Biodiversity Conservation Trip to Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre, Perak (Malaysia)

There are 14 wildlife reserves in Malaysia. And among the popular ones include Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve (Selangor), Bukit Nanas Wildlife Reserve (Kuala Lumpur),Royal Selangor Golf Club Wildlife Reserve (Kuala Lumpur) and Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre (Perak). The Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre is situated about less than 5 kilometres from Sungkai Plaza Toll while with about 96 kilometres from Ipoh, Perak and 120 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur. It is easy to get access to Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre either travelling by bus or taking a cab to the reserve centre from Tapah Railway Station where it is located in the Batang Padang district area.

Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre was establishedin 1931 with the total cover area of 1784 hectares and it gets enlarged up to2904 hectares at presence days. As it name goes, the Sungkai Wildlife ReserveCentre encompasses myriad wildlife animals covering from birds, deer and gaur. 

The centre also work as an ex-situ conservation hub which covers the effort to protect endangered species by removing population of endangered species from their original habitat due to threats and place on a new location with human care. After all, the main establishment reason of Sungkai Wildlife ReserveCentre is to protect endangered wildlife animals. Even so, there are othersobjectives why the centre is established:

1.     To ensure ex-situ breeding program for reintroduction of wildlife conservation is sustainable

2.     To increase the applied research for wildlife conservation, education and commercial purposes

3.     To increase public awareness towards the importance of wildlife conservation

4.     To ensure ex-situ and in-situ breeding andmanagement of wildlife species contribute to the nation?s eco-tourism sector

It takes nearly two hours to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Sungkai, Perak. The short briefing was given by Madam Hanis Iryani Ismail, wildlife officer, Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) in the Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre.

  

Plate1: Listening to the briefing given by Madam Hanis

 

We were brief about the history, activities, facilities and typesof wildlife species found at the Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre. And once after the briefing session is done, we have a tour around the reserve centre. As according to the biodiversity inventory done by the Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre in 2009, it was recorded that there are 32 big and small mammalian species, 144 bird species and 88 insect species in the reserve centre.

 

Among them, it also include the famous recorded species of Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor), Timor Deer (Cervus timorensis) and Malayan Gaur (Bos gaurus hubbacki) including mammalian calves and adults. In addition, there are also species of Hornbils, including the Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis), the Rhinoceros Hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros), the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), the Black Hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus) and the White-crowned Hornbill (Aceros comatus). Besides that, the reserve centre also include Malayan Peacock Pheasant (Polyplectron malacense), Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus), the Crestless Fireback (Lophura erythropthalma), the Great Argus (Argusianus argus), the Mountain Peacock Pheasant (Polyplectron inopinatum) and the Crested Fireback (Lophura ignita).

 

Mostof the species here are listed under the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The CITES is an international agreement between governments which drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its aim is to ensure that international trade inspecimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

 

There are basically three appendices involve in the species which are covered by CITES as according to the degree of protection of the particular species. The three appendices include Appendix I(threatened with extinction and are or may be affected by trade), Appendix II (not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival) and Appendix III (protected with not necessarily threatened with extinction globally).

 

 Plate 2: Exhibition display at the centre     

          

      Plate 3: Having tour around the centre

 

SOME OF THE SPECIES FOUNDAT THE SUNGKAI WILDLIFERESERVE CENTRE

 

(A)Birds species (Pheasant, Peacock and Hornbill)

 

The breeding of pheasant species started since 1977 and among them there are six pheasant species found at the Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre here. It is also known that all the pheasant species here are protected under the national Schedule 3, Completely Protected Wildlife Birds, Wildlife Protection Act 1976/1972.  

 

1.      Crestless Fireback (Lophura erythropthalma)

 

Plate 4: A male Crestless Fireback found in the reserve centre

Local Name: Merah Mata

 

Characteristics:

It has a black or sometimes in bluish-purple plumage with fine lines found on the top and upper part of the scapular, wings and the both sides of the bird chest.There lower part of the bird is reddish-brown up till to the tail and feet. All the tail, central abdomen, primary and secondary feathers are not shinny. Female Crestless Fireback is entirely black in colour with a brown head and white stripes found on the under parts of the bird. On the other hand, the male Crestless Fireback often has blue wattles coupled with a distinctive black crest and white central tail feathers.

 

Distribution:

Low land dipterocarp and foothills forest of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo

 

Breeding Session:

From March till September with up to 4-6 eggs laid per mating while the incubation time is between 23 and 24 days.

 

Status:

Protected under Malaysian Wildlife Protection Act 1976/1972 and Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 listed in CITES Appendix III and categorized as 'Threatened' in IUCN Red List.

 

2.      Great Argus (Argusianus argus)

 

Plate 5 and 6: Male and female Great Argus found in the cage

 

 

Local Name: Kuang Raya

 

Characteristics:

A blue colour skin can be easily seen on the face and neck of the Great Argus. It also has a black hair-like feathers found on the top of the head. The colour of the entire body is plumaged brown with black and white dots scatter around it. It has a very long tail feathers and usually the male have a longer tail than the female. The Great Argus also has a distinctive feature where it legs are yellowin colour.

 

Distribution:

Dipterocarp forest with less than 900 meters of elevation in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and Southeast Asia.

 

Breeding Session:

From March till August with about three to four eggs laid per mating.  

 

Status:

Protected under Malaysian Wildlife Protection Act 1976/1972 and Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 listed in CITES Appendix II and categorized as 'Near Threatened' in IUCN Red List

 

 

 

3.      Black Hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus)

 

         Plate 7 and 8: A Black Hornbill resting on the branch of the tree

 

 

Local Name: Enggang Hitam

 

Characteristics:

The entire Black Hornbill body is basically black in colour covering with white stripe at the side of the head up to the neck. Male Black Hornbills are often physicallybigger than the female. Both male and female Black Hornbills have a black andwhite tipped tails at the side. The iris of the Black Hornbills are usuallywhite and grey in colour.

 

Distribution:

Dipterocarp forest in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore.

 

Breeding Session:

Between February and April with only two eggs laid per mating while the incubation period is normally 26 days.

 

Status:

Protected under Malaysian Wildlife Protection Act 1976/1972 and Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 listed in CITES Appendix II and categorized as 'Near Threatened' in IUCN Red List

 

 

4.      Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis)

 

      Plate 9 and10:  A male and female Great Hornbills resting at the ground

 

 

Local Name: Enggang Papan

 

Characteristics:

The total length of a male Great Hornbill can be 130 centimetres where the face, chin and back of the bird is black in colour. A female Great Hornbill often smaller than the male and have no sexual dimorphism in the plumage. The male often has a reddish-brown iris while the female has a white iris. The special distinctive feature of male and female is by the colour of the eye iris.

 

Distribution:

It can befound in Malaysia and Indonesia.

 

Breeding Session:

Between December and April with only three eggs laid per mating while the incubation period often take up to 40-45 days.

 

Status:

Protected under Malaysian Wildlife Protection Act 1976/1972 and Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 listed in CITES Appendix I and categorized as 'Near Threatened' in IUCN Red List

 

 

 

5.      Green Peafowl (Pavo muticus)

 

Plate 11: A Green Peafowl found in the reserve centre

Local Name: Merak Hijau

 

Characteristics:

The typicalsize of the male Green Peafowl is bigger than the female. The feathers found onthe Green Peafowl body are shiny green in colour with the dark wings and bluecolour of face skin. The Green Peafowl also has semi-oval yellow linings near to the ears. The Green Peafowl also have an attractive straight and small fan-like crown which is yellowish-blue in colour.

 

Distribution:

It can be easily found in secondary and openforests with less than 1500 metres of elevation around eastern India, northernMyanmar, southern China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Penisular Malaysiaand Javan Islands.

 

Breeding Session:

Between February and April with only two eggs laid per mating while the incubation period is normally 26 days.

 

Status:

Protected under Malaysian Wildlife Protection Act 1976/1972 and Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 listed in CITES Appendix II and categorized as 'Threatened' in IUCN Red List

 

 

 

(B) Gaur

 

1.      Malayan Gaur (Bos gaurus hubbacki)

 

Plate 12: A signboard showing Malayan Gaur   

Plate 13: A Malayan Gaur found in the reserve centre 

Local Name: Seladang

 

Characteristics:

It has brownish dark colour body with a hump between the shoulders. The special feature of the Malayan Gaur as compare toother buffalo is they have white socks on all of the four legs. A new born Malayan Gaur can be yellowish-brown in colour and able to get darker as the calf become adult at the age of 3 months. The Malayan Gaur can grow up to 1.9 metres tall at shoulder height and its weight can reach up to 500-1000 kilo grammes.

 

Distribution:

It can be found in the lowland forests of Myanmar, Vietnam, China, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, India and Penisular Malaysia.

 

Breeding Session:

Normally have one calf per birth with gestation period of 310-314 days. A typical Malayan Gaur can have a lifespan of 17-19 years.

 

Status:

Protected under Malaysian Wildlife Protection Act 1976/1972 and Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 listed in CITES Appendix I and categorized as 'Vulnerable' in IUCN Red List

 

            Extra Information:

The ex-situbreeding program for Malayan Gaur started since 1998 and it has 17 Malayan Gaurup till the present day.

 

(C) Deer

 

1.      Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor)

 

 Plate 14: Sambar Deer taking a rest under a man-made shelter 

Local Name: Rusa Sambar

 

Characteristics:

All Sambar Deer has a reddish brown body. The body length of the Sambar Deer is about 100 centimetres while the weight can reached up to 120-200 kilogrammes. Sambar Deer can be extremely active at dawn, dusk and late in the night. The typical foods for theSambar Deer include grasses and forest fruits. Sambar Deer often move in a group of two to three. The presence of antlers will be the special feature to differentiate the sex of a Sambar Deer. A male Sambar Deer often has a pair of antlers.

 

Distribution:

It can be found in the lowland forests of Sumatra, Thailand, Myanmar and Peninsular Malaysia.

 

Breeding Session:

Normally have one fawn per birth with gestation period of 240-270 days. A typical Malayan Gaur can have a lifespan of 12-13years.

 

Status:

Protected under Malaysian Wildlife Protection Act 1976/1972 and Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and categorized as 'Vulnerable' in IUCN Red List

           

Extra Information:

The ex-situ breeding program for Sambar Deerstarted since 1971 and it has about 60 deer up till the present day.

 

Spent about two hours touring around in the reserve centre before departed back to Kuala Lumpur at noon. It has been a fruitful trip to Sungkai Wildlife Reserve Centre as most of us enjoy seeing the tangible endangered and threatened wildlife animals that are found in our very own beloved country, Malaysia.

 

 

 References:

 

1.     Bird Life International. (2004). Lophura ignita.IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

2.     Delacour, J. (1977). Pheasants of the World. 2nd edition. Spur Publications, Hindhead, UK.

 

3.   Unknown. (2010). Wildlife Reserves Managed by the Department. Retrieved from http://www.wildlife.gov.my/index.php/en/component/content/article/421-rezab-hidupan-liar

 

4.     CITES (n.d.) What is CITES? Retrieved from http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/what.php

 

5.     CITES (n.d.) CITES species database. Retrieved from http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html

 

6.     IUCN (n.d.) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/search