Funded by the Asian Species Action Partnership (ASAP) Rapid Action Fund, Selamatkan Yaki and Macaca Nigra Project joined forces to support the Natural Resources Conservation Agency of North Sulawesi (BKSDA), forming two teams of six people to patrol the Tangkoko Nature Reserve to monitor levels of illegal activities, immobilize traps and to protect the area from hunters. The teams consisted of members from all three partners along with community members.

The teams carried out 24 patrols in total throughout different parts of the reserve, as well across a variety of routes. While anthropogenic threats still persist, they were happy to discover that the logging has decreased compared to previous years and that the traps set out are mainly directed at rats, rather than Yaki, cuscus bears or wild pigs (which are non-selective and can harm Yaki also). There is still a problem with encroachment into the protected forest by local communities and we hope to work together with BKSDA to address and minimize this issue promptly.

Aside from data collection and essential deterrence of disturbance, these patrols once again connected organizations working towards the same cause; they united NGOs and government and brought motivation and the spirit of optimism to people on the ground.