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FLORA AND FAUNA

A Strange

Assortment

of Creatures

West Papua is rich in unique plants and animals, some of them beautiful and others downright weird. The largest indigenous land animal is not a mammal but a bird, the flightless, ostrich-like cassowary. Many of the island's native mammals are marsupials, and one, the hedgehog-like echidna, lays eggs.

In addition to this collection of oddities, West Papua is also home to some of nature's most glorious creatures—the birds of paradise and the great birdwing butterflies.

Diverse plant life

West Papua has the richest concentration of plant life in all of Indonesia, and perhaps in all the world. Scientists estimate there are 16,000 species of plants growing in New Guinea, including hundreds of species that are of medicinal importance. At least 124 genera of New Guinea's flowering plants are found nowhere else, and botanists suggest that further research may find 90 percent of all the flowering plant species here to be endemic.

So far, 2,770 species of orchids have been recorded here, most growing in the rich lowland forests, but the small, bright flowers of some can be found even in the subalpine meadows of the highlands.

Some species are quite unusual. Pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp.) have evolved a very interesting adaptation to nitrogen-poor soils. Their leaves form cups of enzyme-rich water, which attract and drown insects, providing an important source of fertilizer.

In the high scrublands in the central cordillera, one can find the giant anthouse plant (Myrmecodia brassii.) These epiphytes grow outward from trees, looking like a large, very spiny pineapple. The bulbous base of Myrmecodia is honeycombed with passageways just teeming with ants. Even small frogs and lizards have been found to live inside this strange plant.

Mangroves and nipa palms ensnarl the brackish estuaries of the coast, particularly in Bintuni Bay, the South Coast, and the edge of Cenderawasih Bay. Further inland—in the Lakes Plain region, and in the south—swamp forests replace the mangroves.

Swamps to alpine meadows

West Papua's swamps harbor the most extensive stands of sago palms (Metroxylon spp.) in the world. Starch extracted from the pith of this tree serves as the staple for all lowland West Papuans. Though western visitors often decry it as bland and gummy, sago has the distinct advantage of being the least labor-intensive of all of the world's staple crops to collect.

Further inland, the swamps give way to lowland forest and forested foothills. Here grow a variety of tropical evergreens, with palms, ferns, rattan and many species of orchids covering the understory.

The unusual hornbill, called burung tahun (year bird) in Indonesian.

At 1,000 to 3,000 meters the forest changes. In areas with constant cloud cover, one sometimes encounters the eerie moss forest, in which all the trees are encrusted with lichens and mosses in huge streamers. The pandanus grows here as well, producing huge fruits full of rich nuts.

The farmers of the central highlands have exploited the fertile soil surrounding some of the river valleys, most famously the Baliem. In most of the lowlands, with a few notable exceptions, the soil is leached and barren.

Past 3,000 meters, the forest thins out and gives way to strange, prehistoric-looking tree fern (Cyathea) savannahs. Here also are sub-alpine scrublands of rhododendrons and stunted conifers. Beyond the tree line (3,900 meters) one finds subalpine and alpine heaths and swamps, then just rock, snow and ice.

Unique biogeographical region

Sir Alfred Russel Wallace opened the world's eyes to West Papua's magnificent biological diversity. Between 1854 and 1862, Wallace sent a total of 125,660 specimens back to England, including a staggering 83,200 Coleoptera (beetles). A talented and scrupulously honest writer, Wallace estimates that he traveled 14,000 miles within the archipelago on some 60 to 70 separate journeys.

The magnificent riflebird, Ptiloris magnificus. Some 36 species of birds of paradise are found in West Papua.

Wallace was the first to recognize the marked change in faunal types as one moves east of Bali from the Asian to the Australian biological regions. The large area of biological overlap in between, including Sulawesi, the Moluccas, and Nusa Tenggara, is now called 'Wallacea" in his honor.

New Guinea is well on the Australian side of Wallacea. Since the Arafura Sea is quite shallow, the rising and falling of the sea brought on by the Ice Ages have caused the two land masses to become periodically connected. Because of this—and because of the existence of marsupials and monotremes in both places—New Guinea is typically considered part of the Australian faunal province.

But recently biogeographers have suggested that the Australian influence may be exaggerated. For example, the land bridge connecting the two was always a dry savannah belt (see map page 20), which would have been a very effective barrier to rainforest species. Further, the majority of the amphibian species and many of the small mammals (e.g. rodents and bats) in New Guinea are Asian in origin.

Colorful avifauna

So far, biologists have identified 643 species of birds in West Papua (712 in all of New Guinea), and there are some real gems in this group. The Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura spp.), the world's largest pigeon, is a brilliant lavender with a delicate crown of feathers and bright red eyes. Parrots, cockatoos, and lories brighten up the forests with red, yellow, and purple.

During his eight years in the archipelago, Wallace spent six months in what is now West Papua, three months on the shores of Dore Bay and three months on Waigeo Island. Approaching the coast for the first time, Wallace tingled with anticipation, knowing that "those dark forests produced the most extraordinary and the most beautiful of the feathered inhabitants of the earth"—the birds of paradise. (See "Birds of Paradise" opposite.)

West Papua is home to some strange birds as well. The megapods or brush turkeys, which bury their eggs in sand or piles of vegetation, are found here. Bowerbirds, industrious creatures that decorate their large nests with bright objects such as flowers and berries, sometimes collecting small piles of objects of a single color, are present here in 9 species.

One of the most famous of West Papua's birds is the cassowary (Casuaris spp.), a large, flightless bird with a nasty reputation. These ugly customers have powerful feet ending in large claws, powerful weapons that have disemboweled more than one human victim. They are sought by hunters everywhere they are found, and the hair-like feathers are a common decoration on hats and other items.

Strange mammals

Marsupials dominate the list of mammals indigenous to West Papua. Unlike placental mammals, young marsupials complete their gestation in an external pouch. Wallabies and tree kangaroos, found in the lower mountain regions, are the largest of West Papua's native, land-dwelling mammals.

The striped possum, Dactylopsila trivirgata, is a common small marsupial in.

Other marsupials include bandicoots, possums and cuscus or phalangers, these latter woolly, tree-dwelling creatures with prehensile tails. Unfortunately for the cuscus, its fur is much appreciated for personal adornment, and its meat for food. Some cuscus are said to be so docile that capturing one requires nothing more than finding it and picking it up.

Huge bats, called flying foxes because of their long snouts, roam the forests on 1.5-meter wings seeking fruit, and an astonishing variety of tiny insectivorous species roam the night skies.

Perhaps the most unusual mammals in West Papua are the spiny anteaters or echidnas which, along with the Australian duckbilled platypus, are the world's only monotremes, unique egg-laying mammals. The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is also found in Australia, but the long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) is endemic to New Guinea. When threatened, the echidna uses its powerful front claws to dig into the ground, presenting a would-be predator with a back-full of stout spines.

Birds of Paradise

Long before the world knew anything of the habits and habitats of the beautiful birds of paradise, their feathers enhanced the appearance of the rich and powerful. Paradise bird plumes graced the headdresses of fierce janissaries at the 14th century Turkish court, and were de rigueur at the Nepalese court, and the courts of other colorful potentates. In the 1880s, the Paris fashion world discovered the plumes, and thousands of birds were slaughtered to adorn capes, hats and other accessories. The trade was banned in 1924, but the ban has been as full of holes as the smuggler's ocean is wide.

Malay traders called them manuk dewata—the gods' birds. The Portuguese called them passaros de sol, "birds of the sun." A learned Dutchman, writing in Latin, coined the name, avis paradiseus, "bird of paradise."

A great body of myth has developed around these birds, and well into the 18th century Europeans still believed that the birds came from Paradise. They had no feet, and thus remained always in the air, living on the dew of heaven and the blossoms of spice trees. The female, it was believed, even laid her eggs and incubated them on the back of the male.

In 1598 the Dutch navigator Jan van Linschoten, wrote: "[N]o one has seen these birds alive, for they live in the air, always turning towards the sun and never lighting on the earth till they die, for they have no feet or wings." Even in 1760, Carolus Linnaeus, the famous Swedish taxonomist, christened the largest species Paradisaea apoda: "footless paradise bird."

All these myths were simply the result of the Aru Islanders method of preserving the skins: the wings and feet were cut off, the body skinned up to the beak and the skull removed. The birds have been hunted for centuries with bow and arrow, and more recently, with mist nets.

Paradisaeidae comprises 42 species, 36 of which inhabit New Guinea and its neighboring islands. The family is quite varied, and includes birds of paradise, riflebirds, sicklebills and manucodes. All have beautiful coloration and odd feathers—iridescent breastplates, shaggy napes, fans, and strange "wires." The most characteristic are the Paradisaea spp., crow-like birds, the males of which in the breeding season sprout beautiful nuptial plumes from their sides.

The greater bird of paradise (Paradisaea apoda) and the lesser bird of paradise (P. minor) are relatively common inhabitants of West Papua's lowland rainforests, but seeing them can be difficult. Paradisaea are omnivorous, eating a variety of insects and being especially partial to nutmeg and mahogany fruits. Groups of males display together, often in the main food tree in the area, which makes for a spectacular sight (it also makes them very vulnerable to hunters.)

According to observations in the Asmat region (on the coast near Otsjanep) the greater bird of paradise was in full breeding plumage and displayed from August to early September, for a few hours in the morning, beginning at 6:15 a.m., and again at 2:30-5:45 p.m.

An Asmat hunter with two greater birds of paradise, Paradisaea apoda.

Reptiles and amphibians

Two species of saltwater crocodiles frequent the coastal swamps and estuaries of West Papua, and both are giants. An estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) that had been terrorizing the Asmat village of Piramat was finally killed in 1970. This rogue beast was 7 meters long and was known to have taken 55 human victims. Crocodile skins have been an important export since the early 20th century, and crocodiles have been almost wiped out in some areas. Hunting wild crocodiles is now at least technically illegal, and some 25 farms in the province raise them for their skins.

A great variety of snakes and lizards are found here. Varanids or monitor lizards are common scavengers and prey on small animals. The largest of these, the beautiful emerald tree monitor (Varanis prasinus) may reach three meters in length, although it is shy and not dangerous.

The same cannot be said for the death adder (Acanthopsis antarcticus) or the taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus). These two are extremely venomous, but fortunately are rarely encountered. The most beautiful snake found here—perhaps anywhere—is the green tree python (Chondropython viridis), a harmless creature with strikingly green coloration and jewel-like markings.

The only amphibians native to the island are frogs (the large marine toad has been introduced), but there are more frogs in New Guinea than anywhere else, with well over 200 species, some hardy ones found up to 3,850 meters.

Beautiful and rare fishes

The swampy south coast of West Papua is too silty to allow the growth of coral, but around Triton Bay near Kaimana, off the Raja Empat Islands, and around the islands of Cenderawasih Bay are some of the finest and least disturbed coral reefs in the world.

As they are so close to the epicenter of species diversity for the vast Indo-Pacific region, New Guinea coral reefs probably harbor some 3,000 species of fish. Important food fish—tuna, jacks, mackerel—support a large fishing industry off Biak Island and Sorong.

West Papua's freshwater lakes and streams contain 158 species of rainbowfishes. These small, and often colorful fishes are found only in New Guinea and Australia and are favorites with aquarists.

The Archer fish (Toxotes spp.) is a small, unremarkably colored inhabitant of some of West Papua's lakes, slow rivers and swamps. This animal's talent is the ability to spit a gob of water—with astounding accuracy—to bring down insects. The insects are eaten as soon as they strike the surface of the water.

Some of West Papua's freshwater species are giants. The sawfish (Pristiopsis spp.) prowls the large river systems and some of West Papua's lakes, including Lake Sentani. These distinctive animals can reach 5.2 meters, and weigh almost half a metric ton. The people living around Sentani believe their ancestral spirits live in these sawfish and refuse to eat them. Lake Yamur, at the base of the Bird's Head, is said to be one of the very few places in the world that one encounters freshwater sharks.

Birdwing butterflies

The colorful princes of West Papua's insect fauna are the birdwing butterflies (Ornithoptera spp.), which can be found in all parts of New Guinea but reach their greatest numbers and diversity in the Arfak Mountains just inland from Manokwari. These butterflies are covered with shimmering colors. Recently, a captive farming project has begun to raise these creatures for the lucrative export market in dried and mounted butterflies.

New Guinea probably has almost 100,000 insect species, and many of these are still undescribed. In the forests one can find great stick insects and katydids—some of them startlingly accurate mimics—as well as tens of thousands of species of beetles.

The capricorn beetle, a tank of a creature, lays its eggs on the sago palm, and its large larvae are prized as food by the Asmat of the South Coast. The sago grubs are an essential feature of every ceremonial banquet.

Spiders, too, are found here in great numbers—some 800 species. These include the formidable giant bird-eating spider (Selenocosmia crassides), whose size and aggressiveness allow it to reverse the usual order of prey and preyed upon.

A precious environment

New Guinea has the world's second-largest rainforest (after the Amazon) and West Papua has the largest tracts of undisturbed lowland rainforest in all of Southeast Asia. These lowland alluvial forests contain valuable timber reserves, making them a major target of the logging industry.

In the mid-1980s, through the efforts of the World Wildlife Fund, an ambitious program of conservation areas was adopted for West Papua. Today, almost 20 percent of the province's land area is a conservation area of one kind or another, making West Papua—at least on paper—one of the best-protected pieces of real estate in the world.

Although the problems of exploitation are still great, West Papua's inherent ruggedness and isolation will do a lot to insure the protection of its forests. Also, unlike, for example, Borneo, West Papua is not very rich in the most valuable species of tropical hardwoods.

It is the marine areas around West Papua that are most in danger. Great fields of the giant tridacna clams (which can grow to 1.5 meters across and live two centuries) have been stripped, the meat canned and frozen for the Asian market, and fish-bombing has destroyed nearshore reefs in many areas.

The frilled lizard, Chlamysosaurus kingii, looks fierce, but unless you are an insect, the animal is quite harmless.