Conclusions

Abstract

Throughout this volume, we have attempted to present the most up-to-date information on the behavior, ecology, and conservation status of Indonesia’s primates. Despite the variety of topics including grooming, scent marking, culture, communication, group composition, ranging behavior, sexual conflict, predator recognition, male-male affiliations, as well as human nonhuman primate commensalism that is covered in this book, a common theme that is evident in all of these papers is CONSERVATION. As scientists working in Indonesia, all of us recognize that without conservation, there would no longer be any primates or any habitat for the primates to inhabit. We recognize that if we want to continue studying Indonesia’s primates, we must assist Indonesia in conserving them and the forest they rely on. Thus, the majority of scientists studying Indonesia’s primates integrate various conservation actions within their theoretical research designs. These actions often include giving talks at the local schools and religious institutions, making and handing out posters to local agencies and schools, training park guards and local students in basic biological field techniques, as well writing reports for various government agencies on the changing state of threats to the populations we are studying. Nonetheless, despite the best efforts, according to the report, “Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates: 2008-2010”, four of the world’s most endangered primates (16%) are from Indonesia. They are Tarsius tumpara (the Siau Island tarsier); Nycticebus javanicus (the Javan slow loris); Simias concolor (Pig tailed langur); and Pongo abelii (the Sumatran orangutan). Three of these species are represented in this volume, presenting the newest information on these species. There is no paper in this volume on Tarsius tumpara because the first description of this population occurred during the publication of this volume. According to the IUCN/WWF report, the Tarsius tumpara population is limited to “low thousands” and is listed as Critically Endangered and faces an imminent threat of extinction. Shekelle and Salim (in press) used GIS data and field surveys to identify specific threats to this species. They include a very small geographic range of 125 km², an even smaller area of occupancy (19.4 km²), and a high density of humans (311 people per km²) that habitually hunt and eat tarsiers for snack food. In addition, there are no protected areas within its range.