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The Critically Endangered tamaraw Bubalus mindorensis is endemic to Mindoro Island, Philippines, and little is known of its ecology. During 2006–2011 we used community-based monitoring to examine the population status and ecology of tamaraw in the species’ core habitat of Mount Iglit–Baco National Park. Each year, for 5 consecutive days at the end of the dry season, trained local volunteers and rangers or project staff were allocated to 18 vantage points in the study area (c. 160 km2). Tamaraw were categorized as adult (> 5 years), juvenile (2–5 years) or calf (

Understanding a species’ foraging habits and preferences is fundamental to understanding its overall ecology and essential for its management and conservation. In general, large herbivores are classified as either grazers, browsers , or mixed feeders , and a species’ diet preference is related to its body mass and digestive trait syndrome. Here, we analyze feeding strategies of large herbivores in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA) as related to their body mass and digestive trait syndromes. Overall, our results are similar to patterns observed on other continents. The majority of large herbivore species in SSEA are mixed feeders. Browsers and frugivores dominate the smallest body mass classes, while bulk feeders , predominantly grazers, dominate the largest body mass classes. There is an absence of hindgut fermenters in the lower body mass classes, and an absence of ruminants in the megaherbivore class (>1000 kg). Cervids in SSEA do not get as large as Bovids, and in both Cervids and Bovids the greatest number of species are found in the smaller body mass classes. Although large herbivores in SSEA occur across a wide range of different habitat types, there are discernible habitat associations with different groups of species. While this chapter sheds light on this important facet of large herbivore ecology in the region, there remains an acute lack of data on the foraging ecology of the majority of species in SSEA.

Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) is a wild water buffalo endemic to the island of Mindoro, Philippines. It is one of the world’s critically endangered species, and only three mountainous areas have confirmed tamaraw populations. One of the habitats, Mt. Aruyan, is inhabited by hundreds number of indigenous peoples (Mangyan) who live in clusters of villages. To understand the present status of the tamaraw in Mt. Aruyan, especially human-tamaraw conflicts, we conducted a field survey by camera trap, route censuses, and interviews with the Mangyan. One adult male was identified by camera trap and some individuals were identified by signs. Tamaraw habitat and the domiciles of the Mangyan completely overlap, and slash-and-burn farming by the Mangyan has significantly reduced tamaraw habitat. Moreover, outsiders poaching with guns directly contributed to the decline of tamaraw population. These results indicate that the conservation of tamaraw in the Mt. Aruyan habitat is extremely difficult. Therefore, conservation in other habitats is considered a higher priority.

Seasonal and daily use of natural licks by sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) was examined with camera traps in the Deramakot Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. The visitation frequency by females was significantly higher in the wet season (October to March) than in the dry season (April to September) (0.277/day and 0.120/day, respectively), while that by males was not significantly different between seasons (0.190/day and 0.138/day, respectively). Our results imply that the increased female visitation frequency in the wet season reflects the peak of their physical demands (e.g., lactation). The visitation frequency in the dark period (1800 h - 0600 h) was significantly higher than that in the light period (0600 h - 1800 h) (85% and 15%, respectively). Sambar deer are generally assumed to forage at night, and the utilisation of natural licks corresponded to their foraging habits. This study suggests that, for sambar deer, natural licks are among the most important habitats not only for daily sustenance but also for reproductive support.

Activities and habitat use of lesser mouse-deer (Tragulus javanicus), a common but poorly studied ruminant native to lowland tropical forests of Southeast Asia, were investigated by full-day radiotracking and direct visual observations in the Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo. The mouse-deer was thought to be nocturnal, but diurnal distance moved per hour and behaviors observed directly in wild mouse-deer indicated that they were mainly active during the day and rested at night. Active individuals foraging or moving from shelter to shelter were mainly observed during the day, and inactive individuals resting on open forest floor were mainly observed during the night. Captive mouse-deer observed in a farm enclosure (1.5 ha in size) also showed activities similar to those observed in the forest. Radiotracking for 24 h revealed that mouse-deer significantly preferred crown-gap areas with dense undergrowth of creeping bamboo (Dinochloa) during the day but that they tended to move to the higher and drier ridge areas at night. These results indicated that mouse-deer used crown-gap areas as foraging sites and ridge areas as resting sites. Our results strongly suggest that mouse-deer use food resources in gap areas in tropical forests. Key words: activity, Borneo, gap, habitat use, home range, mouse-deer, Tragulidae, Tragulus javanicus, tropical forest

Tropical production forests, although degraded, function as refuges for large mammals in Southeast Asia (Alcala et al. 2004; Ancrenaz et al. 2005; Iskandar et al. 2006; Venter et al. 2009) because strictly protected parks are rather limited in area. For example, in Sabah, Malaysia, 47 % of total land area remained forested in 2008, of which the majority was logged-over production forests (Sabah Forestry Department 2009). Consequently, more than 60 % of orangutans living in the state are found in such degraded production forests (Ancrenaz et al. 2005), clearly suggesting the importance of production forests as a habitat to maintain viable populations of critically endangered orangutans; this is also applicable to other endangered large mammals (see Chap. 5). Therefore, management of modern production forests needs special attention to conserve viable populations of endangered mammals. Conservation strategies need to be incorporated to sustainable management planning, such as establishing conservation areas within or adjacent to the production forests (Lynam et al. 2007).