Tanjung Puting National Park (TNTP) is located at the Peninsula of South West central Borneo and is a preserved area for plants and wild animals. An area of about 415 040 ha, it was firstly preserved by the Dutch Government on June 13, 1936, followed by the Forest Minister of Republic Indonesia on May 12, 1982. This park is the largest tropical rain forest in South East Asia.
The area is predominantly flat, undulating to an altitude of 0 – 100 meters above sea level. The temperature range in this region is between 22-32°C, with an average humidity of approx. 87%.
Tanjung Puting National Park (TNTP) can be reached only by boat or speedboat, via the Sekonyer River in the district of Kumai. Tanjung Puting National Park (TNTP) is one of the richest parks in Indonesia, with many rare and endangered species.
| Species | Borneo | Tanjung Puting |
|---|---|---|
| Plants | 10,000-15,000 | ± 780 Trees ± 200 Orchids |
| Birds | 420 | ± 220 species |
| Snakes + Amphibians | 266 | Several dozen |
| Mammals | 222 | 38 species |
| Primates | 13 | 9 species |
The 9 species of primates found in TNTP are:
- Orangutan
- Proboscis monkey
- Agile Gibbon monkey
- Long-tailed macaque
- Pig-tailed macaque
- Red leaf monkey
- Silvered langur monkey
- Tarsius
- Slow loris
Tanjung Puting National Park (TNTP) helps protect the remaining orangutan habitat. There are a number of key re-release sites where rescued orangutans have been returned to the wild. Tourists can visit three sites in Tanjung Puting, where ex-captive wild-living orangutans are fed. This is a wonderful opportunity to watch them up close eating, playing and interacting. The released orangutans come every day to the feeding sites in the forest except when there is abundant fruit on the forest trees.
The Proboscis monkey is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey endemic to Borneo. The distinctive trait of this monkey is the long nose, which is especially large in males (up to 10 cm), which acts as a resonating chamber to amplify the warning calls. Proboscis are dimorphic with males (up to 24 kg) much larger than females (12 kg). The male is also noted for its permanent penile erection. The proboscis has a large belly designed to digest otherwise unpalatable leaves by fermentation. It is a good swimmer and leaper and can often be seen crossing rivers. It sleeps by choice in the trees hanging over the river making sightings easy.
Besides the primates, we can also find other species like:
- Bears (honey bear and sun bear)
- Binturong
- Birds (ex. kingfisher, hornbill and storm stork)
- Civets (ex. otter and Malay)
- Crocodiles (ex. saltwater and false Ghavial)
- Deers (ex. sambar and mouse deers)
- Frogs (ex. green tree)
- Lizards (ex. common flying, green crested and monitor)
- Malayan pangolin
- Snakes (ex. reticulated Python, garden flying, equatorial spitting Cobra and painted mock Viper)
- Turtles (ex. Asiatic softshell and spiny)
- Wild cats (ex. leopard cat and flat-headed)
- Wild pig
