Carnivores of the Upper Baram

Carnivores can be good indicators of forest health, provided sufficient data are available.

Carnivores sit high in the food chain, and regulate populations of prey and other carnivores through predation and competition.

Carnivores in Sarawak eat many fruits as well as a range of animals. They regularly pass intact seeds in their faeces, making them important seed dispersers.

Large carnivores such as the Malayan Sun Bear and the Sunda Clouded Leopard have cascading effects on the entire forest trophic system, and Sarawak's 11 species of small carnivores play a vital role in forest regeneration.

Small carnivores

Borneo was identified as one of seven global priority areas in the 1989 Small Carnivore Action Plan.  Nevertheless, we still have very little credible, accurate and up-to-date information regarding the status of small carnivores in Borneo, particularly in Sarawak.

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (version 2009.1): four species of small carnivore found in Sarawak are listed as Endangered (EN), six are Vulnerable (VU), one is Data Deficient (DD).

We don't know what the major threats are to these animals, as unlike ungulates and primates, they are not the primary quarry of local hunters.

In particular, we want to know more about Hose's civet, which is endemic to the interior of Borneo, and may be adapted to living in montane forests. No Protected Area is known to hold a large population. The basic factors likely to determine its long-term future are entirely unknown, making specific conservation measures impossible. Its highly localised distribution implies it is a habitat specialist which perhaps may be under great threat. More research is urgent.

We also hope to shed light on the presence or absence of two other Endangered species: the endemic Bornean bay cat, one of the rarest felids in the world, and the otter civet. Reports of their occurrence within the study area date back from before logging operations were wide scale. Since then, nothing is known of them.

Survey methods

Surveys conducted by WCS in the Upper Baram since 2004 showed that camera-trapping was the best survey method for small carnivores: of 14 species recorded, 12 were detected by camera-traps, only six by line transects. Sign surveys were useful only for Malay civet, sun bear and otters.

We now intend to focus our efforts on camera-trapping with scent lures (commercially available hormonal extracts) in the Selaan-Linau Forest Management Unit (FMU) (Details of the site are here).

The FMU will be divided into a network of cells, with cameras and lures placed in a random sample of cells. Various habitat characteristics will be measured within these cells, and we hope to model the distribution of small carnivores in relation to these habitat characteristics.

Better understanding of the distribution, habitat requirements and major threats to these species will allow us to recommend more effective management strategies, and help to ensure the survival of this important group of species within the FMU.