movement patterns of a translocated malayan tapir … · sanusi, m.2 & rizal, a.r.2...

Journal of Wildlife and Parks, 32: 13-21 (2017) 13Journal of Wildlife and Parks, 32: 13-21 (2017)

MOVEMENT PATTERNS OF A TRANSLOCATED MALAYAN TAPIR IN SENALING INAS FOREST RESERVE, NEGERI SEMBILAN

*Mahathir, M.1, Donny, Y.1, Noor, J.N.J.3, Magintan, D.1, Anuar, I.1, Shahril, E.J.1, Rosli, S.1, Norzalie, A.S.1, Mohd Shafiq, A.L.1, Zaihamrizal

A.H.1, Amri, I.1, Mamat, S.1, Pazil, A.P.1, Traeholt, C.2, Simpson, B.2, Sanusi, M.2 & Rizal, A.R.2

1Biodiversity Conservation Division, Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), KM 10 Jalan Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur.

2Copenhagen Zoo Southeast Asia Programme, Malay Tapir Conservation Project, 840 Ukay Bayu, Jalan Tebrau 1, Ukay Height,

68000 Ampang, Malaysia.3Faculty of Earth Science, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan,

17600 Jeli, Kelantan.

*Corresponding author’s email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The translocation of mammal species from areas that threaten their survival is one of several wildlife management strategies currently employed by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Peninsular Malaysia. This preliminary study on the movement activities of a male Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) fitted with a satellite collar reports the spatial and temporal movement patterns for seven months in Senaling Inas Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan. Our results showed that the tapir travelled more than 446 km, within a 62 km2 area in the new location and frequented habitats in and around open agriculture areas close to villages compared to forest areas. The maximum distance travelled was 7.9 km per day, with frequent movement occurring during the day. Further research is required to understand the management implications of translocating large animals.

Keywords: Satellite collar, translocate, temporal movement, Malayan tapir

Received (04- January -16); Accepted (01-August-17); Available online (18-August-17)

Citation : Mahathir, M., Donny, Y., Noor, J.N.J., Magintan, D., Anuar, I., Shahril, E.J., Rosli, S., Norzalie, A.S., Mohd Syafiq, A.L., Zaihamrizal A.H.,

Mahathir, M., Donny, Y., Noor, J.N.J., Magintan, D., Anuar, I., Shahril, E.J., Rosli, S., Norzalie, A.S., Mohd Shafiq, A.L., Zaihamrizal A.H., Amri, I., Mamat, S.,

Pazil, A.P., Traeholt, C., Simpson, B., Sanusi, M. & Rizal, A.R.

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Amri, I., Mamat, S., Pazil, A.P., Traeholt, C., Simpson, B., Sanusi, M. & Rizal, A.R. (2017). Movement patterns of a translocated Malayan Tapir in Senaling Inas Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan. Journal of Wildlife and Parks, 32: 13-21.

INTRODUCTION

The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) is considered endangered throughout its range (Traeholt et al., 2016). Apart from protected areas, forest reserves appear to be important habitats for the tapir in Peninsular Malaysia (Clements et al., 2012). However, the expansion of monoculture plantations in forest reserves (Aziz et al., 2010) and construction of roads (Clements et al., 2014) threaten its survival.

The Tapir Conservation Unit in the Biodiversity Conservation Division of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP) is actively working to rescue displaced tapirs. This includes translocation activities that involve satellite collaring to monitor post-translocation movement.

Every year, reports of displaced and rescued tapirs are increasing (Magintan et al., 2012; Mahathir et al., 2014) and up to June 2016, 101 rescue cases and translocation activities were conducted by the DWNP (DWNP, unpublished). As tapirs tend to feed in forest edges near human settlements where food availability is higher (Mahathir et al., 2014) contact with humans is also likely to increase. In addition, increasingly fragmented forests in Peninsular Malaysia, especially in forest reserves, may be one reason for an increase in rescued tapirs. Tapirs in isolated forests are more likely to encounter less food and more threats from poachers (Kawanishi et al., 2002).

Wildlife telemetry is one practical technique to understand the movement patterns of wild mammals (Aarts et al., 2008). The use of satellite collars in wildlife telemetry has increased particularly on large mammals such as elephant (Stuwe et al., 1998; Salman & Nasharuddin, 2002; Jamieson et al., 2012; Alfred et al., 2012; Magintan et al., 2016), but few published studies have examined their effectiveness in monitoring the movement of tapirs.

In this pilot study, we attached a satellite GPS collar to one tapir individual in Senaling Inas Forest Reserve (SIFR), Negeri Sembilan, to understand its spatial and temporal movement patterns.

Journal of Wildlife and Parks, 32: 13-21 (2017) 15

METHODOLOGY

A male Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) named Jono rescued from a surface trap in Air Lerek Village Inas-Johol, Negeri Sembilan was translocated four kilometers away to the SIFR. SIFR is located within latitude and longitude of 2°39’45” and 102°12’57.23” respectively. The estimate terrain elevation) is 725 m above sea level (a.s.l.). Prior to the translocation process, the tapir was weighed and anesthetised using a combination of 0.1mg/kg Butorphanol tartrate (TORBUGESIC®) and 0.04mg/kg Detomidine hydrochloride (DORMOSEDAN®). While under sedation, a passive microchip (Datamars Ins, Switzerland) was implanted behind the left ear. Subsequently, a GPS Collar model VERTEX Plus (VECTRONIC Aerospace, Germany) was fitted around the tapir’s neck to monitor his movement.

The collar was set to transfer the position coordinates of tapir hourly via email to the investigator. The coordinates then converted into longitude and latitude for distribution mapping. ArcGIS version 10.2.2 by ESRI™ was used to map the distribution of the tapir’s location every hour and distance travelled over seven months.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Between 26th May and 26th December 2016, 4900 GPS points of the tapir were received. Figure 1 shows the distribution movement of the tapir during the study period. The total distance moved was 446 km, covering an estimated area of around 62 km2.

When we examined the monthly movement pattern of the collared tapir, the mean daily movement was 2.07 km, with minimum and maximum movement of 0.3km and 4.02 km per day respectively. During each week, the tapir travelled an average of 14.40 km, with a minimum and maximum weekly movement of 0.75 km and 29.64 km respectively (Figure 2).



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Figure 1 The distribution movement (red dots) of the tapir in Senaling Inas Forest Reserve.

Figure 2 Weekly movement pattern of the translocated Tapir in Senaling Inas Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan.


The shortest distance recorded was during the first month after its translocation. This was likely due to the need to spend time adapting to its new territory in search of shelter and resources. It appears that the tapir established its new home range three weeks after translocation, as its movement was relatively constant with an average monthly distance of 62.82 km. The tapir was most active in November, travelling an average distance of 88.78 km (Figure 3).

Figure 3 Average monthly movement pattern of the translocated Tapir in Senaling Inas Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan.

Figure 4 Average hourly movement pattern of the translocated Tapir in Senaling Inas Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan.

Tapirs are mostly nocturnal and crepuscular mammals. Generally, the tapir was more active during the day browsing for food. Figure 4 shows its average hourly moving pattern. It appears that movement occurred most frequently



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during the day. The daily distance travelled (measured in a straight line) was between 1 and 4 km per day, with an average of 220 m per hour. During the monitoring period, a minimum elevation of 30 m to a maximum of 364 m were recorded (Figure 5).

Figure 5 Movement pattern of the translocated Tapir across different altitudes in Senaling Inas Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan.

Based on the location fixes, the tapir appeared to prefer foraging around open agriculture areas near villages instead of forested areas. As tapirs are browsers and generalists (Campos-Arceiz et al., 2011), it may have been searching for soft vegetation, which is more readily found in disturbed areas such as plantations. However, this contradict the findings from Linkie et al. (2013) which found that tapirs in Southeast Asia generally avoided disturbed areas. Given our short monitoring period, it would be interesting to see in the future whether the collared tapir would remain in such disturbed areas or retreat to more forested areas.

CONCLUSION

Our preliminary study has yielded valuable information on the spatial and temporal movement patterns of the Malayan tapir. This translocation appears to have been a success because the tapir did not return to its original location, but more visual evidence (e.g. camera trap photo) are needed to ascertain the condition and status of this individual. Ultimately, continued effort to monitor the movement of tapirs or other released animals using satellite collars are important


to determine whether translocation can be used as a viable conservation strategy to mitigate anthropogenic threats (e.g. road traffic, habitat loss, etc.). The outputs from such studies are important to formulate better management strategies for tapirs and other animals in Peninsular Malaysia.

ACKNOWLEDMENTS

We thank the Biodiversity Conservation Division, DWNP of Negeri Sembilan, Head of Bandar Seri Jempol District and all the DWNP staff who helped with this study. We are also grateful to all other parties involved in this study directly or indirectly.

REFERENCES

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