window

Keywords: illegal wildlife trade primate trade Southeast Asia TRAFFIC Greenpeace ProFauna wildlife Indonesia bird markets Indonesia animal markets Pramuka Barito Jatinegara Jakarta wildlife markets orangutan white-handed gibbon greater slow loris langur leaf monkey macaque primate protection primate conservation primate exploitation primate sales black market corruption

Grocery Variety and Sustainability Go Hand-in-Hand

By Dan Grifen, a guest blogger for Veggie Revolution

"In other environmental issues we tell people to stop something, reduce their impact, reduce their damage," - U.S. Ecologist Gary Nabhan

Since the beginning of the green movement, there has been a rise in the number of organizations and businesses that are doing their part in the promotion of sustainability through conservation. As human beings, we're told to reduce our carbon footprint, consume less unhealthy foods, and spend less time in the shower! But let's take a minute to step back and look at this from a different perspective; one that Gary Nabhan strongly suggests.

Gary Paul Nabhan, PhD, is an Arab-American writer/conservationist whose extensive farming work in the U.S./Mexico borderlands region has made him world renowned. Specifically speaking, Nabhan is known for his work in biodiversity as an ethnobotanist. His uplifting messages and attitude towards life and culture have granted us access to multiple beneficial theories including his latest of eat what you conserve.

According to The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, about three quarters of the genetic diversity of crops has been vanishing over the last century; a dozen species now provide 90% of the animal protein eaten globally. In accordance, just 4 crop species supply half of plant based calories in the human diet.

Nabhan claims that by eating the fruits and vegetables that we are attempting to conserve/save, we're promoting the dissemination and conservation of these same plant species. But this goes beyond what we typically buy in supermarkets, particularly because of price and abundance. We must remember to try new things and immerse ourselves in the very concept of diversity. Keep in mind - the benefits of splurging for that costly fruit/vegetable supremely outweigh the cons. Not only are you promoting biodiversity and further eliminating the needs of farmers to remove rare, less purchased crops off their agenda, but you're also effectively encouraging healthier lifestyles.

Agriculturist Marco Contiero mentioned, "Biodiversity is an essential characteristic of any sustainable agricultural system, especially in the context of climate change." With sustainable crop efforts being lead by the CGI (Clinton Global Initiative) and the IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) the duo plans to provide a more sustainable crop that can withstand natural disasters, avoiding food shortages like Haiti is experiencing. Contiero goes on to state "We need to ensure this is the basis for the future…" – This is exactly what Doug Band, the CGI, and the IRRI are doing by engaging in sustainability efforts.

So remember, next time you're in the supermarket picking out a common varietal of navel oranges or strawberries, turn your attention to something that's a bit more exotic in nature. The same goes for salads/salad ingredients; shop outside the norm, picking spices and vegetables that you wouldn't normally incorporate into your everyday diet. During such economic downtime it isn't always easy to maintain the same level of grocery shopping intrigue, but we must also not forget that in this sundry of foods we can find fun!

Written by Dan Grifen – Supporter of all things green and progressive

Dan Grifen blogs at http://everythingleft.wordpress.com and is a guest blogger for Veggie Revolution and SallyKneidel.com

Key words: sustainable food conservation Gary Nabhan Dan Grifen Everything Left everythingleft  sustainable farming biodiversity seed diversity crop diversity shopping sustainably FAO genetic diversity of crops

My review of the documentary "Dirt! The Movie"

 This post is now on Google News and the syndicated BasilandSpice

Garden soil, composted from vegetable and yard waste. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I was asked to write a review of "Dirt! The Movie," a documentary about our worldwide destruction of soil versus our absolute dependence on soil for our survival. The movie is an inspiring blend of interviews with scientists, farmers, and activists, as well as footage from around the world of the traditional uses and modern abuses of soil.

The first third of the movie explores the origins and contents of healthy soil, followed by testimonials from an impressive array of experts about the value and utility of soil. The filmmakers interviewed workers building with soil; one-third of the world still lives in earthen homes. Winemakers talked about the relationship between soil and subtleties of taste. Biologists dug up worms and fungi with their hands; they and others spoke passionately about the vast array of organisms essential to soil health.

A scary diagnosis
The next third of the film documented how humans are destroying the limited amount of soil we have. Little of this was new to me, yet I felt compelled to write down almost every word of it. The vivid images and words were motivating to me in the way a scary medical diagnosis can be motivating; I wanted to remember everything. To make their point about soil destruction, the filmmakers covered mountaintop removal for mining, agribusiness methods that erode soils and poison ecosystems, desertification that starves African and Indian families, and deforestation of the Amazon "for expansion of soil."  Said biologist Janine Benyus, "We've lost 1/3 of our topsoil in the last 100 years."

Benyus and other scientists denounced the agribiz practice of planting monocultures, which are more vulnerable to weather extremes and pests, leading to the use of pesticides that destroy vital soil organisms. Unhealthy soils lead to the widespread use of nitrogen fertilizer, most of which winds up in surface waters downhill from crop fields. Nitrogen pollution is responsible for the infamous dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, where little survives but jellyfish. Nitrogen fertilizer also forms nitrous oxides that contribute to global warming. Remarked Vandana Shiva, a physicist, farmer, and activist in India, "25% of greenhouse gas emissions are coming from agriculture that has become a war against soil."

Majora Carter is featured
The last third or so of the film was devoted to solutions, spotlighting individuals who are engaged in projects to nurture soil or to help underserved populations connect with gardening. The most impressive of those to me was Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, who extolled the virtues of roof gardens. I gathered that the filmmaker's objective in this portion of the film was to illustrate what each of us might do as individuals, to encourage viewers to take action, however small.

While I agree that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step," we don't have time to piddle around.  As Wes Jackson of "The Land Institute" pointed out in the movie, "we have a hundred year window in which to find ourselves. We have come to the end of the extraction economy and we have got to figure out how to live within our means."  Jackson is being generous. We have maybe 20 years to turn things around, before reaching the point of no return environmentally. With that in mind, I would've liked to see the film focus on bigger solutions, like pressing the governments of Brazil and Southeast Asia to protect their remaining trees.  Or suggesting ways to address desertification in Africa.. As the richest country in the world, we are not powerless.

Why is the impact of livestock omitted?
In spite of the movie's merits, I was disappointed that it never mentioned the livestock sector as a major cause of soil loss worldwide. The desertification in Africa is a direct result of overgrazing of livestock. When hoofed animals graze land with too few plants to sustain them, they pull up plants by the roots. They also compact the soil with their hoofs, which keeps rain from permeating the soil.  The result is rootless, dry soil that blows away in the wind - that's desertification.  Nor did the film mention that Brazilian rainforests are cut primarily to raise feed for livestock or to graze livestock.  If we ate plant-based foods only and skipped the livestock, we'd need only a small fraction of the agricultural land we need to support livestock. In which case, forests could be spared. Is that not relevant to soil conservation? What's more relevant than that?

I was also surprised that, during the discussion of seed diversity and the importance of saving and exchanging seeds with other farmers, no mention was made of corporations such as Monsanto that are acquiring ownership and controlling the use of our crop seeds, and genetically altering many of them. (For more about Monsanto, see the Center for Food Safety website or their publication "Monsanto vs. U.S. Farmers".)

Valuable for educators
But overall "Dirt! The Movie" is a film with a crucial message, and well worth watching.It's an excellent movie for a teacher or professor to use for any age student, as an introduction to an ecology unit, or to open any variety of topics involving life on the planet. It's not a gripping documentary, like "Darwin's Nightmare." But valuable.If everyone on the planet were aware of the issues covered in this film, we might stand a chance of actually turning things around before we exhaust our planet's resources...none of which are more necessary than dirt.

Key words: Dirt the movie film review movie review desertification soil topsoil nitrogen pollution dead zone Gulf of Mexico monocultures deforestation erosion agriculture gardening roof gardens Majora Carter Sustainable South Bronx Monsanto

How food affects your brain: 10 facts we now know

 Walnuts and olive oil, two of the healthful choices for your brain. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Readers -
I just received an email from Cindy Cullen at the Culinary Arts College, asking if I'd like to post a link to their article
How Food Affects Your Brain: 10 Facts We Now Know.

Some interesting information in the post, so I'm passing it along.

I need to add a couple of things in relation to their list of foods. If you eat fish, please choose fish and seafood responsibly.  Our oceans are being emptied of fish by over-harvesting, and many species once common are on the verge of extinction. In addition, many fish species contain dangerous levels of mercury and other pollutants.

Use these guides to choose seafood wisely:
Seafood Selector from Environmental Defense Fund
Sustainable Seafood Guide from the Natural Resources Defense Council
Health Alerts Seafood Guide from EDF
Seafood Recommendations from the Monterey Bay Aquarium

Choose organic
In regard to the fruits and vegetables on the Culinary Arts College list, please choose organic. Strawberries are on the list, and 54 different pesticide residues have been found on non-organic strawberries by the USDA Pesticide Data Program (according to the Pesticide Action Network). Buying organic not only protects the future health of you and your children, it also protects ecosystems and wildlife.Pesticides sprayed on crop fields are washed into nearby streams, rivers and lakes. They're also ingested by birds and other animals feeding near croplands.

A few of my previous posts on the importance of choosing organic products:
Did your shopping list kill a songbird?
Organic cotton: it's worth every penny
Top 10 eco-friendly diet choices
Bird-protecting chocolate and coffee

A few of my previous posts on over-harvesting of fish and on pollutants in fish:
Number of imperiled fish almost doubles in 20 years
Tuna is the biggest source of mercury from fish: is it safe to eat fish? 
Review of the documentary: "End of the Line: where have all the fish gone?"
Top 10 ways to help wildlife
New book about how overfishing is changing the world
Farmed salmon vs. wild salmon
Lice from fish farms attack wild salmon 

Key words: organic overharvesting of fish salmon depletion of fish mercury overharvesting of ocean fish disappearing fish imperiled fish threatened fish endangered strawberries pesticides

New studies: fast-food "kids meals" loaded with calories and fat

Photo by Sally Kneidel

 Happy meal helps kids, says the fast-food box. Is that so? Not according to recent medical studies. Kids who live near a fast-food restaurant are more likely to be obese, according to a 2010 study in the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity. Not surprising, given that most kids' meals marketed by national fast-food chains are high in calories, saturated fat, and sodium. Some contain as much saturated fat as the daily maximum recommended for children. In addition, these meals often fail to meet the nutritional standards for children published this year by the Institute for Medicine.

In a study published this month (August 2010), The Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine analyzed the nutritional content of a children's meal from five national fast-food chains: McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, A&W, and Burger King. PCRM ranked the meals from worst to least bad.

Worst was McDonald's Mighty Kids Meal (double cheeseburger, fries, chocolate milk) with 840 calories and 37 grams of fat. This meal had more than double the recommended limit on saturated fat and sodium for one meal.

Second worst was Wendy's Kids Meal of chicken sandwich, fries, and chocolate Frosty, containing 770 calories, 34 grams of fat.

KFC Kids Meal was 3rd worst, with popcorn chicken, potato wedges, string cheese, and soft drink: 780 calories; 1800 mg of sodium.

Fourth worst was A&W Kids Meal, consisting of a cheeseburger, fries and soft drink, with 780 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat.

And  fifth worst was Burger King's BK Kids, a breakfast muffin sandwich meal with egg and cheese. It had 95 mg of cholesterol and exceeded the recommended sodium limit for a child's breakfast.

Misleading marketing
Kids' meals at fast-food restaurants are marketed directly to children, with brightly-colored boxes and often a small toy inside. They are also marketed to parents, with statements such as this: [the BK Breakfast Kids Meal] "joins the brand's roster of meals that meet stringent nutrition criteria" - although this BK meal exceeds the recommended cholesterol intake for one meal.

Health risks
What are the consequences of too many calories and too much dietary fat?  Obesity, for one thing. According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 32% of Americans between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight; 17% are obese. Obesity is associated with a number of health risks, including type 2 diabetes. Another study in JAMA reports that 1/3 of children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes at some time in their lives. This number is projected to increase as the prevalence of childhood obesity increases. Other health risks of obesity include cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer (see CDC website).

Another concern with fast-food kids' meals is that many contain red and processed meats, including hot dogs, hamburgers, bacon and deli meats. Consumption of these is a key risk factor for colorectal cancer, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. Red and processed meats have been linked to other cancers too. As a result of a high intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, one in five teens in the U.S. has an abnormal cholesterol level, a contributor to cardiovascular disease - the leading cause of death in the U.S.

 Poster of Batman toy and a doll in the window of McDonald's near my house. Photo by Sally Kneidel

What to do?
Limit your child or teen's trips to fast-food restaurants. Make sure your child is informed about the health risks associated with fast-food. Help kids see the bigger picture, too, and become conscious consumers. Visiting a McDonald's together is a good opportunity to educate your child or teen about the influence of marketing. The one in my neighborhood has posters of toys inside and outside the building, and huge decals of happy messages for kids stuck to table surfaces. The purpose of corporate marketing is to increase sales and make more money for shareholders, not necessarily to impart accurate information to consumers. One likes to think that federal regulations put limits on false or misleading marketing (such as "this product is a healthy choice") but that's not always the case.

Remember Joe Camel?
You might tell your child or teen the story of "Joe Camel," a cartoon figure that apparently was used to market Camel cigarettes to minors. After years of effectively doing just that, R.J. Reynolds ended the "Joe Camel" campaign in 1997, under pressure from the American Medical Association, Congress, various public-interest groups, and a lawsuit. But only after Joe Camel had increased the teenage-sales of Camel cigarettes from $6 million in 1988 to $476 million in 1992. 

For more information about corporate goals and ethics, watch the documentary film, "The Corporation." A great family conversation piece.  Help your child be an educated consumer.

Primary source:
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. August 2010. "The five most unhealthful fast-food kids meals." http://www.pcrm.org/health/reports/worst_fast-food_kids_meals.html

Other references:
International Journal for Pediatric Obesity. April 2010. "Child body mass index, obesity, and proximity to fast food restaurants".

Sally Kneidel, PhD, and Sadie Kneidel. 2005. Veggie Revolution: Smart Choices for a Healthy Body and a Healthy Planet. Fulcrum Publishing.

Journal of the American Medical Association. "Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents".

Journal of the American Medical Association. "Lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the United States".

Links to some of my previous posts about health effects of meat and environmental impacts of the livestock industry:
Livestock account for 51% of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions

Ground beef: a risky choice for families and the planet

Less meat...smaller footprint

A review of Jonathan Safron Foer's book: Eating Animals

Key words: kids meal fast food red meat processed meat health risks obesity diabetes cardiovascular disease heart disease McDonald's KFC Burger King Wendy's Mighty Kids

Tiny new frog discovered on Borneo - can it survive deforestation and the illegal wildlife trade?

Photo by scientist Indraneil Das of newly-discovered frog species

A new pea-sized frog species has been discovered on Borneo!  Scientists from the University of Malaysia Sarawak found the tiny frogs living in and around tubular carnivorous plants called pitcher plants. The tadpoles grow in the water inside the plants. Although the water contains enzymes that kill and digest insects, the frogs and tadpoles are not harmed.

Frogs discovered by odd call
The scientists happened upon the frogs in plants near a road, in the mountains if Kubah National Park in the Malaysian state of Sarawak (on the island of Borneo). Because the frogs are so small (a half inch or less), the workers located them not by sight, but by the strange call coming from the carnivorous plants. They described the call as "harsh rasping notes." The species has been named Microhyla nepenthicola, after the pitcher plant where they were found.

Microhyla nepenthicola on its pitcher-plant home. Photo by scientist Indraneil Das, courtesy of NewScientist
 

Borneo's wildlife threatened by habitat loss and illegal pet trade
Borneo is a tropical Southeast Asian island, one of the world's richest biodiversity hotspots, so it's not surprising that a new species would be discovered there.  Unfortunately, Borneo is rapidly being deforested and converted to palm-oil plantations; as a result, many of its fauna and flora are threatened or endangered by habitat loss.

Once forested land in Borneo, now covered with palm-oil plantations. Photo by Sally Kneidel

In addition, illegal trade in wildlife is rampant in Southeast Asia . Animals are traded for pets, for traditional medicines, zoos, wildlife collections, biomedical research, and so on. Although laws are in place to protect rare and threatened wildlife, enforcement is lax and trade flourishes with little restriction, even the sale of critically endangered orangutans. Rare species command a higher price in the wildlife markets, and so are targeted by trappers. This fact is not good news for the new frog species.

New frog's location may offer them some protection
In spite of these threats, a couple of factors may help Microhyla nepenthicola survive. One is their location.  The frogs were found on a mountain, and forests on slopes are more difficult to harvest. Also, they were in a national park, which will offer some protection from deforestation, although illegal harvesting of trees, plants and animals continues in Borneo's national parks because wildlife protection laws are not enforced.  However, the clear-cutting required to establish a palm-oil plantation is unlikely to occur in a national park.

In addition, the frogs may be dependent upon the pitcher plant and unable to survive elsewhere - especially in the wildlife markets, where conditions are dirty, and care provided to animals is minimal.

Birds at Pramuka, a major Indonesian wildlife market in Jakarta. Photo by Sally Kneidel

In the four wildlife markets I visited in Indonesia and Singapore, I did not see a single amphibian. They may be there, but I didn't see them.

We'll see what happens down the road for M. nepenthicola.  I wish them good luck.

For more information about wildlife on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, read my three previous posts about my visits there, and see the links to websites and publications below.

My previous posts about the wildlife of Borneo, Indonesia, and Malaysia:

Orangutans dwindle as Borneo, Sumatra converted to palm-oil plantations August 3, 2010

My search for a wild orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra August 16, 2010

Laws flaunted: flourishing pet trade threatens orangutans' survival August 23, 2010

Publications with more information on wildlife conservation in Indonesia and Malaysia (including Borneo and Sumatra):

David Adam. 2010. Monkeys, butterflies, turtles...how the pet trade's greed is emptying south-east Asia's forests. www.traffic.org

Vincent Nijman. 2009. New study highlights scale of international wildlife trade in Southeast Asia. www.traffic.org

Chris R. Shepherd. The bird trade in Medan, north Sumatra: an overview. www.traffic.org

Chris R. Shepherd. 2010. Illegal primate trade in Indonesa exemplified by surveys carried out over a decade in North Sumatra. www.traffic.org

Vincent Nijman. 2009. An Assessment of Trade in Gibbons and Orang-utans in Sumatra, Indonesia. A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report.

Vincent Nijman. 2005a. Hanging in the Balance: An Assessment of Trade in Orang-utans and Gibbons
on Kalimantan, Indonesia. A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report.

Vincent Nijman. June 2005b. In Full Swing: An Assessment of Trade in Orangutans and Gibbons on Java and Bali. A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report.

Serge A. Wich et al. 2008. Distribution and conservation status of the orang-utan (Pongo spp.) on Borneo and Sumatra: how many remain? Fauna and Flora International. Oryx 42(3):329-339.

Eric Meijaard et al. August 11, 2010. Hunting a key factor in Orangutan's decline. TRAFFIC home page.

Web sites for more information:

Traffic: the wildlife trade monitoring network

ProFauna Indonesia

Greenpeace Southeast Asia

Sumatran Orangutan Society

Orangutan Outreach

Save the Orangutan

Key words: Southeast Asia new frog discovered Microhyla nepenthicola Borneo Malaysia endangered threatened habitat loss pet trade TRAFFIC wildlife markets deforestation palm oil plantations

Laws flaunted: Flourishing pet trade threatens orangutans' survival

A baby orangutan living as a pet. Photo by Chris Shepherd (TRAFFIC Southeast Asia); used with permission. Originally printed in TRAFFIC publication "In Full Swing..." listed below.

Pet trade threatens orangutan survival
"Having a pet orangutan is a status symbol," I was told by my Indonesian friend Ria, who lives and works in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. Doesn't matter if the animal lives in a small, dirty cage behind the house, which most do; it's still a social asset to have one.

A baby pet orangutan, chained to its cage in the backyard. Photo courtesy of Orangutan Foundation

That's too bad, because the local, national, and international demand for young orangutans as pets is a major threat to the survival of both species: the Bornean orangutan and Sumatran orangutan.  Since both are endangered, they are theoretically protected by law from commercial trade.  However, in Indonesia, these laws are mostly ignored.

Habitat loss remains the single biggest threat to orangutans, but as it turns out, the pet trade and deforestation are closely linked.

At the market, I was offered an orangutan and a leopard
Almost every Indonesian city has a bird or wildlife market, where legal and illegal species are sold by independent vendors to anyone who can pay. I went to 4 of these markets during my Asian travels, including Indonesia's biggest market - Pramuka, in downtown Jakarta. I hired an Indonesian from "ProFauna Indonesia" (a wildlife conservation NGO in Jakarta) to go with me as my guide and translator.

Below, a frightened baby macaque for sale at Pramuka. Photo by Sally Kneidel

A greater slow loris (a primate) thrust in my face by a market vendor. Photo by Sally Kneidel

We saw plenty of wild-caught primates, birds, reptiles, and small mammals at Pramuka. But we didn't see any orangutans. We were, however, offered a baby orangutan for the price of 20-25 million IDR ($2200-2800) and an adult orangutan for 30 million IDR ($3300). Pramuka is famous for its network of homes behind the market (referred to as "in the back") where especially valuable or illegal animals are kept safely out of sight until a sale is made.

A baby orangutan for sale. Photo by Chris Shepherd (TRAFFIC Southeast Asia); used with permission

Vendors often keep photos of their illegal (endangered and thus protected) animals on their cell phones, to show interested buyers. For example, we were shown a photo of an available baby leopard that the vendor said was "in the back." The leopard was offered to us for 80 million IDRs ($8800), although the vendor called it a "Javan tiger" to justify the price. [Javan tigers are actually extinct, although many potential buyers may not know that.]

The baby leopard that was offered to us at Pramuka.

The majority of vendors would not talk to us about orangutans they might or might not have, because I was not in one of the demographic groups that typically buy animals (Chinese and Koreans are likely to buy, they said. Australians, Europeans, and Americans just look.) But this one vendor did talk to us about orangs - the one who quoted us prices. He said that he didn't have an orangutan on the spot, but "could bring it directly," if we had the money. Since we didn't slap down the money, we didn't get to see it.

For forest-dwellers, orangutans are valuable trade commodities
Although orangutan sales in the past may have been concentrated at wildlife markets, nowadays sales often occur at other locations. Pet orangutans may be moved from the interior of the country to  more developed coastal towns, or professional traders may travel to a remote area and buy or order young orangutans to transport to populated areas. According to TRAFFIC's Vincent Nijman, most forest-dwelling people in Indonesia know the commercial value of an infant orangutan. Given the absence of effective law enforcement, few will resist the opportunity to obtain an infant to sell  In a country where more than half the population survives on $2/day or less, young orangutans are regarded as valuable trade commodities.

Unchecked timber industry yields orangutans for market
The hunting and capturing of orangutans for the pet trade is, in a way, a by-product of the timber trade and the conversion of forests to palm-oil plantations. As roads are created to provide access to not-yet plundered forests, these arboreal red apes become more accessible to humans with guns. Newly exposed mothers are often shot to obtain their infants. As trees are felled, orangutans may be killed or they may become stranded and vulnerable to capture.

Up to 15 orangutans die to get one live infant to market
TRAFFIC published a number of estimates of the "loss rate" - the number of orangutans killed in order to get one live orang to a village or city where it can be sold. Quite often both mother and infant are killed if the mother is shot from a tree and falls, so another mother is shot to try again. That's a loss rate of 3. And in shipping the infants, 5 may be packed in one crate in hopes that one animal will arrive alive. If 4 die, that pushes the loss rate to 7. Some researchers estimate average loss rates as high as 15! (See the 2009 paper listed below for more about loss rate assessments.)

 A young orangutan smuggled for the pet trade, dead on arrival. Photo courtesy of Sav-Erth.com

The situation is frustrating, and even incomprehensible in some ways. What is the Indonesian government doing to stop this "harvesting" of orangutans like they were ears of corn?

Indonesia a trade center due to lax enforcement of wildlife laws
Here's a fact that surprises most Americans: the illegal trade in animals and animal parts is the 3rd biggest blackmarket in the world, behind drugs and arms.

Indonesia is an epicenter of this illegal trade, because of the country's rich tropical biodiversity and because of the laissez-faire attitude of the Indonesian government. Although the country has enacted a range of laws and regulations to protect species and limit deforestation, the government fails to enforce these laws effectively. Indonesia is also a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and both orangutan species are listed in Appendix I, which prohibits all international commercial trade of these species among contracting Parties. Yet this treaty, like the local legislation, is generally ignored. I was told by several Indonesian conservation workers that if an Indonesian is found to possess a pet orangutan, the chances of having the animal confiscated or of facing prosecution are extremely low. Rather, the pet owner can, upon discovery of his pet, probably obtain a permit from the government that will allow him to legally keep the orangutan.

TRAFFIC researcher Vincent Nijman found that, in spite of existing laws and treaties, the number of confiscated orangutans being delivered to rescue centers and the number of new arrivals at local zoos has remained more or less steady over the last 15 years, suggesting that the brisk trade in orangutans is not decreasing.

What should be done?
"TRAFFIC: the wildlife trade monitoring network" is very active in Southeast Asia and has studied the situation closely and made several recommendations that seem to hit the nail on the head. Their published papers are excellent sources of information. (See "Sources" below.) When I got home from my journey, I sent TRAFFIC copies of all my wildlife-market photos and videos, in case they might be helpful. They're working hard; I want to help!

TRAFFIC's recommendations for reducing the trade in orangutans are as follows (I've condensed and abbreviated):

1. Better protection of the remaining forest is needed - through the Indonesian government, land concession holders (timber and palm-oil companies), and landowners.
2.Wildlife protection laws need to be enforced more effectively.
3. Handing out registration letters to make pets "legal" needs to be stopped immediately. Persons whose protected wildlife is confiscated should face legal charges as a deterrent to others.
4. The relationship between poaching of orangutans and illegal logging should be more thoroughly assessed.
5. The major ports of Indonesia should be monitored more stringently to curb international sales of orangutans.
6. Co-operation between the government and NGOs that work to protect orangutans and rehabilitate confiscated orphans should be increased.
7. Bold and innovative approaches are needed to educate the public with regard to buying, selling, and keeping protected wildlife as pets.
(See the 2005b paper listed below for more about these recommendations.)

Photo by Sally Kneidel

Coming up
In my next posts about s.e. Asia, I'll explore the causes of deforestation on Borneo and Sumatra, and why it continues unabated in spite of the considerable efforts of NGOs to stop or slow it.  I'll also post the pictures we took of wild-caught and protected birds in the bird markets of Jakarta and Singapore. Why are wild birds so popular as pets in tropical Asia?  I'll tell you what we learned.

My previous posts on orangutans in s.e. Asia: 
 
Orangutans dwindle as Borneo, Sumatra converted to palm-oil plantations  August 3, 2010

My search for a wild orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra  August 16, 2010

Published sources for this post and for additional information:

Vincent Nijman. 2005a. Hanging in the Balance: An Assessment of Trade in Orang-utans and Gibbons
on Kalimantan, Indonesia. A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report.

Vincent Nijman. 2009. An Assessment of Trade in Gibbons and Orang-utans in Sumatra, Indonesia. A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report.

Vincent Nijman. June 2005b. In Full Swing: An Assessment of Trade in Orangutans and Gibbons on Java and Bali. A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report.

Serge A. Wich et al. 2008. Distribution and conservation status of the orang-utan (Pongo spp.) on Borneo and Sumatra: how many remain? Fauna and Flora International. Oryx 42(3):329-339.

Eric Meijaard et al. August 11, 2010. Hunting a key factor in Orangutan's decline. TRAFFIC home page.

Web sites for more information:

Traffic: the wildlife trade monitoring network

ProFauna Indonesia

Greenpeace Southeast Asia

Sumatran Orangutan Society

Orangutan Outreach

Save the Orangutan

Key words: orangutan, orangutans, Southeast Asia, primates, great apes, endangered, threatened, habitat loss, pet trade, TRAFFIC, wildlife markets, Pramuka, deforestation, timber industry, palm oil plantations

My search for a wild orangutan in Borneo and Sumatra

  Adult male Sumatran orangutan. Photo by Sally Kneidel

On my Asian quest to see wild and semi-wild orangutans (with my husband Ken), I wasn't sure I'd find a single one of the red apes roaming free in a forest. Orangutans used to be widespread in Southeast Asia, but now survive only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Orangutans on both islands are in serious trouble. Only 6500 Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) survive in the wild. The World Conservation Union lists the Sumatran species as "critically endangered" on their IUCN Red List. Sumatran orangutans are considered one of the world's 25 most endangered primates.

The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), with around 45,000 individuals left in the wild, is also on the IUCN Red List, as "endangered." The IUCN predicts that both orangutan species will be extinct in 10 to 30 years if no progress is made in overcoming the threats to their survival. The biggest threat is habitat loss, due to the conversion of forests to palm oil plantations. Road networks often fragment the forests that are left standing. These two factors are responsible for the loss of more than 80% of orangutan habitat in the last 20 years, and the rate of loss is not slowing. Poaching is another major threat to orangutan survival - mostly for the pet trade. According to SOS, there's a huge local, national, and international demand for infant orangutans to be kept as pets. To capture an infant, poachers usually kill the mother.

Logging trucks roar past as we enter the reserve
Since I was determined to spot some orangutans, hopefully wild ones, I  chose my Asian destinations accordingly and arranged everything myself.  No group tour, no package trip. I chose Danum Valley Conservation Area in northern Borneo because it's one of the largest and best-protected lowland rainforests remaining in southeast Asia. The 438 sq km reserve is said to be one of the best places in the world to see truly wild orangutans in their natural habitat. An expensive option for staying in Danum Valley is Borneo Rainforest Lodge. The other choice is the more spartan Danum Valley Field Centre, which is cheaper but gives preference to researchers (which I was not). DVFC is promoted as the leading rainforest research center in the Old World tropics. Tourists can stay at DVFC in limited numbers, but there are no guides. So you're on your own on the forest trails. I know from experience that having a wildlife guide can make a world of difference in what I see while forest trekking.

The first wild orangutan I saw, at DanumValley Field Centre (Borneo). You can see the small green fruit she was eating, still on the twigs in front of her right arm, and a tiny piece in her mouth. Photo by Sally Kneidel.

In spite of not having a guide, I saw my first wild orangutan at DVFC. She was busy eating nut-like fruits in a tree overhead, dropping the inedible pieces like rain all around me. I was thrilled, and riveted, my head tilted back so far that my neck ached. But I couldn't look away from her. I was surprised at how red she was, how long her hair was, and that she seemed unconcerned about my presence.  I saw her on several different days in the same tree. I was lucky to see 4 or 5 other orangutans at DVFC too, but those were just fleeting glimpses through dense foliage. I would have seen more with a guide, no doubt, but that was okay. With hours of trekking on the trails, I also came upon lots of  long-tailed macaques, pig-tailed macaques, a "flying lemur," and a troop of gorgeous red leaf monkeys (maroon langurs). And a Borneo pygmy elephant! ...just as its rear end disappeared into the undergrowth. Danum Valley was definitely worth my 5-day stay. I'd go back there in a flash.

A "flying lemur" clinging to a tree at DVFC. They are unrelated to the true lemurs of Madagascar. Photo by Sally Kneidel.

                  Long-tailed macaque. Photo by Sally Kneidel                 

Although the Danum Valley Conservation Area is rich in wildlife, it is unfortunately bordered on every side by 3-100 km of commercial forests that are rapidly being logged, and beyond those are palm-oil plantations. The road to DVFC is a forestry road; we passed 10 to 12 trucks loaded with huge tree trunks on the way to the Field Centre. That was depressing.

One of the dozen logging trucks we passed on our way into Danum Valley Conservation Area. Photo by Sally Kneidel.

 
My next stop, Sepilok: workers lax about protecting orangutans
Before I left home, I booked a room near Sepilok Orangutan "Rehabilitation" Center because it was the one place I felt assured of seeing an orangutan, if all else failed. Sepilok is the second most visited tourist attraction in Malaysian Borneo, just after Mount Kinabalu. Its appeal is an orangutan feeding platform in a forest setting, where a worker sets out fruit and a pan of milk twice a day for the few orangs that live there.

A pan of milk on the feeding platform at Sepilok. Photo by Sally Kneidel

 The viewing platform at Sepilok. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Tourists can watch from a viewing platform about 50-75 feet away, as 1 to 4 orangutans show up for the snacks. The center claims to be rehabilitating orangutan orphans and releasing them into the "surrounding wild population," although the center has only 40-43 sq km of forest so there can't be much of a population. The center also claims to guard against physical contact between orangs and humans, who can infect the orangs with human viruses like hepatitis, herpes, and influenza. But I watched 4 different feeding sessions, and the workers ignored the ban on physical contact. They handed fruits to the orangs and patted them like pets, both of which were totally unnecessary.

 Above, a worker at Sepilok strokes a young orangutan on the feeding platform. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Above, a Sepilok worker hand-feeds a young orang on the feeding platform. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Another Sepilok worker hand-feeds an orang on the feeding platform. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I also saw a tourist at the center with an orangutan in her lap, cheek to cheek, while her friend snapped photos. No one who worked there paid any attention. The one Sepilok orangutan that I saw fairly close, on the boardwalk to the viewing platform, had a serious eye problem that appeared to be a bad infection - the eye was swollen shut. Contracted from a cheek-to-cheek encounter with a tourist? Could have been.  Had I known in advance that I would see orangutans elsewhere, I would have skipped Sepilok. Although I have to admit the spectacle of 100+ chattering tourists packed onto the sweltering viewing platform was interesting in itself. One person collapsed with heat stroke while I was there, losing control of her bowels. She lay prostrate for a half-hour, then was slowly escorted out, still woozy. I noticed the next day that no one had cleaned off the boardwalk, and the excrement was still there. Not exactly careful health protocol, for barefoot visitors or the macaques and orangs that use the boardwalk when the crowds are gone.

At Sepilok, I watched an orangutan snatch a tourist's backpack and bolt into the forest, then empty the bag and drink the woman's bottle of water. Whatever germs the woman had, the orangutan now has them too. Photo by Sally Kneidel
 

Next, a painful boat ride to a swamp hut  
After reading on Lonely Planet's "Thorn Tree travel forum" about orangutans along Borneo's Kinabatangan River, I booked a 3-day stay at Uncle Tan's Jungle Camp on the river. Getting there requires an hour-long van ride followed by a 2-hour boat ride. The boats are small, open motor boats with backless metal benches - not the most comfortable. Especially if you're prone to lower-back pain like I am.

 Uncle Tan's boats on the Kinabatangan River. Photo by Sally Kneidel

The schedule includes hours of boat rides every day, looking for wildlife. I did see one orangutan, and 3 other primates that were all new to me: proboscis monkeys, Bornean gibbons (gray gibbons), and a silvered leaf monkey. Nice, but all were too far away to photograph. From the boat, we also saw crocodiles, long-tailed macaques, Oriental pied hornbills, a black hornbill, a "leopard cat," a common palm civet, a flying fox (a huge bat), a buffy fish-owl, etc. The night walk with our excellent guide Remy was great; he pointed out colorful birds sleeping on low branches right beside the trail, such as a rufous-backed kingfisher, scarlet-rumped trogon, and a little pied flycatcher.

Rufous-backed kingfisher at Uncle Tan's. Photo by Sally Kneidel

 River water for ablutions at Uncle Tan's. Photo by Sally Kneidel

 

Our doorless hut with mosquito nets at Uncle Tan's. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I've heard the accommodations at Uncle Tan's described as "substandard." I guess I agree with that. The doorless open-air huts were on stilts in a swamp, furnished only with mattresses on the floor and mosquito netting. No pillows...but the sheets were clean. The only water available for ablutions was river water that the guests had to ladle out of a barrel, next to the pit toilets. When I read about this in advance, it sounded rustic and adventurous. In reality, it wasn't that pleasant. The frequent and long boat rides, while they did give me new primate sightings, grew wearisome. I hate to be a wimp, but I wouldn't go back there and probably wouldn't recommend Uncle Tan's except for the hardiest of travelers. Not for naturalists interested in photography. The brightest star of my stay was Remy the guide, who gave me a lot of information about deforestation in the area when I asked. He said 70% of the Kinabatangan River is bordered by palm-oil plantations that come right up to the river, and he showed me a map to prove it. That was distressing news, but didn't surprise me.

 Remy, our great guide at Uncle Tan's. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I let out an expletive of shocked delight
I hit the wildlife jackpot on the island of Sumatra, with a fantastic orangutan experience in Gunung Leuser National Park. GLNP is one of the most famous parks in Asia for travelers and scientists. The park has been recognized internationally as a Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and an ASEAN Heritage Park. It's a huge park, with 10,946 sq km of mountainous and lowland forests, swamps, and mangroves, and is home to four big Asian mammals: Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, Sumatran elephants, and Sumatran rhinos, plus a number of other primates. The jungle village of Bukit Lawang is right across the Bohorok River from the entry to the park so I bunked in the village, while trekking during the day on the park's steep jungle trails. Helen with the Sumatran Orangutan Society suggested my husband and I call Expedition Jungle to find lodging in Bukit Lawang. We did. Expedition Jungle booked us at Sam's Bungalows, provided transport to and from the airport in Medan, and provided a guide for our jungle forays.

Sam and wife Ipat in their guesthouse, Sam's Bungalows. They were a joy, and their restaurant had the best food I had anywhere on the trip. Photo by Sally Kneidel

Jungle Inn, the guesthouse next to Sam's. Photo by Sally Kneidel

 The Sumatran jungle village of Bukit Lawang. Photo by Sally Kneidel

On the first day trekking, my husband and I and our local guide had been going straight uphill for some time on a jungle trail in Gunung Leuser National Park, when all of sudden we came upon a mother and baby Thomas's leaf monkey in a tree right next to the trail. The youngster fled, but the mother sat and watched us for several exciting minutes.

Thomas's leaf monkey. Photo by Sally Kneidel

An hour later, we were still farther up the mountain when I heard my husband, up ahead of me, calling my name quietly but urgently. I ran up the trail over a little hill and right in front of me, 30 feet from the trail, was a gigantic adult male orangutan gazing my way, perched between two saplings. I had not seen an adult male before in the wild and I was stunned by his size, his huge volume of shaggy red hair, the breadth of his face, the size of his huge hands and feet - the whole scene was mind-boggling.

 The male at Gunung Leuser. Photo by Sally Kneidel

I let out an expletive of shocked delight and began groping for my camera, unable to take my eyes off of him. Was he the best thing I've ever seen? Maybe. Except for the first time I laid eyes on my own children.

Which was best?
If I had to recommend one place to look for orangutans, it might be Gunung Leuser National Park (we also saw several white-handed gibbons there). Bukit Lawang is a fascinating town to use as a base (more about that in a later post), but it's not the only village with access to the park. Berastagi is another one.

I know some guide books recommend Tanjung Puting National Park in southern Borneo as the best place for orangutan-viewing. And it might be - I don't know. I didn't go there because it was too hard to make arrangements by email (I tried), and the prospect of living on a tiny boat (a klotok) for several days didn't really appeal to me. Linda Spalding wrote a great memoir (A Dark Place in the Jungle) about her klotok trip up the Sekonyer River in Tanjung Puting.

I'll be writing more about all these places, and about the challenges to orangutan survival. After seeing our furry red relatives in their natural habitat, I feel more intrigued than ever to learn what can be done to protect them. Stay tuned.

Sources other than the links within the post:
Tamara Thiessen. 2008. Borneo: Sabah, Brunei, Sarawak. Bradt Travel Guides, UK. 
Myers, Susan. 2009. Birds of Borneo. Princeton Field Guides.
Rowthorn, Chris. 2008. Borneo. Lonely Planet.
Williams, China et al. 2008. Southeast Asia on a Shoestring. Lonely Planet.

Great sources of information about orangutan conservation:
Sumatran Orangutan Society
Orangutan Outreach
Save the Orangutan
ProFauna Indonesia
TRAFFIC: the wildlife trade monitoring network
Greenpeace International

Key words: orangutan Borneo Sumatra deforestation palm oil plantations  Indonesia Malaysia primates habitat loss pet trade Danum Valley Sepilok Uncle Tan Gunung Leuser Bukit Lawang