25 Oktober 2025, Pusat Penyelamatan Satwa Alobi Babel menerima kunjungan dari tim National Geographic yang dipimpin oleh Joel Sartore, fotografer satwa liar ternama dunia. Tiga anggota tim lain ikut bersama Joel, yaitu Cole Sartore, Pierre de Chabannes, dan Andrew Bryant. Tujuan kunjungan mereka adalah mendokumentasikan enam spesies dan subspesies satwa liar asli Bangka. Seluruhnya menghadapi ancaman kepunahan akibat kerusakan lingkungan dan perdagangan satwa ilegal meskipun hanya sebagian dari mereka yang telah mendapatkan status perlindungan dari negara.
Keenam satwa tersebut adalah kukang bangka (Nycticebus bancanus), mentilin atau tarsius bangka (Cephalopachus bancanus), binturong (Arctictis binturong), bajing atau tupai Prevost (Callosciurus prevostii), alap-alap tikus (Elanus caeruleus), dan sempidan biru (Lophura ignita). Binturong dan bajing memang tidak hanya ditemukan di Bangka. Mereka juga tersebar di Sumatera, Kalimantan, bahkan sampai Semenanjung Malaya. Akan tetapi, Bangka memiliki subspesies yang tidak ditemukan di lokasi lain.
sumber foto : Alobi Foundation
Dengan mendokumentasikan mereka, tim National Geographic ingin menyebarluaskan pengetahuan bahwa keanekaragaman hayati tidak berhenti di spesies semata. Setiap subspesies memiliki ciri khas. Bajing di Bangka, misalnya, memiliki corak warna yang berbeda dengan bajing di Sumatera dan Kalimantan. Ukuran binturong di Bangka pun relatif lebih kecil ketimbang binturong di Sumatera dan Kalimantan. Sementara itu, masih terdapat diskusi di kalangan akademisi mengenai apakah sempidan biru di Bangka merupakan subspesies tersendiri atau sekadar varietas dari sempidan biru di Kalimantan.
Pierre, salah satu anggota tim National Geographic, menegaskan bahwa perlindungan satwa, khususnya di Indonesia, tidak boleh hanya terbatas pada level spesies. Indonesia juga mesti memerhatikan perlindungan terhadap subspesies satwa yang berhabitat di ribuan pulau kecil di penjuru teritori negara. Ketika satu subspesies di pulau tertentu punah, maka hilang pula satu elemen keanekaragaman hayati di pulau tersebut.
Tim National Geographic lantas mengapresiasi kerja konservasi Alobi Foundation yang telah menyelamatkan, merehabilitasi, dan melepasliarkan kembali satwa-satwa endemik Bangka, baik pada level spesies maupun subspesies. Upaya ini begitu penting mengingat luas hutan Bangka yang terbatas dan semakin menyempit akibat pertambangan ilegal dan perkebunan monokultur. Perlu diketahui, PPS Air Jangkang Alobi Foundation adalah satu-satunya Pusat Penyelamatan Satwa di penjuru Sumatera dan kepulauan sekitarnya.
Bersamaan dengan kunjungan National Geographic, Alobi Foundation juga menerima kunjungan dari Rasio Ridho Sani, Deputi Bidang Pengendalian Pencemaran dan Kerusakan Lingkungan Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup (KLH). Rasio merupakan pembina Alobi Foundation. Kedatangannya merupakan agenda rutin yang bertujuan untuk membahas langkah-langkah konservasi ke depannya dalam rangka melestarikan satwa liar Bangka Belitung. Perlu diketahui, Rasio sebelumnya menjabat sebagai Direktur Jenderal Penegakan Hukum (GAKKUM) Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan (sekarang Kementerian Kehutanan) periode 2015 – 2025. Alobi Foundation dan GAKKUM menjalin hubungan kolaboratif yang erat lewat proses penitipan dan perawatan satwa-satwa sitaan dari aksi penegakan hukum.
#alobifoundation#bangkabelitung#nationalgeographic#wildlife
English Version
“Visit of National Geographic and the Deputy for Pollution and Environmental Damage Control, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, to the Jangkang Aquatic Wildlife Rescue Center, Alobi Foundation”
On October 25, 2025, Alobi Foundation’s Air Jangkang Wildlife Rescue Center received a visit from the National Geographic team led by Joel Sartore, a world-renowned wildlife photographer. He was accompanied by three other team members: Cole Sartore, Pierre de Chabannes, and Andrew Bryant. The purpose of their visit was to document six species and subspecies of wildlife native to Bangka. All of these animals face the threat of extinction due to environmental degradation and illegal wildlife trade, even though only some of them have been granted official protection status by the state.
The six species are the Bangka slow loris (Nycticebus bancanus), Horsfield’s tarsier (Cephalopachus bancanus), binturong (Arctictis binturong), Prevost’s squirrel (Callosciurus prevostii), black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus), and bornean crested fireback (Lophura ignita). The binturong and black giant squirrel are not exclusive to Bangka; they are also found in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and even the Malay Peninsula. However, Bangka hosts subspecies that are not found elsewhere.
By documenting these animals, the National Geographic team aims to raise awareness that biodiversity does not stop at the species level. Each subspecies possesses its own unique characteristics. The Prevost’s squirrel in Bangka, for instance, has a distinct color pattern compared to those in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The binturong in Bangka is also relatively smaller than its counterparts in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Meanwhile, academic discussions are still ongoing as to whether the bornean crested fireback in Bangka constitutes a distinct subspecies or merely a variety of the Kalimantan population.
Pierre, one of the National Geographic team members, emphasized that wildlife protection—especially in Indonesia—should not be limited to the species level. Indonesia must also pay attention to the protection of subspecies inhabiting the thousands of small islands across its vast territory. When a subspecies in a particular island goes extinct, an irreplaceable element of the island’s biodiversity is lost.
The National Geographic team expressed its appreciation for the conservation work of the Alobi Foundation, which has rescued, rehabilitated, and released various endemic wildlife species and subspecies of Bangka. This effort is crucial given the island’s limited forest area, which continues to shrink due to illegal mining and monoculture plantations. It is worth noting that the Alobi Foundation’s Air Jangkang Wildlife Rescue Center is the only wildlife rescue center across Sumatra and its surrounding islands.
Coinciding with the National Geographic visit, the Alobi Foundation also welcomed Rasio Ridho Sani, Deputy for Pollution and Environmental Damage Control at the Ministry of Environment (Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup, KLH). Rasio, who serves as the foundation’s advisor, made the visit as part of his routine agenda to discuss future conservation strategies aimed at preserving the wildlife of the Bangka Belitung Islands. It is also worth mentioning that Rasio previously served as Director General of Law Enforcement (Penegakan Hukum, GAKKUM) at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (currently the Ministry of Forestry) from 2015 to 2025. The Alobi Foundation and GAKKUM maintain a close collaborative relationship through the process of handling and caring for confiscated wildlife from law enforcement operations.
#alobifoundation#bangkabelitung#nationalgeographic#wildlife
