‘Mystery monkey’ shines light on habitat fragmentation in Sabah

 

A recent photograph of the ‘mystery monkey’ cradling an infant with ‘swollen breasts’, suggesting that the hybrid is fertile and lactating. (Nicole Lee pic)

PETALING JAYA: A primatologist is calling for renewed efforts to address habitat fragmentation following the discovery of a “mystery monkey” in Sabah which is causing waves in the scientific community.

Habitat fragmentation is when a large expanse of habitat is transformed into a number of smaller areas isolated from one another mainly due to human activity, affecting the land’s biodiversity and ecological processes.

Although a photo of this “mystery monkey” first surfaced in 2016, it was only after more snapshots of this peculiar looking primate emerged that researchers and photographers joined together to collate information, though further research in the wild was hindered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent report in the International Journal of Primatology suggested that the monkey was a product of inter-genus mating between a male proboscis monkey and a female silvered leaf monkey as it shared certain characteristics from both species.

The report’s co-author, Nadine Ruppert, said such cases were extremely rare in the wild, with only “one or two cases” reportedly observed in the past.

“The hybridisation is a cause for concern because it signals something wrong with the habitat,” Ruppert, a senior lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), told FMT.

The first photographed sighting of the ‘mystery monkey’ by tour guide Brenden Miles March in 2016. (Brenden Miles March pic)

She said it was likely that habitat fragmentation in that particular area of the Kinabatangan rainforest confined the two groups of monkeys in small patches of habitat surrounded by roadways, rivers and oil palm plantations.

According to the Global Forest Watch, an open-source web application which monitors global forests in near real-time, the Kinabatangan area lost 28% of its trees, or 190,000ha of rainforest, from 2001 to 2020. Global Forest Watch was established by the World Resources Institute.

“We need to think about how we want to mitigate habitat fragmentation. How can the people living and working there come up with some easy and affordable solutions to facilitate the connection of these habitat fragments?” Ruppert said.

She said the Kinabatangan rainforest and the Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary had huge forest patches that were suitable for hosting large populations of endangered animals, but there were numerous oil palm plantations in between.

“We want to reconnect the small fragments, either by constructing canopy bridges for primates or wildlife corridors for elephants through replanting trees, for example,” she said.

“This (mystery monkey) is not just a signal for something to be done in that particular area, but everywhere. We are losing habitat and biodiversity, and climate change is accelerating.

An adult female silvered langur grooming a young hybrid monkey. (Ken Chin pic)

“Not many people are aware of what we can do to mitigate this, so we need everyone to be more aware of how small actions to protect the environment can play a part.”

Like Ruppert, Malaysian Nature Society president Ahmad Ismail attributed the possible hybrid monkey to shrinking habitats and overlapping home ranges.

Stating that it was important to research the issue for conservation purposes, Ahmad hoped to see more studies conducted to examine the monkey’s genetic detail and further understand its behaviour and habitat.

“We cannot wait as habitat shrinking continues and incidents of hybridisation might happen again and affect the population of these important primates,” he said. - FMT