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Abstract: Excessive hunting pressure, due in large part to commercialization, has reduced the populations of many tropical large mammal species. Wildlife over-exploitation is severe in Indonesia, especially on Sulawesi, where human resources and funding are inadequate to monitor the wildlife trade and enforce existing protection laws. In response, the Wildlife Crimes Unit program was established in December 2001 to: (i) monitor wildlife transportation into North Sulawesi and market sales; (ii) provide legal and technical support to law enforcement agencies; and (iii) promote public awareness of wildlife and protection laws. Over a two-year period, 6963 wild mammals en route to markets were encountered (∼8 individuals h−1) and 96,586 wild mammals were documented during market surveys. The trade of some protected mammals declined significantly over this period, but overall trade in wild mammals increased by 30%. High volume of trade in non-protected animals such as the Sulawesi pig Sus celebensis and large flying foxes (Pteropodidae), raise concerns about the sustainability of current harvesting. To combat this problem, we recommend that: (1) efforts are continued to reduce trade in protected species; (2) protected status is extended to heavily traded but non-protected taxa, such as flying foxes; (3) the effects of hunting on rat and bat populations, as well as its impact on forest dynamics, are quantified; and (4) work is carried out with local communities to strengthen awareness, set sustainable limits on wild mammal harvesting, and establish practical mechanisms for enforcing these limits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Investigates the morphology, plumage and habitat of the cinnabar hawk-owl or Ninox ios from North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Characteristics of the specimen caught at Gunung Ambang Natural Reserve in North Sulawesi on November 14, 1999; Restriction of the Ninox ios to high elevation forests; Comparison of two specimens of Ninox ios and Ninox ochracea.

Focuses on the sighting of babirusas or wild pigs in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Information on babirusas; Population monitoring by the Indonesian Forestry Department; Approaches to the conservation of the babirusa.