Newinsights into Sulawesi's apex predator: the Sulawesi civet Macrogalidia musschenbroekii


IWAN HUNOWU,ALFONS PA TANDUNG,WUL A N P US PAR I NI ,I SABEL DAN ISME N D ANDI CAHY A NA ,S YA H R I L ABDULLAH,CASPIAN L. JOHNSO N,HAR RY HIL SE R RIV O RAHA S I A ,J EN L Y GAWI N A and MATTHEW L IN KI E


Abstract The Sulawesi civetMacrogalidiamusschenbroekii is endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where it is the largest mammalian predator. Limited field data means that little is known about the species’ distribution, habitat prefer- ences, conservation status and needs, but it is believed to de- pend on primary forest.We conducted camera-trap surveys across the forests of North Sulawesi, including in two of its main protected areas: Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park and Tangkoko Nature Reserve. From 148 camera trap stations and 10,371 trap nights, Sulawesi civets were recorded 17 times at 12 stations, and in almost equal numbers in pri- mary forest, secondary forest and farmland, including the first photographic records from both the National Park and Nature Reserve. We also collected data on the Malay civet Viverra tangalunga, an introduced species of Viverridae and potential competitor. Our records (n = 21) revealed that it is established in secondary forest; it only co-occurred twice with the Sulawesi civet.With a lapse of .20 years since the last field record of the Sulawesi civet, our findings offer new insight into its status and new enthusiasm within the pro- vincial government for its conservation, which has led to an extension of camera-trap research into neighbouring Gorontalo province.


Keywords Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, camera traps, Macrogalidia musschenbroekii, small carnivore, Sulawesi civet, Tangkoko Nature Reserve, Viverridae, Wallacea


he Indonesian island of Sulawesi, located in the Wallacea biodiversity hotspot, has exceptionally high levels of endemism. For example, 62% of its 127 species of


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IWAN HUNOWU,ALFONS PATANDUNG,WULAN PUSPARINI (Corresponding author), ANDI CAHYANA and MATTHEW LINKIE Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, 16151, Indonesia. E-mail wpusparini@wcs.org


ISABEL DANISMEND Dobbs Ferry High School, Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA


SYAHRIL ABDULLAH Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, North Sulawesi, Indonesia


CASPIAN L. JOHNSON,HARRY HILSER and RIVO RAHASIA Selamatkan Yaki, North Sulawesi, Indonesia


RIVO RAHASIA and JENLY GAWINA Balai Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam, North Sulawesi, Indonesia


Received 24 December 2018. Revision requested 12 February 2019. Accepted 11 June 2019. First published online 17 December 2019.


mammal are endemic (Whitten et al., 1987). This includes several ground-dwelling endemic ungulates: the babirusa Babyrousa celebensis, Sulawesi warty pig Sus celebensis,and anoas Bubalus depressicornis and Bubalus quarlesi.Yet despite this potentially rich prey base, the island’sapexmammalian predator is the native Sulawesi civet Macrogalidia musschen- broekii,weighingonly 4–6 kg. Excluding feral dogs and cats, the other mammalian carnivore species known fromSulawesi are the Malay civet Viverra tangalunga and common palm civet Paradoxurus hermaphrodites, both introduced to the island in the 19th century. The latter is rare on the island andmay notbefully established(Wemmer&Watling, 1986; Veron, 2001; Veron et al., 2014). The Sulawesi civet is a little known carnivore species


named in 1877 when a specimen was brought to Leiden Museum, Netherlands (Wemmer & Watling, 1986; Veron, 2001). It was nearly a century later, however, before studies on captured individuals, from central Sulawesi, provided the first insights into its behaviour and diet, which include rodents and fruit (e.g. Arenga and Pandanus), and indicated a preference for primary forest (Wemmer & Watling, 1986). The Sulawesi civet is categorized as Vulnerable on the


IUCN Red List because of a presumed population decline, precipitated by loss of primary forest (Tasirin et al., 2015). There are, however, no recent and reliable population data, as reflected by the patchy IUCN species range map that depicts four unconnected distribution polygons in various parts of the island, probably a reflection of the low sampling effort for this species. Whether this civet is able to survive outside primary forest is unknown because of the lowsurvey effort in other potential habitat types, a matter that applies to most of Sulawesi’s mammals. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted camera-trap surveys to investigate mam- malian assemblages across North Sulawesi province, focus- ing on the province’s two main protected areas (Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park, formerly known as Dumo- ga Bone National Park, and Tangkoko Nature Reserve), and potentially suitable habitat in areas between them. One of our aims was to determine the presence and habitat preferences of the Sulawesi civet across its North Sulawesi range. Survey data from the National Park buffer zone were also collected, to inform a local NGO partner’s land purchase scheme, which aims to secure unprotected biodiversity-rich forest corridors, for which the Sulawesi civet is one of several priority species.


Oryx, 2020, 54(6), 878–881 © 2019 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319000723


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