PROFAUNA’s Supporter's Fast Response, Evacuating Javan Langur in Probolinggo
A PROFAUNA's supporter of Probolinggo Chapter, together with the locals around the campus of the Islamic Sciences Institute of Zainul Hasan (INZAH) in Kraksaan Sub-district of Probolinggo Regency, East Java, rescued and evacuated a female Javan langur (Trachypithecus auratus) that was caught by the campus people on Monday afternoon (04/02/2019).
According to the campus security guard information, he often saw the primate with black hair and white mane on the trees around the building.
"I am not sure how the primate got into a classroom that scared the female students," Fajar Eko, the security of the INZAH campus explained.
Nur Ahmad (36), one of PROFAUNA Indonesia's Supporters, suggested that the primate endemic to the Javan forests was kept as a pet by the local and escaped. He regretted that there were some people who kept wild animals as pet, not to mention that the animal is rare and protected by the law.
According to him, keeping wild animal as pet is bad and cruel. As a matter of fact, any kind of wild animals play an important role in the nature to maintain the ecological balance. Especially for Javan langur, the primates help seed dispersal to spread the new plants in the forest ecosystem.
"We will evacuate the Javan langur first and protect it from the crowds to prevent the primate to get stressed. We will transfer it to the Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) for further assistance," said Mr. Inung, Sukomulyo Village official.
Meanwhile, Rosek Nursahid, Founder of PROFAUNA Indonesia appreciates the locals and the educational institution for their concern for wild animals. Other similar cases that happened before showed that the evacuation of wild animals led to the death of the animals.
"We need to create a new colony for the langur before release it in the wild. However, the best step is to hand over the animal to the BKSDA, that will send the Javan langur to a rehabilitation center. After having a group, the langur can only be released," he concluded.
Related link:
- video of javan langur evacuation