The Pegunungan Arfak Nature Reserve lies in the north-east corner of the Bird's Head Peninsula in the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n province of West Papua. It is located 25 km south of the provincial capital

Manokwari Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under pro ...

. It spans from near the coast up to the highest point in the province,

Pegunungan Arfak Mount Arfak is the highest point in the province of West Papua. It is located on north-east side of the Bird's Head Peninsula. It is a popular hiking area and is the highest peak of the Arfak Mountains. From the summit, Manokwari can be seen. The ...

, at . Vegetation includes lowland, hill, and montane rainforest (the latter includes oaks, chestnuts, and southern beeches). Logging occurs in the lowland and hill forests. Endemic, rare, and commercially important mammal species are protected. Surveys indicate 110 species of mammals, of which twenty-one are endemic to the island of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

tree kangaroos Tree-kangaroos are marsupials of the genus ''Dendrolagus'', adapted for arboreal locomotion. They inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea and far northeastern Queensland, along with some of the islands in the region. All tree-kangaroos a ...

forest wallabies A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

bandicoots Bandicoots are a group of more than 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial, largely nocturnal marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia. They are endemic to the Australia–New Guinea region, including the Bismarck Archipelago t ...

possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...

, an
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There are twenty-seven species of rodent, of which seventeen are endemic to the island. 320 bird species have been recorded in the reserve of which about half are endemic to New Guinea. The Rothchild's Birdwing is an insect only known from the

Arfak Mountains The Arfak Mountains is a mountain range found on the Bird's Head Peninsula in the Province of West Papua, Indonesia. The term "arfak" came from the language of the coastal Biak people, meaning "inferior." This is due to how big the mountains are ...

. Anggi Giji and Gita are two lakes located high in the mountains and further adorn this landscape. Over time, this reserve becomes an interesting gathering place for domestic and foreign researchers.

References

* Protected areas of Western New Guinea Geography of West Papua (province) Vogelkop montane rain forests {{Asia-protected-area-stub