Orang-utans stressed when seeing tourists
KINABATANGAN April 16, 2012: A study conducted by HUTAN – Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme (HUTAN-KOCP) and the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) together with Indiana University has concluded that orang-utans in the forest are aware of human presence and shows signs of short-term stress when “exposed” to tourists and visitors.
“We conducted this study to ascertain whether tourists and visitors coming into our study site to see orang-utans in their natural forest environment have an affect on them and if so, how do we minimise this,” scientific director of HUTAN-KOCP, Dr March Ancrenaz, said yesterday.
The Sabah-based French non-governmental organisation, HUTAN – KOCP, has been studying orang-utans in their natural forest environment in the State with the SWD since 1998 with emphasis on the wildlife rich Kinabatangan region.
“What we found were hormonal indications that orang-utans in the forest have a spike of the stress hormone cortisol during exposure to tourists,” said Ancrenaz.
According to Ancrenaz, this indicates that the orang-utans are very aware of the tourists and are ready to “fight or flee” if the need arises.
“However, this wasn’t long-term stress as samples from before the arrival of the tourists were absent of the same stress hormone. To equate it to human terms, it’s like the stress most of us feel when we are driving and see police along the road. And even though we might not have done nothing wrong, we feel on edge and this is how these orang-utans are reacting to tourists and visitors,” explained Ancrenaz.
SWD director Dr Laurentius Ambu meanhile said that the study showed that it is absolutely crucial to have strict guidelines when engaging with orang-utans in their natural forest environment.
“We did this study with community-based Red Ape Encounter tours based in Sukau and they use strict guidelines on the number of tourists and length of time spent in the forest observing the orang-utans. We hope that other tourism operators that bring tourists to see orang-utans along the riverbanks and forests also adhere to such protocols which are also part of international guidelines,” said Laurentius.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Best Practices Guidelines for Surveys and Monitoring of Great Apes for research and also Best Practices for Great Ape Tourism were developed by HUTAN – KOCP with SWD and Red Ape Encounters and are available on line.
“Following the guidelines, the short-term stress caused can be minimised and tourists who come to see orang-utans in the forest can do so responsibly,” added Laurentius.
The study was conducted over a four-year period from the time of gathering samples in the field to processing of data.
The findings of this study were recently published in the peer reviewed online journal PLos ONE with the title, ‘Ape Conservation Physiology: Fecal Glucocorticoid Responses in Wild Pongo pygmaeus morio following Human Visitation’.
To prevent the Orang Utan's for getting stressed due to the presence of visitors, perhaps the HUTAN personnel can limit the amount of visitors to see the Orang Utan's at a time. Strictly limit only a certain number for visiting each day to allow them to get used to the tourists.
BalasPadammungkin cadangan ini boleh dipertimbangkan dengan menghadkan jumlah pelancong untuk melihat orang utan pada satu masa.
PadamHopefully more studies will be made to find ways to reduce stress from the Orang Utan's, their welfare should be protected as well.
BalasPadamharap pekara ini akan dapat diuruskan dengan sebaiknya oleh pihak yang bertanggungjawab.
PadamBoth species of orangutans are in danger of becoming extinct which is why you will find so many conservation efforts in place to help them. One of the main efforts involves educating the public about what is taking place.
BalasPadamThat way they will have a desire to get involved and to help with such efforts. Too many people simply have no idea that the future is so risky for the orangutans.
PadamOne of the biggest threats to these animals has to do with the destruction of their natural habitat. Huge sections of the rainforests where they live continue to be taken away.
PadamThey are destroyed due to burning so that they can be cleared for building and for roads to be made. They are also destroyed due to the thriving logging business in many of these regions.
PadamMining for various types of minerals is also a reason that the natural habitat of the orangutans continues to be a problem. The push for humans to use Biodiesel is also affecting the orangutans.
PadamThe can be taken from palm oil but in order to get it, the areas of the rainforest have to be taken down and destroyed. So in one way we are helping to reduce the amount of damage to the environment but we are also destroying the homes of the orangutans at the same time.
PadamWhat is so scary about that is many experts anticipate that if the access to palm oil continues at the current rate then orangutans can be completely extinct by 2012.
PadamThat is just around the corner and so the more aggressively that conservation efforts can be the better. They have to include reaching out to government officials and getting them to put limits on this type of destruction.
PadamYet it can take a very long time to get through all of the political red tape. There isn’t much time left to save the orangutans though if those predictions mentioned are correct.
PadamThat is why it is vital to get that information into the hands of the right people immediately so that changes that will improve their chances of survival can be put into place as soon as possible.
PadamThe government has made many efforts in conserving the Orang Utan's in the state by allocating lots of forestry reserves as their habitats.
PadamIllegal poaching of orangutans is a common problem as well. Even though these animals are protected in some areas this continues.
BalasPadamFinding better ways to enforce the protection of them is vital. It can be very hard to catch poachers though. Orangutans aren’t always killed though but trapped and taken as well.
PadamThere is huge money for them on the black market. It will surprise you to learn just how many people keep them illegally as pets. While orangutans may be very entertaining and usually calm, they are still wild animals and they can be very dangerous.
PadamKeeping them as pets isn’t a good idea. In order to get these young orangutans their mothers are usually killed as well which definitely reduces the number of them out there in the wild.
PadamIf you want to be a part of something remarkable, go online and find out what orangutan conservation efforts are in place. That way you can help be a part of the solution.
PadamThese animals really are in grave danger and every person that fights for them to survive is going to help them have a chance of really being able to do so.
PadamYou can volunteer your time, donate money, and even get involved by sending letters to your local government officials. The fight may be a difficult one, but it is still worth fighting in order to get the orangutan to be around for the future.
PadamStrict laws must be established to ensure that no hunting or poaching these protected animals will happen.
PadamSabah is a popular ecotourism destination, and local businesses to come up with eco-friendly products and services that would attract more visitors to the state. the federal government has identified tourism as a National Key Economic Area.
BalasPadamSabah is the home to 11,000 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio), making it one of the major strongholds for the conservation of the species. However, orangutan numbers in Sabah have decreased dramatically over the past decades because of habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, primarily due to poor logging practices and subsequent land conversion to agriculture. The Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme (KOCP) addresses the severe threat of habitat loss to the survival of orangutans in the wild.
BalasPadamRecent surveys by Hutan have established that 65% of the remaining orangutan populations are currently found in unprotected areas – forests exploited for timber or plantations of acacias and oil palms – which increases their vulnerability and the risk of further population loss. This new situation results in several major issues: (1) increased conflicts between apes and human activities; (2) intense population fragmentation and isolation jeopardizing a proper gene flow and resulting in local extinction; (3) increased sensitivity to natural and man-made catastrophes. Embracing a wide landscape conservation approach and addressing the fate of orangutan populations living in unprotected areas are therefore a crucial need to ensure the long-term future of wild orangutans in Borneo.
BalasPadamMore studies should be conducted, this would help to understand more about the animals.
BalasPadamsetuju pop, kajian harus dibuat untuk cari penyelesaian terbaik terhadap pekara ini.
PadamKesian juga melihat Orang Utan terlampau stress. Tak sangka mereka pun macam manusia juga.
BalasPadampatut cari alternatif untuk kurangkan stress urang utan.
BalasPadamkhidmat pakar harus didapatkan untuk mecari jalan bagaimana mengurangkan stress pada orang utan.
Padammungkin jumlah pelancong untuk melihat orang utan boleh dikawal pada satu-satu masa.
BalasPadamPengawalan kemasukkan pelancong untuk melawat orang hutan perlu dikawal. Kita takut Orang utan bertindak agresif bila tertekan.
BalasPadambukan sahaja Orang Hutan, malah haiwan lain juga akan menghadapi tekanan bila habitat mereka diceroboh atau dirosakkan oleh manusia.. sebab itu haiwan berani bertindak liar terhadap manusia/pelancong..
BalasPadam