Western Java, Indonesia Photograph by © WWF-Canon/Tom MOSS   Southeastern Asia: Island of Java in Indonesia Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   10,200 square miles (26,300 square kilometers) -- about the size of Vermont and Rhode Island combined Critical/Endangered

· Primates in Peril
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Primates in Peril

Although the mountains of Java are steep and the terrain is difficult, human activity has increasingly threatened the montane rain forests here. As a result, endangered primates such as the Javan leaf monkey and the Javan gibbon are struggling to survive. Covering the central western mountains of the island of Java, these dense rain forests host a great diversity of species, and the abundant rainfall and humidity encourage a thick mat of orchids, bromeliads, and moss to grow on tree branches and trunks.

Special Features

The Western Java Montane Rain Forests are found on one of the most actively volcanic islands in the world. Evergreen rain forest, semi-evergreen rain forest, and montane forest types can all be found here. Generally found in the lower portions of the ecoregion, evergreen and semi-evergreen rain forests contain benda (wild breadfruit) and majegau (Dysoxylum caulostachyum), among others. The most abundant montane tree species in the lower montane zone are oaks, chestnuts, and laurels. Emergents of this forest include the grand rasamala (Altingia excelsa) and several species of conifers. In the gradual transition from lower to upper montane forest, which begins at approximately 5,900 feet (1800 m), Aerobryum moss becomes abundant.

	The Javan leaf monkey--like all leaf monkeys--has a large, multi-chambered stomach that can digest tough leaf fibers. However, the Javan species eats a higher percentage of leaves than any other leaf monkey. Its diet is also unusual in that it contains a relatively high percentage of branch tips and fungi.

Wild Side

Two of this ecoregion’s 64 mammal species--the Javan leaf monkey and Javan gibbon--are the most endangered primates in Indonesia. Other endemic mammals include the Javan mastiff bat, Javan shrewmouse, and the red tree rat. The world’s largest bat, the Malayan flying fox, is also found here. More than 230 species of birds inhabit these forests as well. Of these, nine are found nowhere else on Earth and four are threatened, including the endangered Javan hawk-eagle and the vulnerable volcano swiftlet, Javan cochoa, and Javan scops-owl. The leopard and the extremely rare wild dog are the only large predators left in West Java.

Cause for Concern

This ecoregion's steep terrain has kept it partially protected from human activity, especially when compared to the island's lowlands. Nevertheless, only a fifth of the original habitat remains, and these forests are scattered in fragments throughout the mountains. Population pressure is becoming more intense, forcing farmers onto steeper lands in the upper watershed forests of this ecoregion.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.