Society for Natural Science and Grand Perfect Sdn. Bhd.
presents
A Conservation Talk
Title: “Forest Dweller: The Unique Borneo Bearded Pig”
By Diana James Junau
Conservation Department
Grand Perfect Sdn. Bhd.
Date: 15 September 2007 (Saturday)
Time: 4:30 p.m. (Registration at 4:00 p.m.)
Venue: Conference Room 2, Li Hua Hotel, Bintulu
The Planted Forest Zone (PFZ) of the Forest Department Sarawak’s Planted Forests Project, Bintulu Division, extends over about 500,000 hectares. In the coming years, about 170,000 ha will be planted with the fast growing tree Acacia mangium to supply industrial wood, while several large forested areas of the PFZ will remain for conservation of flora and fauna. The GP Conservation Programme is based on cooperative studies with local and international experts on biodiversity, conducting biological inventories with GP staff, university students and NGOs. GP Conservation plans to catalogue the species richness of the PFZ, and to develop an effective long-term biodiversity conservation programme for the landscape.
Miss Diana James (currently Project Officer with Grand Perfect Sdn. Bhd.) graduated from University Malaysia Sarawak, 2003). Her interest in wildlife conservation and management started years back and expended more with her position in Grand Perfect focusing in a bearded pig study. She is keen to share her experience in Bearded Pig of the Planted Forest Zone.
All are welcomed and registration will be done upon arrival. GP especially welcomes members of local NGOs such as the Sarawak Nature Society, Malaysia Nature Society and the Society For Wilderness to attend and enjoy this talk.
Picture Courtesy of GP Camera Trapping Project MoU CRC
Abstract:
The bearded pig subspecies, Sus barbatus barbatus known as “babi babas” by Iban (local people) is found only in Borneo. The dayak people hunt this animal as their main source of protein, as it provide a substantial amount of meat per individual obtained and also tend to be more abundant than other large wild game, such as sambar deer (Cervus unicolor). Unfortunately, bearded pigs are also a major agricultural pest, and can do substantial damage to vegetable gardens and rice fields. Besides human, they also become a prey for “engkuli or kucing hutan”, Neofelis diardi and “ular sawa” Phyton reticulatus. Although they were quite abundant, S. b. barbatus with its own special characteristic are de facto of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998. That is to ensure their long-term survival. One of the aims of the Conservation Department is to manage populations of the S. b. barbatus in the PFZ, which is to ensure their long-term availability to the local people. To assess hunting preference and harvesting of the bearded pig, GP has been collecting the skull and mandibles from the local communities that resided in the PFZ. From here, a few measurements are taken from the collection. These measurements are important to know the age and gender of the harvest bearded pig. Preliminary observations using camera traps has shown that the bearded pig is still abundant over large areas of the Bintulu Division. Also, bearded pig tracks are consistently found both in logged forest and acacia blocks within the PFZ. Pig wallows have been found both in natural forests of conservation areas and in acacia. Due to this observation, GP Conservation has prepared a proposal on a Hunting Management which selected bearded pig as the hunting game in the PFZ.
Courtesy of GP Camera Trapping Project MoU CRC
