By Alison Roach

SFU PhD student Brent Loken ‘accidentally’ finds rare monkey while searching for the Bornean clouded leopard

A monkey thought for years to be extinct has been spotted in the forests of Borneo. SFU PhD student Brent Loken was part of a team working in Borneo that caught sight of this monkey, named ‘Miller’s Grizzled Langur’, in time-lapse photos. This was an unexpected outcome of a larger biodiversity study that had been organized by the local Wehea Dayak community in an effort to build up a legal case to protect their forests.

The monkey was captured on film by camera traps at a salt lick in the Wehea forest of East Kalimantan in Borneo last June. The primate was thought to have been extinct since 2004. “It’s extremely rare, and it’s incredibly cryptic; that just makes it a monkey that’s very hard to find,” said Loken. The camera traps in an area that was outside of its known geographic range also captured it. “We just demonstrated how little we know about this monkey,” said Loken.

In fact, so little is known about this species that there were no existing pictures to compare it to, and the finding had to be confirmed through other means. The main description eventually came from a museum, using only drawings. A specialist of the species also had to be contacted to confirm that it was in fact this particular species of monkey. At least one, and possibly two families were seen, with the smallest group at two individuals and the largest at 11. The fact that the Miller’s Grizzled Langur still exist and in family groups, amazed researchers.

In the past 20 years, Borneo has lost an estimated 50 per cent of its forests, due to logging, palm oil harvesting, and coal mining. According to Loken, there has also been a problem with hunting. “A lot of the animals are hunted quite extensively. This is happening to a lot of primates and other animals in this area.” The local Dayak people have been attempting to protect the area in recent years, with strict hunting laws enforced by local rangers.

This new effort to protect the forest, however, was based on biology. Loken’s team, headed by primatologist Stanislav Hota, was attempting to learn more about the forest and its inhabitants to increase awareness and the legal boundaries for the protection of the forest. Loken’s original goal was to capture images of the Bornean clouded leopard, in which he was also successful.

Loken first became involved with conservation in Borneo when he saw the palm oil plantations. “Seeing [them] against these beautiful rainforests just compelled my wife and I to action,” he said. The team he was a part of uses a mixture of conservation, science, and education in an attempt to protect these forests. Borneo has one of the highest levels of animal diversity in the world, and also one of the highest levels of animal extinction. The Miller’s Grizzled Langur is not the only species thought to be extinct.

According to Loken, the fact that there are creatures in existence that we’re not even aware of should shows us that we need to be even more careful about our impact. One of the biggest things Loken recommends we can do as Canadians is to start reading labels and learning about palm oil, since many of us aren’t even aware that it’s contributing to this destruction.

“What happens to the forests in Borneo affects us here in the northern countries. . . As we lose the tropical forest, the Arctic is warming up. We can’t not care about these areas; I believe we have a moral obligation.”