12th report – February/March 2016 – Memorandum of understanding

with BBKSDA North Sumatra and first confiscated slow lorises

February and March can be considered very successful and active months. We signed an Memorandum of

Understanding with the governmental agency BBKSDA North Sumatra that includes several points about

our cooperation on progress in improvement of the current situation of the illegal trade in slow lorises in

Sumatra. We also confiscated and accepted the first slow lorises, we gained a grant on educational

activities from The Rufford Foundation, and many more. Here is a summary of the most important events

of the last two months, also with many photographs.

Cooperation with local governmental agency on enforcement of laws for slow loris

protection

On March 8th, our non-profit organization Indonesian Species Conservation Program (ISCP) on behalf of

the executive director Rudianto Sembiring officially signed an agreement on cooperation on enforcement

of laws for slow loris protection with the local governmental agency BBKSDA North Sumatra (The

Natural Resources Conservation Agency). This agreement includes an authorization for The Kukang

Rescue Program to:

rescue, rehabilitate and release Greater slow lorises

monitor released and wild Greater slow lorises

cooperate with Indonesian authorities on better enforcement of laws against the illegal trade in

Greater slow lorises

organize awareness-raising and educational events

build an Indonesian team that will deal with most of the conservation activities related to slow

lorises

Signing of the agreement on cooperation with BBKSDA North Sumatra

Confiscation and the first slow lorises in our centre

Immediately after the completion of all necessary documents, our centre received the first slow lorises.

Currently, there are four individuals in the centre. Two of them got to the centre thanks to the educational

activities after they had been kept in a small bird cage in front of a farmers´ house for several years. We

received one of the lorises from BBKSDA North Sumatra (The Natural Resources Conservation Agency)

after its former owner gave it voluntarily to the agency. The last slow loris was confiscated directly by

The Kukang Rescue Program team together with BBKSDA North Sumatra, concretely with their SPORC

unit (Forest Police Rapid Response Unit), and with a non-profit organization The Scorpion Foundation in

the Balige city near the Toba lake, a popular tourist destination. The confiscated mother with her young

had been kept in front of a café of their former owner who had been offering them for sale. The lorises

had been fed very unsuitable diet consisting for example of fried bananas, sweet palm milk (used to make

palm wine), so called “tuak nira“, and sweet tea. Both confiscated slow lorises were in bad condition, and

especially the young, named Bulan (“moon“ in Indonesian language) by its former owners, was already in

critical state. Despite maximum efforts of our rescue team, this baby died soon after its confiscation.

Autopsy showed that the young had been in really critical physical condition, had hepatitis and ulcers in

the intestine. Long-term stress, conditions in which they were kept, and a very poor diet were evaluated as

the causes of this condition.

It is not unusual that people buying slow lorises do not have any idea about their natural diet and

physiology. In such conditions, animals taken from the wild sooner or later die. Young animals are even

more vulnerable to these conditions than adults, and in most cases they die after their trapping.

All four slow lorises have been moved to the quarantine where their rehabilitation process begins. In an

ideal case, this rehabilitation process will end with their release back into the wild.

Gerhana´s home for last two years

The Kukang Rescue team, SPORC members and The Scorpion

Foundation during confiscation of slow lorises in the Balige city Confiscation of the baby „Bulan“

Mother and her apathetic young before confiscation

Janička´s dental examination

Rescue and rehabilitation centre in Sumatra

Because our awareness-raising activities have considerably expanded, The Kukang Rescue Program has

had a new coordinator of awareness-raising activities since February and her name is Novithasari Bangun.

Main purpose of her work is organization of lectures at local schools, awareness-raising events at public

places, also coordination of the anti-conflict team and other activities. Novi is communicative, enjoys

working with people, understands the mentality of people living in our targeted locations and has

participated for several years in ISCP in children education with focus on nature conservation.

Novi, the coordinator of awareness-raising events

Majda in the quarantine

Raising awareness about the illegal trade in animals and protection of slow lorises

We have managed to receive again a grant from The Rufford Foundation from England. The grant was

written for the purpose of educational activities which are much needed in Sumatra. The grant title is:

Conservation action plan to raise awareness about the illegal trade in Nycticebus spp. in the North

Sumatra province. Purpose of our educational activities for this year are mainly lectures at schools near

the rescue and rehabilitation centre, awareness-raising events at public places, work with farmers living

on the border with forests, and construction of the first part of the educational part of our rescue centre.

Included is also training of Indonesian employees and seminar at BBKSDA North Sumatra in Medan,

which will aim to strengthen relationships and set up further plan on enforcement of laws for slow loris

protection.

With regard to the support received by The Rufford Foundation, we immediately started developing our

plans. Novi organized several more expeditions of the anti-conflict team. In February and March, we

visited a few localities where farmers live and work directly on the border of a protected area. Farms of

these people are often visited by wild animals destroying their farm crops. The goal of the anti-conflict

team is to prevent conflicts between farmers, slow lorises and other wild animals. In last two months, our

team visited the Berastagi area, specifically Tongkoh area, known as an agricultural locality. The team

further focused on a village of Kuta Male bordering the protected area of the Gunung Leuser ecosystem,

and visited also an area neighbouring with protected Cagar Alam forest near the rescue and rehabilitation

centre. In all the cases, we gained support of local mayors. In Rajah Berneh, we and its mayor even

placed an informative sign about the illegality of hunting protected animal species. This sign also points

to possible sanctions for violation of this law and is located in a strategic place where endangered species

such as slow lorises, pangolins, hornbills and more are often hunted. The same sign has been also placed

at the entrance to our rescue and rehabilitation centre.

Discussion with farmers in Rajah Berneh about

their problems with wild animals Terka explaining to the children of farmers what

a slow loris is

Kaban and Odi filling out questionnaires with

a farmer in Kuta Male

English class for children in Kuta Male

In February, a group called ABUN (Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature) started to support The Kukang

Rescue Program by its artwork, with focus on the "I Am Not Your Toy!" campaign.

ABUN is a group of artists from the whole world under the leadership of Kitty Harvill and her husband

Christoph Hrdina. This group draws pictures using various techniques in order to support projects focused

on protection of endangered species and their natural environment. These pictures are created according

to photos provided by the projects. Their amazing artwork will be perfect educational tool of the

"I Am Not Your Toy!" campaign and of other materials that we are about to gradually create and publish.

Placement of informative sign near the famous

Sibayak volcano

Novi, Markéta and Jitka with a farmer in Kuta Male

who has just joined „slow loris defenders“

Original photograph taken by Lucie Čižmářová and a drawing made by ABUN group

member Marion Schön

The Kukang Rescue Program has also gained support of the new campaign called “Neotáčej se zády“.

This campaign is led by Alena Skálová with help of server www.mameradizvirata.com. The goal is to

support Czech-Indonesian projects focused on conservation of nature in Indonesia. The Kukang Rescue

Program has been supported in form of raising awareness and sale of promotional items on the topic of

destruction of tropical rainforests. Part of the gained financial resources will be donated to the

conservation of slow lorises in Sumatra.

Publicity

In recent two months, our project appeared also in several articles on the internet or at the traveling

exhibition of the Ostrava Zoo at chosen Czech train stations.

Journals like Moravskoslezský, Bruntálský and Krnovský, Karvinský and Havířovský, Novojičínský,

Opavský and Hlučínský, and Frýdecko-Místecký and Třinecký together with the Ostrava Zoo have issued

an article about protection of slow lorises and the "I Am Not Your Toy!" campaign. You can find the

whole article for example here:

http://moravskoslezsky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/ostravska-zoo-bojuje-proti-nelegalnimu-obchodu-s-

outloni-20160301.html

From April to July, you have the opportunity to see a traveling exhibition at four chosen train stations in

the Moravian-Silesian Region informing about conservation projects in which the Ostrava Zoo has

participated. The Kukang Rescue Program is not missing there. You can find more information here:

http://www.cd.cz/zazitky/kam-na-vylet/1475-jak-ostravska-zoo-pomaha-chranit-zvirata

Thanks to the travellers from the well-known group “Trabantem napříč kontinenty“ (“In trabant across

the continents“) led by Dan Přibáň, you could read about the problems of slow lorises and about our

rescue program on the ekolist.cz or autoperiskop.cz servers. The filmmakers have cooperated with the

Coalition against palm oil and called for the support of the Greater slow loris protection. Complete

articles can be found here:

http://ekolist.cz/cz/zpravodajstvi/zpravy/cestovatele-v-trabantech-podporili-zachranu-outlonu-roztomile-

primaty-ohrozuje-vysadba-palem-olejnych

http://autoperiskop.cz/do-ceskych-kin-vstupuje-film-dana-pribane-trabantem-do-posledniho-dechu-o-

doposud-nejnarocnejsi-pulrocni-expedici-tohoto-cestovatele/

Shortly after the confiscation of the slow lorises in the Balige city, our rescue and rehabilitation centre

was visited by successful Indonesian photographer Albert Ivan Santoso Damanik. During a veterinary

examination of the confiscated female, he took a series of photographs. Theguardian.com and Italian

server quotidiano.net have already published short articles based on those photos. Complete articles can

be found here:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2016/apr/01/the-week-in-wildlife-in-pictures

http://www.quotidiano.net/animali/foto/animali-loris-1.2015295

In conclusion

Finally, we would like to thank Eva Vozabulová, her helpers, restaurant Pod Vobrazem in Kladno, and

Šroub and Jarda, Nemístné návrhy a Pyré bands for „Beneficial concert for slow lorises“, that took place

on February 6th in the Pod Vobrazem restaurant in Kladno. Our thanks belong also to Denisa Mikešová

and the city of Český Dub for „Rainforest film festival“ that took place on Saturday March 12th in the

cinema in Český Dub. Thank you belongs also to NWT Energy company, Jana Kanichová, and all others,

who have been and still are financially supporting us. We also thank everyone who has done a great work

for slow loris protection in last months!

Posters of the beneficial concert and Rainforest film festival

Wozina with band at the Beneficial concert for slow lorises

František Příbrský

The Kukang Rescue Program coordinator

Field worker of Ostrava Zoo

www.kukang.org

Volunteers at the Beneficial concert for slow lorises

Opening of the Rainforest film festival

Kukang account balance

Account balance as of 31/1/2016 1,048.10 USD

Income 31/1/2016 - 31/3/2016

1,224.62 USD Ostrava Zoo – February, March

835.18 USD Olomouc Zoo – February, March

12.49 USD Dalibor Válek – February, March

208.21 USD Jana Kanichová

20.82 USD JAMIKA s.r.o. – February, March

83.28 USD Vilém Helešic - December

83.28 USD Promotional items - Eva Šlosarčíková, Lucie

Pavlačíková and Kristýna Korecová

1,137.75 USD NWT Energy

175.11 USD Rainforest Film Festival - Denisa Mikešová

12.49 USD Jiří Laufer

16.66 USD Lucie Kořítková

41.64 USD Markéta Jariabková

6,771.41 USD The Rufford Foundation

Total income 10,622.88 USD

Costs 31/1/2016 - 31/3/2016 3,016.66 USD Operational cost of the rescue and

rehabilitation centre (salaries, repairs,

equipment of the clinic and office, 17.5 kg of

an arabic gum, and other costs of the program)

- February, March

1,147.45 USD Travel costs - 2x Kuala Lumpur-Praha, 2x

Medan-Kuala Lumpur (paid by contributions of

the Ostrava Zoo and Olomouc Zoo)

160.77 USD Cost of the Memorandum of Understanding

with BBKSDA North Sumatra

200.96 USD Cost of the confiscation of the slow lorises in

Balige

386.82 USD Construction of the warehouse and purchase of

the tools

263.48 USD Awareness-raising campaign

387.65 USD Working and promotional T-shirts - Indonesia

166.57 USD Purchase of the materials for e-shop - Czech

Republic

Total costs 5,730.36 USD

Account balance as of

31/3/2016 5,940.62 USD