Preparing Trees for Animal Food in Yang Highlands Wildlife Reserve

Protection of Forest & Fauna (PROFAUNA) is preparing seedlings of trees to be planted in and around Yang Highlands Wildlife Reserve. The trees are the kinds that can grow in high altitudes, such as the Javan plum (Syzygium cumini), Figs (Ficus spp), and Kaliandra (Caliandra calothyrsus).

The seedling preparation is done in the backyard of PROFAUNA's field office in Baderan village, Sumbermalang district, Situbondo. "Right now, we already have 200 seedlings of the Javan plum ready, but we are going to prepare a lot more," said Bahri, PROFAUNA's field officer.

The types of trees are not those of valuable hardwood, because they might be possibly get cut when they have grown large. Instead, the kinds of trees are selected because they have the ability to hold soil in place, store water, and provide food for animals.

"To prevent wild animals like the macaques to loot crops from farms, we have to plant trees that can provide food for them in the buffer zones of the reserves," explained PROFAUNA's chairman, Rosek Nursahid.