Siamang, endangered black monkeys

Who does not know one of the endemic animals possessed by Indonesia is Siamang. Yes, a gibbon is a long-sleeved black monkey that lives in the trees. In general, gibbons are very agile when moving on a tree, so no predators can catch them. The gibbon is different from other primates because it has no tail, has a less erect posture, and high brain development.

Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) is one of the primate species located on the island of Sumatra. In addition to Indonesia, the original gibbon population can only be found in Peninsular Malaysia and a few areas in Thailand (Nijman & Geissman, 2008). Unfortunately, now the status of a gibbon is in an endangered category since 2008 based on the IUCN Red List 2009 (Nijman & Geissman, 2008) and in Indonesia the gibbon itself is one of the primates belonging to the protected animal species based on Law No.5 1990 and PP No.7 year 1999. This is evident from the gibbon population that has lost about 66% of its original habitat, which was originally 340,000 km2 to just 120,000 km2. In addition to the threat of habitat, gibbons also face the threat of hunting for pets. The number of gibbons in the wild is estimated at about 31,000 heads that inhabit an area of ​​20,000 km2 of the remaining habitat (Supriatna and Wahyono, 2000). The existence of such gibbons in nature is increasingly threatened by poaching and forest ecosystems (Master et al., 2013). According to Mittermeier and Cheney (1987) the main factor causing the primate scarcity itself is the destruction of habitat, namely the occurrence of habitat fragmentation and the occurrence of wildlife poaching for trading. The occurrence of forest fragmentation is due to the clearing of forest areas and land clearing for plantations so that the gibbon populations are pressed into narrow habitats and territories. Currently, the remaining siamang populations in Sumatra are mostly found only in conservation and protected areas (Nijman & Geissman, 2008). In fact, in its natural habitat the existence of gibbons is very important in the forest ecosystem, among others, to help the process of plant growth (regeneration and succession of forests) by eating leaves and fruit, besides gibbons act as polinators and seed spreader plants, so that in general primates play a role as a key species in an ecosystem (Cowlishaw andDunbar, 2000). Thus, if the presence of gibbons in the forest decreases, there will be an imbalance of the ecosystem within the forest itself. One effort to preserve gibbons can be done through in-situ conservation in the habitat is by viewing population data. (Geissman, 2007). In addition to in-situ conservation efforts since 2008, several environmental protection agencies in Sumatera region have initiated gamelan conservation by socializing local residents not to peddle gibbons and not to transform forest functions into plantation areas. Well, karna that let our friends together to preserve the animals so that our children and grandchildren can still see, like a gibbon.