Dutch Researchers Amazed by the Bekantan's Natural Habitat on Curiak Island

SOUTH KALIMANTAN - Curiak Island, an island outside the conservation area managed by the Indonesian Bekantan Friends Foundation (SBI), welcomed a guest, a researcher from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands, named Dr. Corina van Middelaar.

She came to Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan, to study the life of the Bekantans there. She was deeply impressed by her findings on the island.

"It's amazing to see the Bekantans, watching them jump from tree to tree, especially the strongest and largest males. It's very impressive, truly amazing," said SBI Foundation Founder Dr. Amalia Rezeki, translating Corina's admiration for the Bekantans on Curiak Island, as quoted by ANTARA on Sunday, August 24.

Corina, accompanied by Amalia Rezeki and the SBI team, explored the greenbelt area of ​​the Curiak Island Bekantan Research Station.

The natural atmosphere of the rambai mangrove forest (Sonneratia caseolaris), accompanied by the chirping of various wetland birds, enhances the charm of this area, which is now part of the Meratus UNESCO Global Geopark.

Corina was suddenly startled by the call of the alpha male Bekantan from the Bravo group gathered at the Observation Tower.

Corina, who had traveled all the way from the Land of Windmills to South Kalimantan to see Bekantans in the wild, was amazed by the behavior of these large, old-world monkeys, whose conservation status is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

She also advised Amalia Rezeki, a Conservation Biologist from Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM), to continue her extraordinary work in conserving this rare and endemic monkey from Kalimantan.

During her visit to the Bekantan Research Station, Corina also learned about the rambai mangrove restoration program implemented by SBI in collaboration with the local community.

She also participated in planting rambai mangrove seedlings, a tradition for every special interest tourist visit to Curiak Island.

Corina arrived at the Bekantan Research Station accompanied by her Indonesian partner, Ir. Tri Satya Mastuti Widi, Ph.D., IPM., ASEAN Eng., from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

Tri Satya also introduced the Bekantan to the Netherlands during a discussion about Bekantan research at the Curiak Island Bekantan Research Station.

Amalia Rezeki expressed her gratitude for the visit by Corina, accompanied by her family.

She hopes that in the future, communication can be strengthened and collaborations can be established in both research and conservation.

Corina van Middelaar is a researcher specializing in animal production systems, dairy farming, environmental analysis, sustainable farming, greenhouse gas emissions, and water footprints.

Wageningen University & Research (WUR), where he serves as an academic, is a leading public research university in Wageningen, the Netherlands, specializing in life sciences and natural resources, particularly in the fields of agriculture, forestry, food, and the environment.

The university is recognized as a global research hub for food and agricultural sciences and holds a top global ranking in the field according to the QS World University Rankings.