Family’s pancake trick works for elusive proboscis monkeys

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SANDAKAN: The proboscis monkey, a species of long-nosed primate known locally as ‘bayau’, is the official mascot of Visit Malaysia Year 2014 chosen by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia.

Only found in Borneo, this species of monkey is listed as endangered animals in the Red List of threatened species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and its population has decreased by more than half in the span of 36 to 40 years until 2008 due to ongoing habitat loss and hunting in some areas, including Sabah.

Most of the people of Sabah are familiar with the name of proboscis monkey which is the largest monkey species in Asia, as there is still a small population of proboscis monkeys which live in the forests of Sabah, Brunei and Sarawak, while the majority population could be found in Kalimantan.

However, even though proboscis monkey is the mascot, which represents Malaysia, and the picture of proboscis monkey can be seen at billboards, banners, and even buses, majority of Malaysians or even Sabahans have never seen the monkey in real life before.

In Malaysia, the proboscis monkey is protected by a number of laws including the Wildlife Protection Act (federal law), the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 and the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 (Sabah State law).

This endangered species is very hard to be seen not only because of its limited number, but also because of its very sensitive nature.

Proboscis monkeys live in the woods where there are mangrove trees, and this type of monkey has one of the most interesting food intakes as they only consume leaves as well as mangrove’s young shoots, and they do not eat ripe fruits, including the fruit that is often assumed to be the monkeys’ favourite, bananas. Ripe fruit when consumed by the monkeys could be very harmful to their digestive system, as it may ferment in their stomach.

With very selective food intake, proboscis monkeys are decreasing in number as development and environmental factors started to affect their habitat and food source. This includes hunting by the locals and deforestation.

However, in Sandakan, the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary gives people the opportunity to have a close up view of the monkeys in their natural habitat.

The story started in 1995, when a palm oil estate owner, Lee Weng Him, bought a piece of land of mangrove forest to be cultivated and turned into palm oil estate. Before the land was cultivated, he lived near the mangrove swamp and one day, he discovered the carcass of a proboscis monkey near his house.

He then realized that a few families of proboscis monkeys live near his house, prompting him to try to find ways to attract the monkeys to come closer to his house by offering fruits and leaves.

However, none of the monkeys responded to Lee Weng Him’s offer, and after two months just when he was about to give up luring the monkeys, he found pancakes that he baked in his kitchen appeared to be eaten by animals, and suspected that the monkeys entered his kitchen to seek pancakes.

It was unbelievable, but his trick worked when he witnessed a few proboscis monkeys approached his backyard after he left some chunks of pancake on the ground.

After he found out that proboscis monkeys are endangered, he tried his best to protect them by not letting them wander around the woods, and stay in his land near his house.

At the moment, his only way to attract the monkeys is to offer them pancakes. He bakes the pancakes with only flour and water so that it would not be harmful to the monkeys.

The pancakes which are still used today are not food supply to the monkeys, but supplementary food intake used to attract the monkeys to stay closer to the area, which later became the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary in 2011.

The story was told to the Borneo Post by Lee Weng Him’s son, Sean Lee who is now the General Manager of the sanctuary. Lee Weng Him and his family decided not to cultivate the mangrove swamp. Instead, they preserved the mangrove swamp and turned it into a refuge for the proboscis monkeys there.

According to Sean, they never attempted to catch the monkeys and the monkeys are still in their natural habitat – the mangrove swamp – which covers an area approximately 470 acres.

“The proboscis monkeys live in two groups, the family group and the bachelor group. One family group and one bachelor group, each has around 15 members, and we have around three family groups and two bachelor groups living in this area.” Sean said.

Each family group is led by one alpha male, and followed by a few female proboscises, while bachelor group consists of young male monkeys, which will challenge the alpha male and become the leader of a family group, when it is older and stronger.

“It is very interesting to see how intelligent and how human-like they are, especially in family politics,” Sean joked.

With the call of ‘au au’ by the sanctuary’s workers, the monkeys will then come out from the mangrove swamp and anticipate pancakes, which are used to keep them away from other palm oil estate’s territories, where they face the risk of getting harmed by palm oil estate workers there.

“Only by having them in their natural habitat like this that we could see their true nature. This is in fact a perfect place for study and research on proboscis monkey, and I welcome more researchers to come,” he added.

However, according to Sean, the sanctuary received more visitors from tourists of other countries compared to Malaysians.

“We do see locals visiting this place, but the majority of our visitors are still tourists. I do hope the locals, especially Sabahans, take this opportunity to admire the species, as it is near and the tourists travel very far to see proboscis monkey up close,” he explained.

Sean then pointed out that the sanctuary is planning to have a new man-made pond at the sanctuary considering the hot weather today, in order for the proboscis monkeys to live healthily.

The Labuk Bay Probiscis Monkey Sanctuary which is located in Mile 18 or about one and a half hour from Sandakan town had been open for public since 2001. Managed by Sean, the sanctuary’s operation is 100% self-funded. According to Sean, it is in their future plans to expand the area, so that more monkeys could be protected from hunters.

However, the lodge will be taking a long time to get the fund needed to expand its area. Sean then pointed out that he wished to pledge for sponsors, donation and grants from the Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to help support their cause to conserve and protect the unique animal.

Besides proboscis monkey, the sanctuary also feeds other wildlife animals there including the leaf monkeys or macaques, and the great bird of hornbills.

Oliver Brendan Majaham, 36, a local visitor from Kota Kinabalu, said that he found it fascinating to see the proboscis monkeys in their natural habitat.

“The proboscis monkeys here look so much healthier and active compared to those found at zoos in which they are confined to a small space where their movements are limited. Furthermore, here I can see them actively playing and interacting with each other in their natural surrounding,” Oliver said.

He also said that the monkeys’ coat of fur appeared shinier and more beautiful compared to those found in zoos, which makes them look healthier and happier.

Meanwhile, most people in Sabah and particularly in Sandakan have never visited the Labuk Bay Sanctuary, and have never seen a living proboscis monkey before.

Noorasvilla Muhammad, 28, who grew up in Sandakan said that she had never visited the sanctuary before.

“I think that the sanctuary here is lacking publicity and most of us do not know that visitors get to see the moneys in their natural habitat here, and I believe that more of us will visit the place if the sanctuary broadens its publicity amongst the locals,” she said.

From the tourism site, Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, said that the proboscis monkey resembles everything we want to tell the world – our rich biodiversity, our enchanting wildlife, our environmental conservation efforts and what makes our country unique and fascinating.

In line with the mascot of Visit Malaysia Year 2014, it is hoped that the locals will consider Malaysia’s tourist’s attraction like the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary located here, before travelling abroad.

Other places that could be visited for proboscis-monkey-watch also include the Bako National Park in Sarawak and through boat cruises in Sukau.