A Behavioral Study on the Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) in a Semi-wild Environment at Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island, Perak

Although orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) is one of Malaysian iconic species, however when compared to other great apes this species is not well studied. Several good articles regarding this species in captivity are relatively limited. Due to this reason, a behavioral study of this orangutan (P. pygmaeus) was conducted at Orang Utan Island, Bukit Merah, Perak. The main objectives of this study were to understand the ethology of orangutan in a semi-wild condition and the space utilization of the orangutans that would help in giving picture of the animal’s arboreal and terrestrial nature. Preliminary observations were carried out for five days in January 2016 and intensive observations was carried out for a month in February 2016. The observation method used was focal sampling with continuous reading. The observations were done by focusing on one individual subject for every one hour from 09:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m. and from 14:00 p.m. to 17:00 p.m. The behavioral profile of the orangutans in semi-wild environment showed that resting, feeding, and playing are the three major daily activities of the orangutans on the island. In accordance with the purpose of this study, the result of the behavioral activities of orangutan can be used for the management and well-being of the orangutan in the study site. It is much hoped with the provided information this will help to increase our understanding of orangutans’ behavior in a semi-wild condition

Pengesanan dan pencirian Leptospira spp. pada haiwan liar dan persekitaran di pusat pemuliharaan ex situ

Leptospirosis ialah penyakit berjangkit yang disebabkan oleh bakteria Leptospira yang boleh menjangkiti manusia dan haiwan. Kajian ini dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti jangkitan leptospirosis yang berkitar antara orang utan, roden dan persekitaran di Pulau Orang Utan Bukit Merah (BMOUI) dan Zoo Taiping, Perak. Sampel haiwan serta persekitaran yang diperoleh dari kedua-dua kawasan kajian diinokulasi dalam media Ellinghausen-Mccullough�Johnson-Harris (EMJH) untuk pengkulturan Leptospira. Pengesanan dan pencirian mudah spesies Leptospira melalui PCR dilakukan ke atas kultur serta sampel haiwan yang positif. Pencirian spesies yang lebih mendalam sehingga peringkat serovar menggunakan penjenisan jujukan multi-lokus (MLST) hanya dilakukan ke atas kultur patogenik sahaja. Sebanyak 8/14 kultur daripada sampel persekitaran BMOUI merupakan spesies saprofitik (L. yanagawae, L. meyeri dan L. idonii), 4/14 adalah spesies perantaraan (L. wolffii) dan 2/14 (dilabel sebagai ‘Soil2’ dan ‘BJ3 soil’) adalah spesies patogenik. Hasil MLST menunjukkan kultur ‘Soil2’ telah dikenal pasti sebagai L. interrogans serovar Lai Langkawi dengan nilai penjenisan jujukan, ST: 236. ‘BJ3 soil’ pula telah diberikan profil alel baharu yang menjana nilai ST baharu iaitu 262 di bawah spesies L. kmetyi. Kesemua 15/15 kultur daripada sampel persekitaran Zoo Taiping merupakan spesies saprofit (L. yanagawae dan L. meyeri). Leptospira yang dikesan secara langsung dalam sampel orang utan dan tikus dari BMOUI berkait rapat dengan spesies L. wolffii. Sampel orang utan dari Zoo Taiping pula berkait rapat dengan spesies L. kmetyi dan L. wolffii. Kajian ini berjaya membuktikan bahawa berlakunya transmisi leptospirosis di BMOUI dan Zoo Taiping yang sememangnya amat penting dalam menambahbaik strategi pencegahan penyakit ini sekaligus membantu dalam usaha pemuliharaan orang utan

Genetic Identification of Critically Endangered Orangutans in Captivity

A large numerals of the orangutans’ genetic status in captivity is unknown to its exact, thus complicates the translocation process to their true natural habitat. A study was carried out to identify 37 captive orangutans in Peninsular Malaysia at the species and subspecies level using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) displacement loop (D-loop) region DNA sequences. Orangutan genetic samples were provided by the Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island (BMOUI), Zoo Negara, Zoo Taiping and the A’ Famosa. Total genomic DNA was extracted from both fecal and blood samples. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using specific primers for the orang utan. Data analyses were carried out using distance and character based approaches, namely the neighbor joining (NJ), maximum parsimony (MP), and Bayesian techniques. About 8 individuals were identified as Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, 20 as P. p. morio, 5 as P. p. wurmbii, and 4 as P. abelii. All samples were successfully identified with high probabilities. The results obtained in this study contributes to improve the understanding of captive orangutans’ genetic identification, and indirectly, a guide to the authorities in developing plans for the management in captivity and conservation of primates in Malaysia using molecular dat

Short Communication : Effectiveness of nuclear gene in species and subspecies determination of captive orangutans

Abdul-Manan MN, Mohd-Ridwan AR, Aifat NR, Osman NA, Abdul-Latiff MA, Dharmalingam S, Md-Zain BM. 2020. Short Communication: Effectiveness of nuclear gene in species and subspecies determination of captive orangutans. Biodiversitas 21: 3665- 3669. Genetic identification of captive orangutans is of paramount importance in providing a correct identity that is essential for captive management. Thus, the utility of nuclear DNA sequences was tested in this study to identify the genetic identity of captive orangutans at Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island. Out of 24 DNA samples that were successfully extracted, only 10 orangutan samples were successfully sequenced for the von Willebrand factor (vWF) gene. From the results, this gene was able to separate the genus Pongo at the species level. Distance and character analyses indicated that a clear separation between P. pygmaeus and P. abelii at the species level. However, the degree of separation at species level was indicated in tree topology with moderate bootstrap values. At the subspecies level of P. pygmaeus, this gene was unable to show a clear separation between three Bornean subspecies. All the subspecies were formed clade together with each other. The vMF gene is a good nuclear gene for the study of phylogenetic relationships of orangutans in captivity at the species level, but the genetic identification at subspecies level in the genus level remains unclear. We suggest that future studies should involve multiple independent nuclear markers to increase the probability of getting reliable results