The population of Javan Lutung (Trachypithecus auratus) on the slopes of Mount Arjuna, Malang, East Java was decreased according to a monitoring from Protection of Forest and Fauna or Profauna. This is occur due to constriction of Lutung habitat caused by the widespread of fields and farms.
Survey by Profauna in January-July of 2014 found only four groups of Javan Lutung on East slopes of Mount Arjuna. While in the 90s can be found more than 12 groups of Javan Lutun with a number of individuals 5-10 per group. Rosek Nursahid, the Chairman of Profauna, said that the opening of agricultural fields or in forests that are in the area of Forestry Department becoming a serious problem for the conservation because Javan Lutung habitat became discontinuous.
Example of threats to the population of Lutung from the fields that are in the Bon Cembo, situated in the border of Malang and Batu located on the slopes of Mount Arjuna. This place is also directly adjacent to the conservation area Taman Hutan Raya R. Soerjo. “In this place there is one group of Javan Lutung beleaguered by fields, so that they could not move any further,” said Rosekwho ever conducted research of Javan Lutung spreading in East Java in the 1990’s.
Head of East Java BKSDA III, SunandarTrigunajasa said the current population of Javan Lutung in nature at this time is in the range of 2-3 thousand. Meanwhile, in a year Lutung’s mother just gave birth to at most two children. This population considered dangerous and vulnerable to local extinction if it is not maintained.
Javan Lutung as Indonesia endemic primate, took the status of vulnerable or vulnerable based on the IUCN’s red list. Means, this species continues to experience population decline globally, estimated more than 30% in the last 36 years. According to Indonesia primate experts, Jatna Supriatna, Ph.D through the site IUCN, the main threat of Javan Lutung population are the loss and degradation habitat because of agriculture and settlements, hunting for food and the pet trade, habitat fragmentation and small isolated populations. The main habitat of Javan Lutung is in Java, then also spread across Bali, Lombok, Sempu Island and Nusa Barung, and is also found in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Since 1999, Javan Lutung already to be included in one of the Government-protected wildlife. The protection status based on the decision of the Minister of Forestry and Plantations No. 733/Kpts-11/1999 regarding the assignment of Javan Lutung as protected wildlife. Ratih Rimayanti.