Contemporary Hunting Practices in a Mosaic Landscape of Tropical Forests and Plantations in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

In Indonesia, the expansion of labor-intensive plantations has transformed forested landscapes into forest-plantation mosaics, altering demographics through immigration and increasing access to forest resources. Understanding current hunting practices within these socially and ecologically altered landscapes is crucial for predicting how species of conservation concern will be affected. However, there is a lack of quantitative, site-based, multi-species assessments of hunting. Our study represents the first systematic, multi-species assessment from Indonesian Borneo. We aimed to quantitatively examine the scale, motivations, and perceptions of hunting for 33 mammal and bird species. Using a structured questionnaire, we collected data from 25 active and four former Melayu hunters in villages adjacent to Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. We demonstrate that larger animals are disproportionately targeted and document how religious and cultural beliefs lead hunters to seek specific species, such as deer, chevrotains, and porcupines, among others. However, some hunters engaged in opportunistic hunting of other species, including those listed as critically endangered, for crop protection, medicinal use, and the sale of wild meat and body parts. While hunters perceived hunting as risky, legal repercussions were reported less frequently as a concern. Overall, respondents expressed intentions to stop or discourage future hunting primarily due to age-related factors and the declining populations of preferred species, particularly ungulates such as the sambar (Rusa unicolor). This decline was widely attributed to excessive hunting rather than habitat loss. Importantly, our study indicates that the sambar may be at dire risk of local extinction, underscoring the urgent need for targeted conservation measures. © The Author(s) 2025.