Muara Angke mangrove forest and wildlife sanctuary is a protected nature conservation area at Kapuk Muara, Penjaringan along the north coast of Jakarta,

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 ...

. Muara Angke Wildlife Sanctuary is located at the end of Muara Karang Raya street, near Mediterranean Gallery shopping complex.

History

Muara Angke Wildlife Sanctuary was protected since the colonial rule of the Dutch Indies on June 17, 1939, covering an area of 15.04 ha. During the 1960s, the conservation area was expanded to 1,344.62 hectares. Later, because of human pressure and environmental destruction within and around the national park, some of the mangrove forest area were destroyed. On February 28, 1988, the area was declared a Nature Reserve (25.4 ha). In November 1998, the status of this area changed to Wildlife Sanctuary or ''Suaka Margasatwa'' (25.02 ha). Muara Angke Wildlife Sanctuary is listed as one of the important bird sanctuary in Java, protecting bird species such as

milky stork The milky stork (''Mycteria cinerea'') is a stork species found predominantly in coastal mangroves around parts of Southeast Asia. It is native to parts of Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. They were once part of the genus Ibis, but is c ...

and the endemic Sunda coucal. Muara Angke Wildlife Sanctuary is currently facing issues such as mangrove cutting, water pollution (especially in Angke River), and settlements development at the edge of the area.MacKinnon et al. 1982

Vegetation

There are about 30 species of plants recorded and 11 of them are true mangrove species in the mangrove forest. The true mangrove species include the bakau ( Rhizophora mucronata, R. apiculata ), api-api ( Avicennia spp.), pidada ( Sonneratia caseolaris ), and buta-buta ( Excoecaria agallocha ). Several types of mangrove associates can also be found in this area such as ketapang ( Terminalia catappa ) and nipah ( Nypa fruticans ). In addition to the above types, there are also several types of trees planted for reforestation. For example tamarind ( Tamarindus indica ), bintaro ( Cerbera manghas ), akasia ( Acacia auriculiformis ), nyamplung ( Calophyllum inophyllum ), putut ( Bruguiera gymnorrhiza ), and waru ( Hibiscus tiliaceus ).

Fauna

The wildlife sanctuary is home to various species of birds and other animals that have been hard to find in other areas of Jakarta. Jakarta Green Monster recorded all 91 species of birds, namely 28 species of water birds and 63 species of forest birds, living in this region. About 17 species of them are protected bird species. Types of birds that often encountered include ''pecuk padi kecil'' ''( Phalacrocorax niger)'', ''blekok'' ''(

Ardeola Pond herons (''Ardeola'') are herons, typically long with an wingspan. Most breed in the tropical Old World, but the migratory squacco heron occurs in southern Europe and the Middle East and winters in Africa. The scientific name comes from L ...

spp.)'', ''kuntul'' ''(

Egretta ''Egretta'' is a genus of medium-sized herons, mostly breeding in warmer climates. Representatives of this genus are found in most of the world, and the little egret, as well as being widespread throughout much of the Old World, has now started ...

spp.)'', ''kareo padi'' ''(

Amaurornis phoenicurus The white-breasted waterhen (''Amaurornis phoenicurus'') is a waterbird of the rail and crake family, Rallidae, that is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. They are dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast and belly. They ...

)'', ''mandar batu'' ''( Gallinula chloropus)'', ''betet Jawa'' ''( Psittacula alexandri)'', ''Merbah cerukcuk'' ''( Pycnonotos goiavier)'', ''kipasan belang'' ''( Rhipidura javanica)'', and ''remetuk laut'' ''( Gerygone sulphurea)''. Some of them are distinctive birds of mangrove forests such as ''sikatan bakau'' ''(

Cyornis rufigastra The mangrove blue flycatcher (''Cyornis rufigastra'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is native to Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove ...

)''. In addition, it is also home to ''perenjak jawa'' ''( Prinia familiaris)''. The sanctuary is also inhabited by several species of endemic birds, which exist only on the island of Java. For example ''cerek jawa'' ''( Charadrius javanicus)'' and ''bubut jawa'' ''( Centropus nigrorufus)'', which is one of the most endangered species in the world, with limited distribution in a few places including this sanctuary. Another endangered bird that inhabits this area is ''bangau bluwok'' ''( Mycteria cinerea)''. In Java, this species of stork is known only to breed on Rambut Island located not far from Muara Angke in the Kepulauan Seribu group. In addition to the species of birds, there are also groups of long-tailed macaques ''(

Macaca fascicularis The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaque ...

)''. They live in groups up to a dozen individuals consisting of several males and females. The main food of the macaques in the mangroves are the young leaves and fruits of ''pidada'' ''(

Sonneratia caseolaris ''Sonneratia caseolaris'', commonly known as mangrove apple, is a species of plant in the family Lythraceae. The fruit is noted for its outward similarity to the persimmon fruit. This tree is a type of mangrove growing up to 20 m in height and ...

)'', which gives them an important ecological role in the Muara Angke Wildlife Sanctuary, as they help spread the seeds of forest plants. The seeds that can not be digested will be removed again along with the feces. Another type of mammals that can be found in the sanctuary, but rarely seen, is the small-clawed otter ''(

Aonyx cinerea The Asian small-clawed otter (''Aonyx cinereus''), also known as the oriental small-clawed otter and the small-clawed otter, is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its web ...

)'' which are small

piscivore A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...

s and are usually nocturnal. It is also home to a variety of reptile species such as ''biawak'' ''( Varanus salvator)'', ''sanca kembang'' ''( Python reticulatus)'', ''ular sendok jawa'' ''(

Naja sputatrix The Javan spitting cobra (''Naja sputatrix''), also called Indonesian cobra, is a species of cobra in the family Elapidae, found in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, including Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Komodo, and others. E ...

)'', ''ular welang'' ''(

Bungarus fasciatus The banded krait (''Bungarus fasciatus'') is a species of elapid snake found on the Indian Subcontinent, in Southeast Asia, and in southern China. It is the largest species of krait, with a maximum length up to . Although the banded krait is ven ...

)'', ''ular air belang'' ''(

Homalopsis buccata ''Homalopsis buccata'' (puff-faced water snake or masked water snake) is a species of mildly venomous snake in the Homalopsidae family found in tropical areas of Southeast Asia. Description Upper labials 1–4 contact single loreal; two pre ...

)'', ''ular cincin emas'' ''(

Boiga dendrophila ''Boiga dendrophila'', commonly called the mangrove snake or the gold-ringed cat snake, is a species of rear-fanged venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to southeast Asia. It is one of the biggest cat snake specie ...

)'', ''ular pucuk'' ''( Ahaetulla prasina)'' and ''ular tambak'' ''( Cerberus rhynchops)''. According to information given by local residents, there are also estuarine crocodiles ''(

Crocodylus porosus The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...

)'' that live within the sanctuary.

References

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History

Vegetation

Fauna

See also

References