The first conservation area at Mount Tongkoko has been established
in 1919. To this the Duasaudara area has been added in 1978, and the Batuangus
and Batuputih areas in 1981, together encompassing a total of 8,718 hectares. An area of 8718 hectare
conservation includes four places, namely an area of 615 hectares Batuputih
TWA, Tangkoko-Batuangus Nature Reserve covering an area of 3196 hectares
including Tangkoko-Batuangus Mountain region and surrounding areas, CA
Duasudara covering 4299 hectares, including Mount Duasudara and surrounding
areas, and TWA 635 square Batuangus hectares. All four are under the management
of the Forestry Department, through the Natural Resources Conservation Center
(BKSDA)
Flora and fauna
Tangkoko
Nature Reserve protects at least 127 mammal, 260 bird and 104 reptile and
amphibian species. Of these 79 mammal, 80 bird and 68 reptile and amphibian
species are endemic to the island. Threatened mammals include the Celebes crested
macaque, of which about 5,500 remain on the island, the Sulawesi bear cuscus
and Sulawesi dwarf cuscus.
Batuputih
TWA is usually much closer to the area Tangkoko Nature Reserve. Most tourists
who came to admire the diversity of wildlife in this conservation area, because
supposedly unique Sulawesi is famous as a mixing or transition zone
zoogeography of two regions namely Asia and Australia. You could say nature
reserve is home Tangkoko Sulawesi significant wildlife.
Animals
that can be found at Tangkoko among other birds Manguni (Otus manadensis) which
became a symbol of the Minahasa region, along with seven other Manguni bird
species. these birds come out at night and share the habitat with other
night animals like tarsiers, bats and Sulawesian civet.
Apart
from Celebes black ape and Tangkasi or tarsier, Sulawesi typical of other
animals easily found in this region is fitch bear (Ailurops ursinus), pygmy
possum (Strigocuscus celebensis), or the looming Sulawesi hornbills (Rhyticeros
cassidix), and kangkareng (Penelopides exarrhatus) .
In
this rare wildlife conservation area, you can be in the gate I at the entrance
where you can enjoy the beach and to achieve Gate II can be reached by car.
Before reaching the second gate you’ll find a secondary tropical forests where
there are trees and some crops such as betel pioneer forest, wood flowers and
binunga.
From the Gate II, you can park the car and started to walk exploring the forest
and will meet with a group of Celebes black ape (Macaca nigra). Various voices
will be heard when the birds also came closer and closer into the forest from
Rangon, Kingfisher, pigeons, and many more.
Climate
There
are two climatic zones in North Sulawesi based on the ratio between dry and wet
periods. The eastern part of North Sulawesi has ten to twelve months of wet
months and less than two dry months, while the western part shows more
seasonality with seven to nine consecutive wet months and three or less
consecutive dry months. Rainfall is higher between November and May when the
winds are from the north. During this period, monthly rainfall averages 314 mm.
MAMMALS
Crested Black Macaque (Macaca
nigra) Sulawesi is one of the biodiversity hotspots due to its
location within the
Wallacea. The 7 endemic macaque
species are of extraordinary importance for the understanding of primate
evolution, but little is known about them from the wild. Due to habitat
destruction and poaching, all are threatend by extinction with crested macaques
being critically endangered.
(IUCN Red List 2011).
is
the most conspicuous mammal species in the reserve. It is endemic to the
forests of North Sulawesi to Tangkoko Nature
Reserve and Gunung Ambang Nature Reserve near
Kotamobagu. Crested Black Macaques (as the name suggests) are entirely black,
except for their hind parts which are called ichial callosities (sitting pads
that are very hard, very much like the calluses on human hands). Older adult
males sometimes have slightly grey backs, like silverback mountain gorilla
males. Early natural historians called them 'black apes' because of the
apparent lack of a tail. However, they posses very short tails. Adult females are
easily recognized by their inflated red bhind which indicates that they are in
estrus (sexual swelling). When their behind looks like a big red balloon, it
means they are at the peak of estrus--around tow weeks after beginning their
menstrual cycle. Newborn babies up to two months old have thin sparse fur and
cling to their mothers.
Spectral Tarsier (Tarsius
spectrum)
is a
Sulawesi endemic species, comprised of four subspecies, that is distributed throughout
Sulawesi but whose population is found in pockets in North, Central, and South
Sulawesi. They are called tarsiers because of their elongated tarsal region in
which their tibia and fibula bones are fused thus allowing their great leaping
ability. They are tiny animals (their head and body length at approximately 10
cm weighing approximately little over 100 g). The ears and eyes are enormous.
The tail is much longer than the body and nearly naked except for the last
third portion of the tail that is tufted. They have nails like humans except
for the 'toilet claws' on the second and third digits of their feet. These
toilet claws are used for grooming. The tarsier is a nocturnal animal (i.e.
animal whose activities take place mostly at night and early mornings before
dawn), hunting for insects like katydids (i.e. long-horned grasshoppers),
crickets, and roaches. They often cling to a tree trunk and use their highly
sensitive eyes and mobile ears to detect their prey. Once the prey is located,
thou pounce upon them with their grasping hands. Their social group is made up
of a mated pairs and their infant. Tarsiers occur mostly in lower elevations in
scrub and lowland rainforest habitats. At evening you will hear the vocal duets
and choruses in early evening and before dawn.
Bear Cuscus (Ailurops
ursinus)
is
one of two endemic cuscus species belong to the Phalangeridae family that occur
on Sulawesi.It s a marsupial (females lacking a complete placenta, and most
species having females with an abdominal pouch in which the infant is carried).
It's body and head length measures 56 cm and the tail which is prehensile (i.e.
grasping) measures 54 cm, and can weigh up to 8 kg. The body is mostly dark
brown and grey with the upper chest cream colored. It has the tiny ears and
dark brown eyes. Bear cuscus occupy the high strata of the forest structure
feeding on leaves and fruits. The social group is comprised of only the mother
and her infant (up to 8 months). Otherwise, the adult males and females are
solitary except for mating.
Sulawesi Dwarf Cuscus (Strigocuscus
celebensis)
For
night viewing, you can take your flashlight/torch to look for them along the
beach trail and in gardens along the Batuputih roads. As with the Bear Cuscus,
they are marsupials. The head and body measures 30-4- cm, the tail
approximately 35 cm, and it weighs 1.5-2 kg. It has orangish brown fur on its
back and a black stripe across the top of the head and neck. Its underside is
cream colored. It has tiny ears and blue eyes with black pupils. Unlike the
Bear Cuscus, the Dwarf Cuscus is primarily frugivorous. Little information is
available on which fruits they feed on, but they are known to raid crops to
feed on bananas, mangoes, and papaya. Its social grouping is though to be a
mated pair.
Bats.
Sulawesi
is the single most important island in the world for fruit bats. The island is
home to 22 species, including many rare and peculiar forms. Very little is
known about the bats living at Tangkoko, partly because no-one has looked! The
two commonest species are Sulawesi Rousette (Rousettus
celebensis) andLesser Dog-faced Fruit Bat (Cynopterus
brachyotis) and one occasionally catches sight of them in a spotlight beam.
The rousette is the larger species with a wingpsan of some 50 cm and is dark
brown in color; it roosts in caves along the coast from Pos 3. The Lesser
Dog-faced Fruit Bat is smaller with a wingspan of about 40 cm, and has a ruff
of bright orange fur which is particularly striking in males. This species
makes its roost in trees and small groups of 5-10 bats can be found hanging
under the large leaves of palm trees and, in scrub forest, banana plants.
There are two types of squirrel that are commonly seen in
the forest, both of which are endemic to Sulawesi. The first species, the Northern
Dwarf Squirrel(Prosciurillus murinus) is a small, has brown fur and
a gray belly. It is very common at Tangkoko and can often be seen running on
the ground or racing up tree trunks. Pale Dwarf Squirrel (Prosciurillus
leucomus) is also brown with a grayish belly but has a very obvious band of
silver-gray fur on the back of the head extending on to the ears. Again this is
a common species at Tangkoko, but it spends less time on the ground that its
cousin the Northern Dwarf Squirrel. Both squirrels are very noisy and their
repetitive, high pitched chatterings are a common sound at Tangkoko.
Sulawesi Forest Pig (Sus
celebensis)
is
thought to be a relatively recent arrival to Sulawesi. It measures 90-150 cm.
Coloration varies between dark gray to black. The body is covered with thick
long bristles with the tail covered with short hairs. They are mostly found in
closed canopy forests traveling in groups of 2-5. They feed mostly on fallen
fruits, roots rhizomes, and tubers, but also go after agricultural crops. The
best chance of seeing them in on the Puncak trail.
Babirusa (Babyrousa
babyrussa), Now can see them in gorontalo
is
one of the most bizarre looking animlas in Sulawesi. This species comprised of
three subspecies is distributed over north, central, and Southeast Sulawesi as
well as on satellite islands such as Togian, Sula, and Buru. The head and body
measures 85-100 cm and the tail measures 25-30 cm, and weighs up to 100 kg. Its
skin is rough with virtually no hair, and is grayish in color. Its most
striking feature is its tusks--the upper tusks grow through the top of the
muzzle and then curve back toward the eyes. Some researchers have suggested
that these tusks can be hooked over the lower tusks of the opponent. Babirusa
travel in small groups and vocalize by giving out low grunting moans. Unlike
other pigs, babirusa females give birth to only one or two infants. Babirusa
are thought to be primarily nocturnal although they travel and forage during
daytime. They do not root like other pigs do but eat fruit and break open dead
wood to obtain beetle larvae. Babirusas are extremely rare in Tangkoko. Only
three have been spotted between the early 1980s and mid 1990s. Their decline at
Tangkoko is most likely due to the intense hunting that took place during this
period.
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