including the Garnet pitta (Pitta granatina) which had not been recorded for this island for more than 70 years. At least 10 of the bird species recorded are globally threatened.

Some 59 species of mammals were recorded, 5 of which are globally threatened, including the Oriental small-clawed otter (Aonyx cincerea), Clouded leopard (Neofelic nebulosa), Tiger (Panthera tigris), Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), and Elephant (Elephas maximus). 98 species of fish were collected and preserved, and one of these, a Glass-perch, turned out to be new to science and has been given the name Gymnochanda limi.

BUKIT TIGAPULUH:
Boundary Rationalization

Covering some 1270 Km˛ of the Bukit Tigapuluh ("The Thirty Hills"), a massif rising steeply just south of the equator in the middle of Sumatra's eastern plain, the National Park serves several important functions. In addition to providing a safe haven for thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which are threatened by extinction or extremely rare, the Park provides vital catchment protection for several large rivers that sustain downstream agricultural communities.

The forest of the National Park and its surrounding buffer areas also provide habitat to Talang Mamak and Orang Rimba forest-dwelling tribal communities and traditional Malay peasants who live around the forest edges. All of these groups are faced with increasing marginalization as a result of rapid deforestation. The Talang Mamak and the Orang Rimba are non-Muslim tribal groups who live inside and around the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park. They are surrounded by traditional Muslim Malays who constituted the majority group in the area before the recent arrival of Javanese transmigrants. Both the Malay and the tribal people represent a living tradition of interaction with the rain forest and utilization of its resources.

In a survey of the biological resources of the Bukit Tigapuluh area, NORINDRA (Norwegian-Indonesian Rainforest and Resource Management Project) researchers observed and recorded 660 plant species, including 246 medicinal plants, that are utilized by the local population. 550 of these species were collected and preserved. Many rare and threatened non-utilized plant species were also recorded. One example is the locally named Cendawan muka rimau ("Tiger-face mushroom"), which is none other than Rafflesia hasseltii previously observed in only two locations (West Sumatra and Pulau Tioman, Malaysia). Other examples are a Betel related palm known by locals as Mapau kalui (Iguanura sp.), here encountered for the first time in Sumatra, and the highly distinctive Salo palm (Johannestejsmannia altifrons), which is on the IUCN list of threatened plants.

In NORINDRA surveys of the Bukit Tigapuluh fauna, 192 species of birds were recorded, that is almost1/3 of all bird species known from Sumatra. Breeding was confirmed of 18 species of birds not previously known to breed on Sumatra,

Further information about planned facilities and programs for visitors to the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park can be obtained from:

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