Gibbon Watching, an alternative eco-tour in Java

Javan Silvery Gibbon 

This week our team receiving special guest who want to see wild primates in Sokokembang forest. The guest is coming from WorldWideWeb  to find us, and interested to watch gibbon in the wild. They found our website and contact us by email, soon we arrange dates for them to do primate watching.

From the email they introduce them self from Finland, and have been back packing to Southeast Asia and want to see some Indonesian wildlife, Komodo and Javan gibbon are their list priorities. Jussi and Outi both from Finland have done asking through the emails how to do primate watching in Sokokembang. In this trip we also give an introduction that this trip is a part of conservation activities in Central Java, to promote Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch) as endangered and endemic primates. And the date come, on 11 October 2017 their visit our base in Yogyakarta, see our coffee house and drinking coffee from our shade grown habitat.

Javan gibbon habitat

Departing from Yogyakarta at afternoon, we head to Sokokembang ride our 4wd vehicle off course with many stops. Along the way chats inside the vehicle made us feel happy to know these guest. And we reach Sokokembang at 9 pm. Soon we reach Sokokembang we introduce to our Pa’e  Tasuri (Owa coffee house owner), and we ask him to guide tomorrow morning for primate watching.

Next morning, soon after coffee ritual about 6.30 we are ready to the field, boot and raincoat is provided, binocular also will help to see the primates. We have already give an introduction about primates in sokokembang, there are Javan gibbon (Hylobates moloch), Javan Langur (Trachypithecus auratus), Javan surili (Presbytis comata) and Longtailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis).

Pa'e Tasuri is guiding to watch the gibbon

There are primate watching route established in Sokokembang, using public road. From this road we can see the primates, however we have been monitor groups distribution along this route. Less than 1 hour walk first primate was detected is Javan langur. The langur is leaf eating monkeys and they living in 2-15 individuals in Sokokembang forest.  Then we are so lucky not so far from the langurs there were Gibbon hanging on the fruiting trees. The gibbon is lesser ape, doesn’t have  any tail and frugivore, their living pair with stable homerange. There are about 21 to 28 groups of gibbon found in Sokokembang forest.

meet and greet due to Javan gibbon

It was fun when we watching the gibbon, a local resident come to us and want to take photo with Jussi and Outi. We explain to the locals that these guests are wanted to see javan gibbon in the wild, far from their home, this is their motivation to visit the rainforest of Java.

drink shade grown help save the forest

Coffee-ing is another following activities, we introduce that our project is grass root level acvtivities,  to promote Javan gibbon also  to engage local community to preserve their natural resources, Owa coffee is sustainable products that meets ecology and economy problems in the Javan gibbon habitat, through this coffee we explain that shade grown coffee of Sokokembang is important for the gibbon habitat and source of income for people nearby the forest. Visiting shade grown coffee and see how the coffee is produced for local market in the Javan gibbon habitat are activities that we share to our special guest.

Thank you for your contribution Jussi and Outi.

PS: feel free, do email us at : swaraowa at gmail.com for further info about this gibbon watching trip.