NOCTURNAL CRITTERS OF THE KEHJE SEWEN FOREST

Just as the orangutans of Kehje Sewen Forest start settling in their evening nests, nocturnal creatures come out of their hidey-holes to begin their ‘day’. The PRM team often encounters night critters when conducting nest-to-nest monitoring.

Our PRM team in the Kehje Sewen Forest recently came across a critically endangered mammal; the pangolin (Manis javanica), known locally as trenggiling, near Camp Nles Mamse. Covered from head to tail in scales, the pangolin rolls itself into a ball whenever it senses danger. Sadly, pangolins are hunted for their perceived medical benefits.

The team has also met a masked palm civet (Paguma lavarta), known locally as musang galing. This mammal is both arboreal (lives in the trees) and terrestrial (lives on the ground). The musang galing is easy to recognize with its unique pale face, reddish hair, and white-tipped tail. Its neck, ears and tail are dark brown.

The Malaysian civet, or musang Tenggalung Malaya (Viverra tangalunga), is another nocturnal animal often seen in the Kehje Sewen Forest. The musang Tenggalung Malaya, which has greyish hair with black dots and a black stripe along its dorsal down to its tail, can be found in primary and secondary lowland and mountain areas. This species of civet is terrestrial and feeds on small invertebrates and vertebrates.

The slow loris, or kukang bukang, also lives happily in the Kehje Sewen Forest. This tiny animal, which has a very short tail and a brown, pale-grey colour with black rings around its eyes, spends most of its time up in the trees eating fruit. It might look slow, but the kukang bukang is quick enough to capture insects, its favourite food.

Sadly, in Indonesia nocturnal animals such as these are often hunted for domestication or as a food source. In an ideal world, they would be left alone to live and breed freely in their natural habitat instead of being held captive or eaten by humans.