Category: Expedition Blogs

We have now retrieved all camera traps. Not far away from one trap, the team found civet scat and tracks. This is a fantastic finding but of course everybody was anxious to see if there was also a civet trapped on the camera. Unfortunately not. But again mouse deer, wild boar, porcupines, macaques, great argus and even pangolins romped around in front of the traps. The tiger, too, remains hidden.

Jatt, Anh and Ryan started their overnigher in the rain north of the last village in the reserve, Ludai Dusepakat. A new dirt road, about three years old, gives the villagers better access to the outer world. The result is obvious: plantations all over and more logging. Very hilly landscape and dense forest made it difficult for the team to cover ground. Nevertheless they found sambar deer scat and tracks as well as a muntjac tracks. Well done. Before their return, they conducted an interview. Interesting is the fact that the villagers speak their own local language. Interviewees reported an overall decrease of wild cats in general, but in December 2014 a tiger was reputedly heard close to the village. In what way this information can be trusted is not clear.

Thursday to Friday night heavy, heavy rain poured down for more than 12 hours without a break. As we came down to the river this morning to start our return trip to Pekanbaru, we could not believe our eyes: the river level had risen so much that the “jetty” of our Field Station had disappeared – all steps were completely submerged. Nevertheless we made it back safely and almost dry.

Two more weeks have gone very quickly. It was a hard slog sometimes, so well done everybody. Thank you for the very constructive discussions and your contributions.

We realise that elusive tigers is frustrating and that the effects of all our hard work may not be immediately obvious, especially if you do not come across our main target species. But we ask you to be patient. This is our first year in Sumatra and, as we say in the Reality Check, science is not safari and the planet will not be saved on a single two-week expedition. Instead it takes years, sometimes decades, for conservation successes to establish themselves and take a firm hold.

For example, we spent ten years working in the Altai, researching snow leopard presence, building local capacity and trying to create economic incentives for local people to keep their snow leopard neighbours alive. When we started, there was no national park, little awareness, research or infrastructure, and rampant poaching (I am sure this must ring bells with you in Sumatra). Now we have a national park, national park staff, anti-poaching patrols, several research initiatives, much more awareness and many ways for local people to benefit from the presence of the snow leopard. Poaching continues to be a threat, as is the Altai gas pipeline, but all in all this is a remarkable turnaround and success story, and we are very proud to have played our part in this. We’ve had many successes through citizen science voluntourism over the years (see www.biosphere-expeditions.org/achievements) and the Altai is yet another excellent illustration of how citizen science-led conservation expeditions can make a genuine difference.

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We all hope that in time, Sumatra will join this list of successes. Please do not underestimate your contribution, even if you did not find tiger evidence on your group. You already know how underresourced Rimbang Baling Wildlife Reserve is and how difficult it is to make a living through anything but plantations, logging or otherwise environmentally harmful activities. Running the expedition to this remote place for three months makes a big difference to the rangers, public perception in the area, especially how the tiger and nature is perceived, and so many more things besides. Do not underestimate the effect the expedition has on these levels. And in time, as we build our networks, we will get deeper into the forest to protect the tiger and its habitat. Thank you for being a part of this process.

Finally, I would also like to thank all the team for your supported and commitment throughout. It was a pleasure and fun working with you. After Ramadan, Anthony will take over from me as an expedition leader. I wish slots 4-6 the best of luck.

Stay sharp …

Ronald

From our Sumatran tiger conservation volunteering holiday with tigers in Sumatra, Indonesia

Those of us who have been around for a few weeks realised recently that something was missing. It took us a while, but finally it was more than obvious: the sound of the jungle has changed compared to the previous weeks. There were no chainsaw noises any longer. The explanation is that the river levels are now too low for being used for transportation of logs. And for us the “true” jungle noises have come to the fore.

On Sunday, our day-off, almost everyone was out on a long boat ride down the southern Subayang. The weather was great and with fantastic manoeuvring in shallow water, Sapri, one of our boat drivers, made it deep into the reserve. It took us 2.5 hours to arrive at the small village of Pangkalan Serai. It is the last village down this river and is almost in the centre of the reserve. Far away from civilisation about 100 families live there. Originally they stayed in traditional houses, but most of them were destroyed during a big flood at the end of the 1990s. For electricity they built a generator that is driven by waterpower. Our appearance was the first time that foreigners like us have been to this village. On the way back we also stopped at a village that is known for its boat makers. It was interesting to see the different steps of the “production” of these longboats.

Jatt had a football match in Tanjung Belit. In the afternoon over 20 players showed up and proved their technical abilities. Although quite a lot of spectators were around, the game takes place in harmony and silence. Even after a goal the excitement is at a minimal level. An interesting experience for us all!

On the work front, we retrieved camera traps installed in previous slots. With great expectations we stared at the computer screen. The result: porcupine, mouse deer and macaques. But this is a good result as it has been our first camera placement. The tiger still remains elusive.

Tomorrow morning Jatt, Ryan and Anh will leave for an overnighter north of Kota Lama. While I am sending you these lines they, are preparing for their adventure.

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Expedition participant Anh missed nothing more than her luggage when she arrived at Pekanbaru. And still, with the great help of the WWF office, we were able to start the 3rd slot almost on time and arrived safely, with all our luggage, at Subayang Field Station.

This was not the only reason to celebrate as Peter, a veteran of more than a dozen Biosphere expeditions, conveniently arranged to have his birthday on our arrival day. His birthday cake was “inhaled” within seconds.

Expect the unexpected. This was the motto of the first few days of this slot. Already in the evening after our training session, all team members were ready to leave for their next day’s surveys with all equipment packed, destinations checked and GPSs prepared. Very ambitious!

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On our way back from the very first short stay in the field, we were able to watch a small group of siamang monkeys for quite a while. We then found in the middle of the forest in a hilly area something that we were not able to identify from a distance: Unfortunately it was not an unknown species. No, it was a balloon with a funny grin that had probably had been blown there by the wind. Later, we have had a really good interview with a plantation owner that gave us a better understanding of their view. And finally the generator at base camp gave up. So we enjoyed our ‘romantic dinner’ with candles and in unusual quietness.

The generator has been fixed in the meantime and this morning we plan to go down the southern Subayang river, deep into the reserve. Let’s see if the unexpected will continue to appear.

From our Sumatran tiger conservation volunteering holiday with tigers in Sumatra, Indonesia

The big wedding was a big event and we were honoured to be invited (and photographed a lot as objects of curiosity, especially tall and blue-eyed Will).

Another big topic of discussion was the sighting of a crocodile in the river close to the village. This caused quite a stir and many were quite scared of the beast coming into the village. Never in the recent past has a crocodile been seen in this region, so the fuss is more than understandable.

Unfortunately our team 2 could not match this with any spectacular findings of its own. There were encounters with aggressive wasps, large spiders, a pit viper and – and a very unexpected and interesting interview with loggers! Still, even these small pieces of the puzzle will be a useful addition to the whole picture we are gathering up here. Science often proceeds and progresses in leaps and bounds, so this group was a small step, but a step nonetheless.

Another step and a highlight was our visit of the school in Kota Lama. After a short traditional welcome dance, we all joined a classroom to follow Febri’s lesson and slideshow about the local environment in general and about tigers in particular. About 40 children, unifromed and up to 14 years of age, paid even more attention as a quiz opened the opportunity to win a prize. There was much excitement as Inge told a story about the important role of each individual in a larger group whilst showing a magic trick (she once was a professional magician). There was more amusement and cultural exchange as Andy showed them the funny southern Californian “Hasta Pronto” (see you soon) handshake.

Yes, two weeks have gone in a flash and I would like to thank everybody for all the diverse input you have contributed. It would be great to see you staying involved.

Hasta pronto!

Ronald

From our Sumatran tiger conservation volunteering holiday with tigers in Sumatra, Indonesia

John, the birder in this second group, has helped us to open up our bird inventory. Group by group we want to build this catalogue. And it’s good to see how a person with skills such as John’s is able to create interest with others just through passion – and knowledge. Thank you, John.

Things may go wrong….and a broken engine of a boat on its way out to a survey destination in the field is such an example. But with the tremendous energy of Sugi and the boat driver, they managed to paddle back. Thank you!

Mahwel, our camp helper, plays the guitar. So, one evening we were treated to a concert given by Mahwel and Beston (who brought his guitar along). There were internationally known and unknown songs in English, Spanish and Indonesian, with an international audience (Dutch, English, American, German, Indonesian).

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On Thursday we decided to survey a larger area downriver, next to several smaller villages, knowing that we had to expect palm oil and rubber tree plantations. And indeed there were enormous private, fenced and guarded areas with monoculture farming. On a hot, hot day we walked long distances along logging roads without the shady canopy of the forest that still rules upriver. Still, we returned with some good sightings, tracks and, once more, a wildcat scat. Thirsty and exhausted, we invaded a tiny shop for cold drinks, before getting the boat back upriver, into the forest and home.

Heavy thunder and lightning brought a downpour of over 10 hours in the night from Thursday to Friday. The rainforest lived up to its name. The following survey day continued the wet theme with wading, almost swimming, along freshly swelled streams. On Saturday we visited villages around our field camp and concentrated on conducting interviews.

Today, Sunday, is our day off. Almost everyone decided to go out on a boat very early in the morning to float back downriver as the sun rose, watch birds and other creatures. Later, we are all invited to a wedding in Tanjung Belit. Sapri’s (one of our boat drivers) daughter is getting married and apparently a big party awaits….

From our Sumatran tiger conservation volunteering holiday with tigers in Sumatra, Indonesia

Group 2 arrived safely on Sunday and was put through its training paces and first training surveys.

Yesterday was our first full day out in the field. Splitting into two groups, each had to face the ‘usual’ jungle challenges of wading through streams, climbing over fallen trees and rocks, getting up and down slippery slopes and more. Olga and Inge rocked us through the field with amazing energy and spirit. Besides some minor slips, a lost hat and machete, everybody made it back in one piece and good spirits.

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During the last few days we recorded nice, warm and dry weather during the day and pleasant cool(er) nights. As we now have a small weather station on the patio, I am able to give you more accurate information: temperature during the day between 27 and 33 C, nights 23 to 29 C and humidity between 65 and 80%.

Well, I don’t want to forget to tell all those who are looking forward to attending this expedition that so far everybody was more than pleased with the food that has been served. Even the non-vegetarians are happy 😉

Best wishes

Ronald

From our Sumatran tiger conservation volunteering holiday with tigers in Sumatra, Indonesia