No abstract

The Formosan pangolin mainly inhabits the lowland forest in Taiwan. Biological information on pangolins is limited due to their solitary behavior. This study reports the first field record of the behavior development and growth pattern of a newborn male Formosan pangolin during the entire nursing period in the wild. The methods used in this study were radio-tagging and camera-trapping. Data collection for this study was conducted from November 2014 until May 2015. The nursing period was 157 days. The infant started to exit the nursing burrow alone at 11 weeks old, with significant soil scraping and licking behaviors. The duration and distance of the exploring were both extended considerably after 15 weeks old. All exploring behaviors that were recorded occurred after the mother had left the burrow. The total body length of the infant pangolin growth was at a relative constant rate of 1.2 cm/week during the nursing period, which was faster than the only record from a hand-reared individual (0.7 cm/week). This study presents a useful method to monitor the maternal behaviors and infant growth pattern for the Formosan pangolin under natural conditions.

The Sunda Pangolin Manis javanica is naturally present in Gaya Island, Sabah, but its population status is largely unknown.  Results from a recent survey using camera traps indicated the presence of a few individuals, who were strictly nocturnal.  There is a strong indication that the population in Gaya Island is in danger of local extinction.  There is also an urgent need to conduct an in-depth study to gather scientific information for further conservation action.

Bornean pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) is crucial in the forests ecosystem as it plays a vital role as a forest engineer. As such, it is crucial to conduct more research to contribute to the conservation of this species. This study examined the pygmy elephant usage of natural salt lick in Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve (SLFR), also known as FMU19B. Salt lick is vital to maintain wildlife health. This study investigated the elephant’s visitation frequency and examined its activity pattern in the natural salt lick area. A camera trap survey was conducted from November 2019 till August 2020. Four natural salt licks (C50SL, C56SL, C59SL and C60SL), and three non-salt licks (C50NSL, C56NSL, and C59&C60NSL) was selected. The data were analysed using descriptive and statistical analysis. The results show a higher visitation frequency at the salt lick area than the non-salt lick area (p<0.01). The salt lick at C59 was the most frequently visited by the elephant. The activity pattern displayed by the Bornean pygmy elephant shows a higher degree of nocturnal activity (73.3%). This information is essential for the timber concession forest managers to design the conservation work for the species in balancing with the timber extraction activity.

Large areas of tropical forest worldwide have been converted rapidly into forest plantation. Plantation can play an important role in restoring productivity, ecosystem stability, and biological diversity to degraded tropical lands. However, the conversion of forest areas to plantation rapidly resulting birds to lose their natural habitat. Therefore, Acacia mangium plantations have the potential as the refuges for birds. As such, this study was conducted to investigate the bird population in 2-year Acacia mangium plantation, Sabah Forest Industries (SFI), Sabah to determine the bird population density and diversity of 2 year mangium plantation in SFI. There is no published information of the detailed status of bird in SFI yet. Bird survey was done by using point count method. The bird population density was analyzed by using distance 6.2 and bird diversity was calculated by using Shannon-Wiener diversity index. A total of 343 birds belong to 53 species from 21 families were detected. The bird population in 2-year mangium plantation was 17.71 individual per hectare and Shannon-Wiener diversity index for bird diversity was 3.24. This study shows that the bird population density and diversity in SFI were higher as compared to other past studies in Borneo plantation area.