Endangered proboscis monkey tagged with satellite device in Malaysia

Xinhua, July 25, 2011

An endangered proboscis monkey in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in east Malaysian state of Sabah has been tagged with a satellite device as part of a research and conservation initiative to protect the primate species.

The 24-kilogram male long-nose monkey, which was caught in the sanctuary last week, was the first of its kind in Borneo, a southeast Asian island divided by Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, was fitted with a satellite device, state media Bernama quoted the Sabah Wildlife Department Director Laurentius Ambu as saying here on Sunday.

This is the start of the long-term research and conservation programme which is extremely important for the protection of the proboscis money in Borneo, said Ambu. The programme is jointly initiated by the department, the Danau Girang Field Center and Cardiff University.

The satellite will help researchers to fully understand and determine the ranging patterns of the species, factors which may impact their movements and density, as well as the adequate amount of habitat, said the field center director Benoit Goossens.

It is learned that a total of ten more proboscis monkeys will be tagged with the satellite device in the programme who will take blood tests for genetic analyses and parasite identification, saliva for viruses and bacteria, ectoparasites and morphometric data.

Borneo is world's third largest island possessing world's oldest rainforest with a huge diversity of animals and plants.

The proboscis monkey, a reddish-brown creature with a protruding nose, is endemic to Borneo's low elevation mangrove forests, swamps, and lowland riparian forests. It was listed as an endangered animal in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and protected by laws of all the three countries concerned.