When exploring a new area, we are often encountering new habitats and wildlife on a daily basis. With camera traps, we can increase our chances of obtaining images and videos of rare and elusive wildlife from areas where there has been little survey work done in the past.
Borneo Nature Foundation first carried out a very short survey in the Rungan forest landscape in 2010. This work confirmed the presence of clouded leopards and many primates including gibbons, orangutans and red langurs.
Our latest survey work started with our expedition in July-August 2016. Carried out in partnership with Universitas Muhammadiyah Palangka Raya and the University of Exeter, UK, this survey has resulted in some amazing images and videos of the wildlife of the Rungan forest.
Many of the animals we know from our work in Sabangau also call Rungan their home: orangutans, red langurs, gibbons, sun bears, pig-tailed macaques, bearded pigs, mouse deer, muntjac and marbled cats and leopard cats. Some rarer animals include the banded linsang, black partridge and Malay weasel. A new sighting is that of a long-tailed porcupine – a species we have never found in Sabangau.
Our tree cameras, placed at 12m above the ground, have captured videos of an orangutan mother and her infant and a gibbon hanging out in the canopy.
These cameras have only been in place for 2.5 months and we hope to leave them in place for another 3.5 months to see what we can get. These images help BNF to build up a list of the biodiversity in Rungan and we cannot wait to share the next images and videos with you!
Watch the camera traps video!
