A short trip to look for the endemic mammals of Siberut Island, Sumatra
Located off the west coast of Sumatra, Siberut Island is part of the Mentawi islands and is a hotspot for endemic species. I only had 2 nights and 3 days but managed to see 7 endemics including Pig-tailed langur, Siberut langur, Golden-bellied treeshrew, Fraternal squirrel, Mentawai rat, Siberut flying squirrel, and Sipora flying squirrel. I also saw Greater short-nosed fruit bats and a very large pod of dolphins which are often seen on the ferry ride from the mainland which appear to be Pantropical spotted dolphins. I also heard (but didn’t see) Kloss’s gibbon. A couple of extra nights would have no doubt resulted in a few more of the rodents and squirrels found in the area.
I flew from my base in Kuala Lumpur direct to Padang (Sumatra). From there, its a four-hour high-speed ferry ride to Siberut (the ferry departs at 7 am and only runs on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) and then a one-hour boat ride to the remote but beautiful Toloulaggo village. I stayed in a homestay in the village with meals provided and hiked in the plantation and remnant forest within 2-3 km of the village at dawn, late afternoon, and at night. They also arranged an evening boat ride which was a good chance to get closer views of the primates.
I organized the trip through Wawan (Arif Setiawan) of Swaraowa.org which has been set up to conserve primates in Indonesia. I was accompanied by two local guides Ismael Saumanuk and Vinsensius Tateburuk (Vinsen). Vinsen has excellent spotting skills and picked up most of the animals that other mortals missed. Wawan is contactable via (WhatsApp on +6281329061732) and proved to be very responsive and Vinsen is on Instagram (radykereyvi).
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