Sulawesi wildlife...

This large tropical tree covered island situated between Borneo and the Philippines is full of strange and wonderful animals.  Many species here are endemic to the island and are therefore vulnerable to extinction with any losses of habitat or human disturbance.

Travel around the island can be slow, and information can be hard to get due to the low numbers of English speaking residents.  I was fortunate to have an Indonesian guide that I met there in 2004, and he in turn knew of another guide who could point me to many interesting species and locations.  These photos are a tribute to my guides.

Bear cuscus on the last tree  Ailurops ursinus

An endangered slow moving animal whose close relative is the Koala.  Little is known about this animal yet many are killed for bush meat every year.  As the trees vanish it is forced to come into contact more and more with humans. Doesn't this one look marooned on the last tree?

Red knobbed hornbill    Aceros cassidix

This bird has to be one of my favourites - full of character, colourful and exotic.  Not easy to find or photograph but a real joy if you're lucky.

Click the on the image to see more hornbill photos and other Sulawesi Birds.

Bird eating spider or tarantula

Discovered on a research transect one morning.  They live in holes in trees and may appear if the tree is tapped.  Unlike the pet tarantula, this species is aggressive.

Spectral tarsier      Tarsius spectrum

Cute! Allegedly a primate, the smallest in the world.  Photographed on Buton Island.

Click the on the image to see more tarsier photos.

Sulawesi macaques

Seven species of macaque inhabit Sulawesi.

Click the on the image to see some macaque photos.

Anoa 02

Anoa    Bubalus depressicornis

A very  shy and elusive cow confined to undisturbed areas of rainforest.  This animal took a long time to find!!

Click the on the image to see more Anoa photos.

Babirusa    Babyrousa babyrussa

Ugly!  Many species of wild pig occurs throughout Asia, but perhaps the most famous is the Babirusa.  A stronghold of these animals is near Gorontalo in northern Sulawesi.

My guide Freddy - always out in front!  The man who started research of the island's macaques, and the first person to habituate both the Buton and Crested Macaque so that subsequent scientists could further their own research.

 The mildly venomous Keelback Snake with conservation volunteers.  The guide spotted this snake, or someone may have walked into it!

SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM SULAWESI HERE

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