Camera Trapping Terrestrial Animals at Tanjung Datu National Park

• Main Author: Nurul Asna Hidayah, Mior Abdul Rahman
• Format: Final Year Project Report
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, (UNIMAS) 2015
• Subjects: QL Zoology
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/34282/1/Camera%20Trapping%20Terrestrial%20Animals%20at%20Tanjung%20Datu%20National%20Park%20%28fulltext%29.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/34282/
• Institution: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Information on the distribution of species is important in prescribing sound management practices for a protected area. Therefore an attempt to understand the diversity of terrestrial animals was carried out using infra-red sensored camera traps in Tanjung Datu National Park from July 2013 to February 2015. A total of 17 camera locations which included various microhabitat and elevation have accumulated 1688 camera days which resulted in 844 independent animal photos that comprised of 21 mammals, I birds and 1 reptile. The cameras revealed a total of 17 medium to large mammals (excluding Squirrels & Rodents) with the most common species photographed being the Macaca nemestrina (239) followed by Sus barbatus (210) while Paguma larvata (1), Manis javanica (1) and Martes flavigula (1) was only represented by a single exposure. Most of the common species are listed in Part 11 (39.81 %) of the Sarawak Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998 while 2.73 % species receives Totally Protected Status in the Ordinance. Approximately 0.12 % of the species are considered Critically Endangered, 0.95 % is considered Endangered, 1.42 % are considered Near Threaten and 57.94 % are considered Vulnerable under the IUCN 2015 red list. The remaining 14 species are considered Least Concerned by this list. Activity pattern was only calculated for Macaca nemestrina (315), Macaca fascicularis (44), Sus barbatus (285) Tragulus kancil (33) and Rusa unicolor (24) due to the availability of independent photos. We emphasise that regular monitoring of wildlife in National Parks should not be neglected, especially when the surrounding area is experiencing accelerated and unprecedented rates of habitat conversion.