Proboscis Monkey

The Proboscis Monkey

Best Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary Tours & Tickets - Book Now

The proboscis monkey, or long-nosed monkey, has a large nose, a reddish-brown skin color and a long tail. 

Species habitat and range

These monkeys live only on the island of Borneo and can be found on all three nations that divide the island: Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. They are classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There are around 7,000 proboscis monkeys left.

Proboscis Monkeys and Borneo Wildlife | ProboscisMonkey.org

Species role (niche) in ecosystem

These monkeys are omnivores and affect plant populations in the ecosystem. They mostly eat leaves, seeds, and fruits, but will sometimes eat insects. 

Cause of decline

The population of proboscis monkeys has decreased by more than 50% in the past 36–40 years due to habitat loss from logging and oil palm plantations, and hunting in some areas. Some people treat these monkeys as a delicacy so they have been hunted by humans for this, and for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

Importance and why we should care

This species is important to its ecosystem because they serve in the food chain to feed on plants and spread seeds. They should be protected because humans have been a major cause of their decline and we must change our practices to undo this damage. To humans, they represent a unique and memorable creature worth protecting.

Current conservation efforts

Conservation efforts for this monkey species includes the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, which has been designated as a sanctuary for Asian elephants, orangutans, and proboscis monkeys. However, habitat destruction has still been increasing in other areas the monkey lives.

A proboscis female with her young in Sabah, Borneo

How a geographer, geospatial tools, or the study of geography aids or can aid in the conservation of species

GPS tracking, and less-invasive DNA analysis have allowed scientists to finally do more research on this species after struggling for a long time to learn more about this mysterious species. 

Ways to help the proboscis monkey:

1. Shop for sustainable palm oil. Much of the habitat loss in this area is due to palm oil plantations.

2. This species has been hunted for their intestinal bezoar stones which are used in traditional medicine. We should support stricter laws to protect this species from being hunted. 

3. The protection of swamp forests is needed for this species. Supporting measures to pass forest protections can help aid in reducing further deforestation.

4. Tourism in areas where proboscis monkeys live can cause more disruption of their habitat. Do not choose vacation destinations in areas where increased tourism could lead to increased building in areas where endangered species live.

5. Raise awareness about sustainable palm oil with friends and family and tell them to look for items with certifications. This can be as simple as bringing up the topic while shopping together!

Stuffed Proboscis Monkey Plush - Mini : Toys & Games

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blobfish

Image
Blobfish: "The World's Ugliest Creature" is not as ugly as you think! Blobfish live in the deep waters off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. The blobfish may be considered ugly, but imagine living at the pressure at the bottom of the sea! The blobfish can live at depths 2,500 feet below, where they float slightly above the floor of the ocean, and wait for small crustaceans and other edible matter to pass by so it can suck them up for food. The fish, which shrivels up when exposed to air, is inedible, but has still been facing risks and has become endangered as they are often caught as bycatch accidentally. Most blobfish encountered by humans are dead ones found by deep-sea fishers that use nets to sweep up marine animals from the bottom of the ocean in an effort to catch edible fish.  As you can see in the picture below, they look very different while in their natural habitat versus when they are damaged by fishers. It is hard to estimate how many blobfish are left...
Read more

Introduction Post

Image
     Hello! My name is Ella.       I am a political science major, and my favorite animal is dogs. I connect with dogs very strongly and I love getting to know their personalities. I share a very strong bond with my pitbull Mabel.       Growing up, there was a strong period in my life where I really did want to be a zoologist, and I spent my entire summer in 2016 doing over 100 hours of volunteer work at the Cincinnati Zoo in their "volun-teen" program, so I am excited to be able to tap into that interest again with this class as I want to know more about endangered species and the environment. Fun fact I learned from my time at the zoo: Jane Goodall's favorite animal isn't chimps, it's actually dogs! She loves dogs very much and because she spends so much time traveling to give talks and doing research that she can't actually own a dog.      I am l ooking forward to virtually getting to know you all, and blogging abo...
Read more

Tree Kangaroo

Image
     A tree kangaroo is a large marsupial that, while less famous than its distant relatives like the red and gray kangaroos, can be found in Papua New Guinea and Australia.  Sadly, t ree kangaroos are an endangered species with an estimated wild population of less than 2,500.     Tree Kangaroo's  role (niche) in the ecosystem is to play the consumer role in the food chain, where they eat  plants, eggs, bark, sap, grains, and leaves. One of their predators is the Boelen Pythons, but now their main predator is humans who hunt them for their meat and furs.      Because they live in trees, tree kangaroos rely on forests, so when habitat destruction affects trees it greatly affects this species. According to the World Wildlife Organization, many tree kangaroo species are incredibly rare and most are decreasing in number.      We should care about tree kangaroos because they are how kangaroos originally evolved, and h...
Read more