Tanjung Puting

Tanjung Puting National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Vegetation at Sekonyer river.
Tanjung Puting National Park in Borneo
Location	West Kotawaringin Regency, Kalimantan, Indonesia
Nearest city	Pangkalan Bun
Coordinates	2°56′07″S 112°02′25″E / 2.9353°S 112.0402°E / -2.9353; 112.0402Coordinates: 2°56′07″S 112°02′25″E / 2.9353°S 112.0402°E / -2.9353; 112.0402
Area	4,150 km² (1,600 sq mi)^[1]
Established	1982 (1982)
Visitors	2,046 (in 2007^[2])
Governing body	Ministry of Forestry

Tanjung Puting National Park is a national park in Indonesia located in the southeast part of West Kotawaringin Regency in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan (Central Borneo). The nearest main town is the capital of the Regency, Pangkalan Bun. The park is famous for its orangutan conservation.

Geography

The park is composed of 416,040 hectares of dryland dipterocarp forest, peat swampforest, heath forest, mangrove and coastal beach forest, and secondary forest.^[3]

Despite being a protected national park, approximately 65% of the park's primary forest is degraded. It is the loss of natural habitat that is the greatest threat to the wildlife. Friends of National Parks Foundation is an Indonesian NGO that has been working to restore the habitat in the Pasalat and Beguruh regions of the park since 1997. It also operates a conservation education centre in Pasalat.

Four research centers have been established within the park for the study and rehabilitation of orangutans and other primates. Camp Leakey, founded in 1971 with assistance from the Leakey Foundation, was the first of these centers. It was here where Dr. Birute Galdikas began her career studying the behavior of rescued and orphaned orangutans that were reintroduced into the wild. Her research was highlighted as the cover article of National Geographic in October 1975. Dr. Galdikas is now considered one of the world’s leading experts on orangutan behaviour and is the founder and president of the Orangutan Foundation International.

Ecology

The park was set aside in the 1930s by the Dutch colonial government for the protection of the orangutans and proboscis monkey, and was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1977 and a national park in 1982.

In addition to orangutans and proboscis monkeys, the park is also home to gibbons, macaques, clouded leopards, sun bears, wild boars, porcupines, and sambar deer. The park also features many reptiles, including crocodiles, monitor lizards, and pythons, birds, including hornbills and kingfishers, and insects, such as the giant Bornean butterfly. The Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station was established in 2005 for the study of all wild species found in the park.^[4]

Today Tanjung Puting National Park is a popular ecotourism destination, with many local tour companies offering multi-day boat tours to view wildlife and visit the research centers. The park was home to 105,000 people as of 1997.^[3] The park was heavily damaged by fires in 1997 and 1998, and today remains threatened by illegal logging, illegal mining, and forest clearing for agricultural uses.

Conservation efforts by Indonesian NGO Friends of the National Parks Foundation is leading towards a slow but progressive reforestation of damaged areas. Their reforestation work has seen the planting of thousands of saplings in the area to recreate habitat for the endemic wildlife in the area.

Gallery

Male orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) at Camp Leakey rehabilitation center
Bearded pig (Sus barbatus) endemic to the Philippines, Sumatra and Borneo
Female proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus)
Bornean white-bearded gibbon (Hylobates albibarbis), endemic to the south of Borneo
Pitcher plant (Nepenthes ampullaria)

References

↑ "Tanjung Puting National Park". WCMC. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
↑ Forestry statistics of Indonesia 2007, retrieved 20 May 2010
1 2 http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?mode=all&code=INS+04
↑ Orangutan Foundation http://www.orangutan.org.uk/research/pondok-ambung

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tanjung Puting National Park.

Tourist attractions in Indonesia

Sumatra	Ampera Bridge Baiturrahman Grand Mosque Barelang Bridge Bintan Island Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park Gunongan Historical Park Jam Gadang Kerinci Seblat National Park Krakatoa Lagundri Bay Lake Maninjau Lake Singkarak Lake Toba Lumbini Natural Park Maimun Palace Mentawai Islands Regency Nias Pagaruyung Palace Penyengat Island Sipura Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra

Java	Ancol Dreamland Anyer Arjuno-Welirang Batu City Bogor Palace Borobudur Cukang Taneuh Dieng Volcanic Complex Ceto Temple G-Land Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park Ijen Crater Istiqlal Mosque Karimunjawa National Park Kawah Putih Keraton Kasepuhan Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Malang Mount Bromo Mount Merapi Mount Semeru Mrapen Pangandaran Patenggang Lake Pelabuhan Ratu Penataran Prambanan Puncak Ragunan Zoo Sangiran Suramadu Bridge Taman Mini Indonesia Indah Tangkuban Perahu Thousand Islands Tirto Samodra Beach Tretes Trowulan Yogyakarta City Ujung Kulon National Park

Kalimantan	Betung Kerihun National Park Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park Danau Sentarum National Park Derawan Islands Kakaban Kutai National Park Sabangau National Park Samboja Lestari Tanjung Puting The Equator monument

Sulawesi	Bantimurung – Bulusaraung National Park Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park Bunaken National Park Kepulauan Togean National Park Lake Tempe Lore Lindu National Park Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park Taka Bone Rate National Park Toraja Trans Studio Makassar Wakatobi National Park

Lesser Sunda Islands	Awang Bay Bedugul Bali Bird Park Bali Safari and Marine Park Canggu Cempi Bay Dreamland Beach Garuda Wisnu Kencana Gili Air Gili Meno Gili Trawangan Goa Gajah Gunung Rinjani National Park Jimbaran Kelimutu Kintamani Komodo National Park Kuta Lake Segara Anak Lovina Beach Mount Rinjani Mount Tambora Moyo Island Nusa Dua Nusa Lembongan Pecatu Rinca Sanur Seminyak Senggigi Tampaksiring Tanah Lot Tanjung Ringgit Tirta Gangga Ubud Ujung Water Palace Uluwatu

Maluku and Papua	Fort Belgica Lorentz National Park Puncak Jaya Raja Ampat Islands Teluk Cenderawasih National Park Wasur National Park

National parks of Indonesia

Bali and Nusa Tenggara	Bali Barat Gunung Rinjani Kelimutu Komodo Laiwangi Wanggameti Manupeu Tanah Daru

Java	Alas Purwo Baluran Bromo Tengger Semeru Gunung Ciremai Gunung Gede Pangrango Gunung Halimun Gunung Merapi Gunung Merbabu Karimunjawa Kepulauan Seribu Meru Betiri Ujung Kulon

Kalimantan	Betung Kerihun Bukit Baka Bukit Raya Danau Sentarum Gunung Palung Kayan Mentarang Kutai Sabangau Tanjung Puting

Maluku and Papua	Aketajawe-Lolobata Lorentz Manusela Teluk Cenderawasih Wasur

Sulawesi	Bantimurung-Bulusaraung Bogani Nani Wartabone Bunaken Kepulauan Togean Lore Lindu Rawa Aopa Watumohai Taka Bone Rate Wakatobi

Sumatra	Batang Gadis Berbak Bukit Barisan Selatan Bukit Duabelas Bukit Tigapuluh Gunung Leuser Kerinci Seblat Sembilang Siberut Tesso Nilo Way Kambas

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