Don't Let Us Be Extinct

By Cintin Sakina - PILI Green Network for The Indonesian Nature Conservation Newsletter (INCL)

Torture and killing of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in East Kalimantan, Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros  sondaicus) and Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) on the verge of extinction, an ironic news from Indonesia's biodiversity. Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) in East Kalimantan has confirmed that there was a genocide of orangutans in oil palm plantations. This organization has the proof in the form of photos, videos and information from local residents (TempoInteractive, Nov 21 2011). According to the Associated Press (Nov, 23 2011) of the men allegedly told authorities the owner of several oil palm plantations in Kalimantan Island which offered $ 100 for each orangutans were killed and $ 20 for each long-nosed proboscis monkey. If proven guilty of violating the Law on the Conservation of National Resources, they face up to five years in prison, said Sutirta. According to the National Police spokesman Inspector General Saud Usman Nasution "They receive Rp 200,000 [U.S. $ 22] to kill a monkey and Rp 1 million for the orangutans,".

Another shocking news about the population protected in Lampung Rhinos are endangered because of poaching that is not offset by severe penal sanctions. "The population of rhinos in Waykambas now about 30, and in the Bukit Barisan 80" said the chairman of the Indonesian Rhino Foundation, Widodo Ramono (Reuters, Nov 24 2011). "Rhinos are hunted and all the anatomy of the animal is used to treat unscrupulous human diseases," he added. In fact, Widodo added, the results of the study, none of the rhino's body parts to have efficacy in treating human disease.

Sumatran tigers are also experiencing a tragic fate. The Sumatran tiger population in the province of Bengkulu currently estimated at just 40, a provincial nature conservation official said. "According to estimates by an animal protection organization which endangered Sumatran tiger population in Bengkulu, about 40," said Head of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency Bengkulu (BKSDA) Amon Zamora (Reuters, Nov 24 2011). The Sumatran tiger is a tiger subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra and has been classified as critically endangered by IUCN in 2008. It takes decisive action from the government in addressing this issue in safeguarding the survival of these animals and also needed support from humans to help animals that remain.