Wildlife Hunting in Kondang Iwak Beach of Malang Regency Remains High

Wildlife hunting in Kondang Iwak Beach, Donomulyo Subdistrict, Malang Regency, East Java remains high. During the patrol deployed by PROFAUNA Rangers on 7 July 2019, the team encounters three  wildlife hunters, and they believed that the number of hunter was more.

Hunters use customized air rifles and also bring along hunting dogs. The wildlife being hunted include: birds, wild boars and primates.

"When we ran into the hunter who brought along more than five dogs, we immediately rebuked him and told him that he should not hunt in the protected forest areas. Then he immediately ran away," said Erik Yanuar, one of PROFAUNA Rangers.

The forest in Kondang Iwak Beach is still in good condition inhabited by various wildlife species. PROFAUNA's monitoring of the forest area which is currently being opened for the southern crossing route, has recorded several of bird species, including Javan kingfisher (Halcyon cyanoventris), the yellow-eared barbet (Megalaima australis), the Horsfield's babbler (Malacocinda sepiarium), the oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), and the crested-serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela)

Other than birds, in the lowland forests between Kondang Merak Beach and Kondang Iwak Beach, there are also mammals such as Javan langurs (Trachypithecus auratus), long-tailed monkeys (Macaca fascicularis), slow lorises (Nycticebus sp), pangolin (Manis javanica), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and beavers (Lutrinae).

Due to the rampant wildlife hunting, PROFAUNA will keep conducting education and forest patrol regularly. We also hope that other stakeholders like the state-owned Forestry Enterprise (Perhutani) and the Board of the Natural Resource Conservation (BKSDA) would put more efforts to address the wildlife hunting issues.