First Bornean orangutan sighting in Usun Apau National Park, Sarawak

Ahmad Ampeng; Jack Liam; Boyd Simpson; Carl Traelholt; Shukor Md Nor; Mohd Shamsul Bahri Abdan-Saleman; Syafiani Osman; Shaffeqe Affendy Zakaria; Badrul Munir Md-Zain

doi:10.3897/BDJ.9.e60753

First Bornean orangutan sighting in Usun Apau National Park, Sarawak

Biodivers Data J. 2021 Jan 22:9:e60753. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.9.e60753. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ahmad Ampeng¹, Jack Liam¹, Boyd Simpson², Carl Traelholt², Shukor Md Nor³, Mohd Shamsul Bahri Abdan-Saleman¹, Syafiani Osman¹, Shaffeqe Affendy Zakaria¹, Badrul Munir Md-Zain³

Affiliations

¹ Sarawak Forest Department, Petra Jaya, Kuching, Malaysia Sarawak Forest Department, Petra Jaya Kuching Malaysia.
² Copenhagen Zoo, Department of Research & Conservation, Frederiksberg, Denmark Copenhagen Zoo, Department of Research & Conservation Frederiksberg Denmark.
³ Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Bangi, Selangor Malaysia.

Abstract

Wildlife surveys were conducted in Usun Apau National Park (UANP), Sarawak from Oct 2017 to Oct 2020. This was the first attempt to document fauna diversity in Usun Apau National Park on the UANP plateau at 1200-1400 m a.s.l. On 17 September 2020, 10 AM, we observed an orangutan individual, Pongo pygmaeus, over a period of one minute at Libut Camp UANP (E: 114039'.546, N: 2052'36.44) at 1,020 m a.s.l. We also recorded four nests and orangutan vocalisation twice. This observation is important for Bornean orangutan conservation as this was the first orangutan sighting in UANP and well outside the species distribution range for in Sarawak.

Keywords: Pongo pygmaeus; Sarawak; Usun Apau National Park; orangutan distribution.

Ahmad Ampeng, Jack Liam, Boyd Simpson, Carl Traelholt, Shukor Md Nor, Mohd Shamsul Bahri Abdan-Saleman, Syafiani Osman, Shaffeqe Affendy Zakaria, Badrul Munir Md-Zain.

Grants and funding

Sarawak Forest Department and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia