Proboscis Monkey: Handsome and Beautiful Ape-dutch

Handsome, pretty, pug-nosed. Long and loud noise. That is the proboscis monkey (nasalis larvatus).

If one time you went to West Kalimantan do not ever forget to direct your eye to the unique wildlife along the banks of the river and the forest interior of Borneo. Because the sharp-nosed and hairy yellowish white, the locals call it "kera belanda". Often found clustered across the river, strong diving, then go back into the woods.

Not every animal can live in all places. There are animals that can live only in specific regions, associated with habitat commensurate with biological rhythms.

How intimate this lovers of proboscis monkey. What they think and feel? Ah, romance is not to fly by.
source image: Kathy MacKinon, Gramedia, 1986.

Just as the proboscis monkey which only live in Borneo and the surrounding forest. Because rare, these animals are protected by law. At will not be able to catch people and maintain proboscis monkey, because it would threaten the existence of sharp-nosed animal life is.

Foreign tourists who visited Borneo, usually never missed watching the doings of proboscis monkey, the following attractions are made. Therefore, they will choose to travel to the regional tourism proboscis monkey habitat.

Where should you when making eco-tourism see proboscis monkey lives? Go to the mangrove forests in Borneo and surrounding islands. If not then go into the forest in Tinyan and Somukau Jangkang districts, Sanggau where forests are dense and still a virgin.

Or go to far into the rivers are wide in the interior where the forest is still dense and virgin. It was there that inhabited the proboscis monkey habitat areas along the coast and rivers, especially in mangrove forests.

Because of the sharp nose, especially in the male and the hair color reddish, proboscis monkey of Borneo population is called "ape-Dutch". Proboscis monkey adult weights between 20-24 pounds. Build a beautiful, clean, shiny fur, making the eye-catching proboscis monkey. Large sharp nose like a bulb, making a handsome male and beautiful female.

These endangered species are recorded in the reporting of the oldest in 1848 by Hugh Low as follows, "...it is workable for its very long nose; it is a very fine monkey, in size approaching the orangutans, but much less Distinguishing in appearance. It is furnished wit a very long tail, and it is fur is particulary fine, and of the pretty Fawn color; it head is small; it feeds on fruit."

There are several explanations why the pug-nosed proboscis monkey. With a sharp nose, proboscis monkey would not survive much longer when the animal is submerged in the water.

In crowd, proboscis monkey often cross river diving, mangrove forests across the shaded water. This opportunity to invite the attention of crocodiles often, the only enemy proboscis monkey, to eat it. But once proboscis monkey can be dodged, darted to the surface of water, then jump to deftly capture one of the top branch.

It was very interesting watching these attractions, proboscis monkey as risking life for a very expensive show. When it is submerged, the water rippled and cause noise. Of the proboscis monkey one branch moved to another branch, and if the distance of the branches were far apart, the proboscis monkey would jump away and fell into the water, diving, and then came back into the water.

A sharp nose is also helpful to keep resonance sound generated when the proboscis monkey another call when the herd was in the thick forest, or when there is danger threatens. The danger would appear more clearly by the proboscis monkey. If there is danger, a sharp nose becomes erect and striking red. The same thing happens when the raging male proboscis monkey.

The sound is very distinctive proboscis monkey, long and loud. Hearing her voice from a distance, people are knowledgeable presence Kalimantan one of these monkeys. Although closely related, he was completely different from wau-wau -or in terms of local residents klampiau.

Proboscis monkey lives in the trees, but often to the land and the swimming-pool. Live in groups consisting of 12-17 tails. Multiplication with the birth of a child every birth. Therefore animals including proboscis monkey is endemic and the population is rare, to maintain the sustainability of these animals are protected by law. This animal is also called bakara, rasong, pika, bars.

A group of proboscis monkey often visited the mangrove plot for a long time, sometimes for months. Then, suddenly disappeared to find new areas where food is still widely available. Finding food in the morning and evening.

The main food of mangrove leaves (rhizophora) and kike, as well as flowers and fruit. Usually, after the leaves knocked kike to bare, proboscis monkey will find a flock of new land. When the leaves are threshed re-sprout, usually a new proboscis monkey will come back again.

No one proboscis monkey is called "Dutch monkey", because the proboscis monkey and the remarkably similar way as the doings of the Dutch colonial era in the archipelago.

After enjoying the sweetness of honey and then walked away ....
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