Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve also known as Tangkoko-Batuangus Dua Saudara is a
nature reserve in the northern part of
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
island of
Indonesia, two hours drive from
Manado. The reserve covers an area of 8,700 hectares and includes three mountains:
Mount Tangkoko (1,109 meters), Mount Dua Saudara (1,361 meters) and Mount Batuangus (450 meters).
Flora and fauna
The most common trees in the lowland rainforest of the park are species of the
Palaquium genus, ''
Cananga odorata'' and ''
Dracontomelon dao''.
Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve protects at least 127 mammal, 233 bird and 104 reptile and amphibian species. Of these 79 mammal, 103 bird and 29 reptile and amphibian species are endemic to the island.
[Hyginus Hardoyo]
"Nature lovers committed to preserve nature"
in The Jakarta Post, 5 June 2008
Threatened mammals include the
Celebes crested macaque, of which about 5,500 remain on the island,
spectral tarsier,
Sulawesi bear cuscus
The Sulawesi bear cuscus, also known as the Sulawesi bear phalanger (''Ailurops ursinus''), is a species of arboreal marsupial in the family Phalangeridae that is endemic to Sulawesi and nearby islands in Indonesia. It lives in tropical moist lo ...
and
Sulawesi dwarf cuscus
The Sulawesi dwarf cuscus (''Strigocuscus celebensis'') is a species of arboreal marsupial in the family Phalangeridae that is endemic to Sulawesi and nearby islands in Indonesia. It inhabits tropical moist lowland forest and is nocturnal, foli ...
.
Birds include the
knobbed hornbill
The knobbed hornbill (''Rhyticeros cassidix''), also known as Sulawesi wrinkled hornbill, is a colourful hornbill native to Indonesia. The species is sometimes placed in the genus ''Aceros''. The knobbed hornbill is the faunal symbol of South Su ...
,
Sulawesi hornbill
The Sulawesi hornbill (''Rhabdotorrhinus exarhatus''), also known as the Sulawesi tarictic hornbill, Temminck's hornbill or Sulawesi dwarf hornbill, is a relatively small, approximately long, black hornbill. The male has a yellow face and throa ...
and
maleo
The maleo (''Macrocephalon maleo'') is a large megapode and the only member of the monotypic genus ''Macrocephalon''. The maleo is endemic to Sulawesi and the nearby smaller island of Buton in Indonesia. It is found in the tropical lowland and ...
.
[Kyes et al. (2013]
"Long-Term Population Survey of the Sulawesi Black Macaques (Macaca nigra) at Tangkoko Nature Reserve, North Sulawesi, Indonesia"
in ''American Journal of Primatology'' Vol.75, issue 1
Conservation and threats
The first conservation area at
Mount Tongkoko
Mount Tangkoko is a stratovolcano in the north of Sulawesi island in Indonesia. Its summit has an elongated deep crater. On the east flank, there is a flat lava dome Batu Angus. Historical records only show eruptions in the nineteenth century ...
has been established in 1919. To this the Duasaudara area has been added in 1978, and the Batuangus and Batuputih areas in 1981, together encompassing a total of 8,718 hectares. Visitation is only allowed in the Batuputih area.
Several Indonesian and international environmental organisations are involved with the conservation of the reserve, including Sulut Bosami,
Wildlife Conservation Society and Tarantula.
Habitat destruction and hunting pose serious threats to the reserve.
As result of hunting, between 1978 and 1993 the number of crested macaques declined by 75%, maleo birds by 90% and bear cuscus by 95%. A survey of the three surrounding villages conducted in 2005 found that while the most frequently hunted species were rats, locals still hunted for macaques and cuscus both for meat and to be sold on the market.
[Onibala and Laatung (2007]
"Bushmeat Hunting in North Sulawesi and Related Conservation Strategies (A case study at the Tangkoko Nature Reserve"
in ''Journal of Agriculture and rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics'', nr.90
See also
*
Protected areas of Indonesia
Protected areas of Indonesia comprise both terrestrial and marine environments in any of the six IUCN Protected Area categories. There are over 500 protected areas in Indonesia, of which 54 National Park are covering 16.4 million ha, and another ...
*
CITES
References
External links
{{Commonscat, Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve
Bitung
Protected areas of Indonesia
Protected areas established in 1981
1981 establishments in Indonesia
Geography of North Sulawesi
Tourist attractions in North Sulawesi