Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

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Summary

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• Yellow-cheeked crested gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) are present in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It has been estimated that 149 (CI: 15-273) groups occur in the site.
• The gibbon population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 2,225 km².
• Key threats to gibbon are gold mining and logging.
• Conservation activities are not documented.

Site characteristics

Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary (PPWS) is located in the west of Mondulkiri Province, northeastern Cambodia. The site was first designated as a forest reserve by King Sihanouk in 1962 to protect the wild bovine species, Kouprey Bos sauveli. In 1993 the site was designated as a wildlife sanctuary (Channa & Gray 2009). PPWS covers 2,225, more than 15% of the total area of Mondulkiri province. The area is characterised by higher elevation and relief in the southeastern Laoka Hills portion, and lowlands in most of the sanctuary (Channa & Gray 2009). The forest in PPWS is part of one of the largest relatively pristine landscapes in mainland Southeast Asia, comprising a mosaic of dry dipterocarp forest and woodland, evergreen forest and semi-evergreen forest (Channa & Gray 2009). Although the flora and fauna of PPWS have not been adequately studied the site appears to contain populations of a number of species of global conservation concern, including Banteng Bos javanicus, Jungle Cat Felis chaus, Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea and White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davi- soni, Gyps vulture spp. and Siamese Crocodile Crocodylus siamensis (Channa & Gray 2009). An unknown number of Indochinese Tiger Panthera tigris corbetti are also present at the site (Channa & Gray 2009).

Table 1. Basic site information for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Species	Nomascus gabriellae
Area	2,225 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 12.758251 , Lon: 106.865597
Type of site	Protected area (Wildlife Sanctuary)
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical dry forest
Type of governance

Types of sites Governance types Habitat types

Ape status

Based on a survey in 2008, 149 (95% CI range: 15-273) gibbon groups inhabit PPWS. This includes 89 groups in semi-evergreen forest; 18 groups in riparian semi-evergreen forest; 36 groups in evergreen forest and 6 groups in riparian evergreen forests (Channa & Gray 2009). Assuming an average group size of 4 individuals and ignoring non-mated individuals, the population estimate for the site is approximately 600 individuals (Channa & Gray 2009).

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Species	Year	Total number groups (95% CI)	Density ​​[groups/km²​] (95% CI)	Total number indiv. (95% CI)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Nomascus gabriellae	2008	0.12-0.19	149 (15-273)		Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, entire area	Fixed point triangulation	Channa & Gray 2009

Sampling methods Analytical frameworks

Threats

Key threats to yellow-cheeked crested gibbons within PPWS appear to be habitat loss and degradation caused by legal and illegal extractive activities, primarily gold mining and selective logging (Channa & Gray 2009). In addition, habitat degradation associated with gold mining includes harvesting of wood, for fuel in mineral processing and for the construction of stairs and supports for underground mines (Channa et al. 2009). Survey teams in 2008 recorded evidence of illegal logging and associated infrastructure in the reserve. Most loggers appeared to be from outside Mondulkiri, and targeted Afzelia xylocarpa, a globally threatened and valuable tree species (Channa et al. 2009).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1 Residential & commercial development	1.1 Residential areas	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Semi-permanent settlement within the boundaries of the site including temples, schools and karaoke parlours developed adjacent to a gold mine (Channa & Gray 2009).	Ongoing (2009)
3 Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Gold mining and associated activities, e.g., wood harvesting and illegal settlement (Channa & Gray 2009).	Ongoing (2009)
5 Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High (more than 70% of population affected)	Selective logging and harvesting wood for fuel and construction material (Channa & Gray 2009).	Ongoing (2009)

Threats

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities reported for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Specific activity	Description	Implementing organization(s)	Year of activity
5 Protection & restoration	5.2 Legally protect ape habitat	The site is designated as a wildlife reserve (Channa & Gray 2009).		Ongoing (2009)

Conservation activities

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
	Not reported

Challenges

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Enablers

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary

Category	Behavior	Observation type	Prevalence	Observation dates	Source	Habituation	Species	Comment
	Not reported

Behaviours

References

Channa, P., & Gray, T. (2009). The status and habitat of yellow-cheeked crested gibbon Nomascus gabriellae in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Mondulkiri. Phnom Penh: WWF Greater Mekong-Cambodia Country Programme.

Gray, M., McNeilage, A., Fawcett, K., Robbins, M. M., Ssebide, B., Mbula, D., & Uwingeli, P. (2009). Censusing the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes: Complete sweep method versus monitoring. African Journal of Ecology, 48(3), 588–599. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2009.01142.x

Page created by: APES Atlas Team Date: 2022-01-21