20 October 2025

Two Days in East Java (Baluran & Alas Purwo National Parks)

Last month’s Indonesian adventure, which had taken me to Sumatra, Sulawesi and the north Moluccas, ended in Java.

János Oláh and I arrived in Jakarta after our trip to the north Moluccas and managed to squeeze in one more mammal before we said goodbye. I returned to the Kawasan Arboretum Mangrove Walk, in the middle of the city, to look for the Greater Long-tongued Blossom Bats (Macroglossus sobrinus) that I had missed in 2023 with Carlos Bocos. The guys on the gate seemed reluctant to let us in after dark (we arrived right on dusk) but decided it would be OK so long as we were “planning to have a coffee”. It didn’t take long to see a few blossom bats feeding among the mangroves though the only one that perched for any length of time was too distant to photograph. Trapping data suggests that 99% of the blossom bats here are the greater rather than the lesser flavour. But to be sure we needed good photos of the face (apparently sobrinus has a noticeably longer snout than minimus). So I reluctantly decided not to claim my lifer.

Baluran National Park

Javan Warty Pig (Sus verrucosus)

I had two days left before my flight back to New York and was on my way to Baluran National Park.
A few months earlier Roland Wirth had told me that Javan Warty Pigs had been reintroduced to the park. There is a back story to this. In 2010 I contributed some photos to a paper Roland co-authored on the rediscovery of the Javan Small-toothed Palm Civet after the authors had seen my trip report from Java that year. In that same report I had misidentified a wild boar as a warty pig and Roland had corrected me. I am not sure if Roland has an incredible memory, or was still carrying the guilt of taking a lifer from me, but 16 years later he emailed to tell me that if I ever got to Java I could now se my warty pig in Baluran National Park, where the species had been successfully reintroduced and was breeding in the wild. Perfect timing! Roland introduced me to those working on the reintroduction and I got permission to visit the breeding enclosure, where wild – and wild born – pigs are often seen outside the fence.
Meanwhile Heru Fitriyadi, another of Carlos Bocos’s many Indonesian friends had offered to show me around East Java. Heru is a bird guide, based at Baluran, who is hoping to start doing more mammal guiding.
It takes a village to raise a mammal list…

Heru

Heru met me at Banyuwangi Airport and we drove to his village next to the national park. If you read my report from last week you might remember my camera was broken. Heru kindly loaned me his old Nikon for my stay.
Banyunwangi is the the most convenient airport for Baluran National Park. Though it is worth noting that Baluran is just a ferry ride and a short drive from the western tip of Bali. So if you find yourself bored on Bali it could be an easy way to escape the Instagrammers.

Lesser Asian False-vampire (Megaderma spasma)

We drove into the park on Heru’s motobike in the mid-afternoon stopping to look at a few Lesser False Vampire Bats roosting in small cave directly in front of the park offices. We saw our first Long-tailed Macaques here.
My two key diurnal target species in the park were East Javan Langur and the Javan Warty Pig. Heru assured me that both would be very easy.

East Javan Langur (Trachypithecus auratus)

Heru spotted the first East Javan Langurs as we were driving through the park.

Javan Warty Pig (Sus verrucosus)

A little further on we took a short track off the road – a track closed to the public – to reach the warty pig breeding enclosure. The area is closed to the public- in part because of concerns about Asian Swine Flu – but I had gotten permission to access via Pak Sulis, one of the management team there. I was introduced via Roland’s colleagues but Heru also knows him and I suspect could arrange permission for you to visit.
The reintroduction program is being run in cooperation with Copenhagen Zoo. Simon Bruslund there had kindly helped get me permission to visit and he explained that other than swine flue another major threat to the warty pigs is hybridisation with Wild Boar. Although both species have been in Java for thousands of years, recent habitat destruction and a decrease in population because of poaching has facilitated hybridisation. He reassured me that all the wild caught founders of the breeding centers in Java have been genetically tested.

Javan Warty Pig (Sus verrucosus)

A large sounder of pigs were hanging around near the enclosure. Heru told me that the wild born males were much larger than those raised in captivity and there were two impressive examples in the group. A fabulous pig and quite different looking to a Wild Boar.

The reintroduction program seems to be going well. Some of the released animals have spread across the park and are seldom seen according to Heru. Others – including second generation wild born animals – prefer the area around the breeding enclosure, perhaps because they feel safer there. These animals were – as everyone had predicted – very easy to see.

While I was enjoying the pigs I saw several Plantain Squirrels here and a feral Domestic Water Buffalo.

Plantain Squirrel (Callosciurus notatus)

Baluran has some other good mammals: Javan Leopards are not uncommon and Heru had seen one a few days earlier. Dholes are also seen fairly frequently.
Heru and I had planned to look for Javan Slow Loris at night. At least we did until he told me that he knew a spot where people had been seeing Sunda Pangolins ‘quite often’. All thoughts of looking for a loris disappeared. And after dinner at Heru’s house we set off with three friends of his on motorbikes to some forest scrub just outside the park.
Heru’s friends seemed to know a little too much about the pangolin black market. I didn’t ask too many questions but from what I could gather they told Heri that the price for a pangolin had plummeted since COVID. In 2019 a pangolin might have fetched $16 USD per kg. Now it might fetch just $3. There was no longer much incentive to hunt pangolins. There was plenty of room for miscommunication here so I hope I understood the conversation correctly. But, if true, this is obviously great news.
We drove to an area where the pangolins – mainly young ones- they said – were being seen. One of the guys had seen here just two days earlier.
We began or search wandering through thick bush along a stream. After 20 minutes I was getting strong wild goose chase vibes… we were making a lot of noise and the undergrowth was dense. So I asked if we could search in the open dry woodland above above the stream. I figures that even if that habitat might not be as good for the pangolin it would be easier to search.

Possibly a Lesser Bandicoot Rat (Bandicota bengalensis)

I saw several terrestrial rodents in the open forest. Heru’s camera didn’t have a flash but I was able to photograph this one with my phone. Possibly a Lesser Bandicoot Rat.
And then one of the guys heard something. I span around and saw this through my thermal scope.

Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica), through a Zeiss thernal scope.

Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica)

This was an exceptionally good sighting. This sub-adult seemed totally oblivious to our presence and to my flashlight. It seemed to pay attention to us only if it heard our footsteps. It meandered through the forest, moving in and out of dense brush, and we ended up walking away after enjoying its company for at least thirty minutes. A truly adorable animal.
I was cursing my broken camera, but Heru managed to take a few decent shots despite not having a flash and I was able to get some video on my phone. Ecstatic with my 4th pangolin species I tipped team pangolin very generously and then tipped them again on behalf of Carlos. I hope they got the message that pangolins can be worth much more alive than dead.

Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica)

The million rupiah question is whether this is a reliable site? Right now I suspect it probably is. It took us less than 2 hours to find an animal and this wasn’t a random sighting. We were specifically searching here for a pangolin, in an area where one had been seen two days earlier. If there is no longer a market for poached pangolins then I’d have to hope that this area will remain good and perhaps get better. But nothing is guaranteed and I hope others visit soon and report back so we can get a better sense of how reliable a spot this is.

Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica)

Alas Purwo National Park

I spent my last day in Indonesia in Alas Purwo National Park, a four hour drive from Baluran on the other side of Banyuwangi. Heru told me he could pretty much guarantee Javan Chevrotain there. The park, which is on the beach, is popular with surfers and Indonesian tourists.

Long-tailed Macaques were very common. A bit too common: one jumped inside our car when I left the door open for 30 seconds.

Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

East Javan Langurs were also very common and were particularly relaxed near the park head quarters.

East Javan Langur (Trachypithecus auratus)

We also saw a Black Giant Squirrel near the cafe.

Black Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor)

A viewing tower overlooks the savannah, where plenty of Banteng, Rusa Deer and Wild Boar were grazing.

Banteng (Bos javanicus) and Rusa (Javan) Deer (Rusa timorensis)

As soon as the sun set we slowly cruised the roads looking for Javan Mouse Deer in the forest. It took no more than 30 minutes to find one. We approached on foot for a good – though hard to photograph – view. Happy with my final lifer of a long trip we left for Banyuwangi.

Javan Chevrotain (Tragulus javanicus) 

Thank you very much to Roland Wirth for alerting me to the Javan Warty Pig watching possibilities, and to the team working on the reintroduction program for allowing me to visit. A big thank you to Heru for looking after me so well and, of course, to him and his buddies for producing that pangolin!

Trip List

Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
East Javan Langur (Trachypithecus auratus)
Lesser Bandicoot Rat (Bandicota bengalensis) (?)
Plantain Squirrel (Callosciurus notatus)
Black Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor)
Lesser Bandicoot Rat (Bandicota bengalensis) (?)
Roof Rat (Rattus rattus) – introduced
Greater Long-tongued Blossom Bat (Macroglossus sobrinus) (?)
Lesser Asian False-vampire (Megaderma spasma)
Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica)
Banteng (Bos javanicus)
Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) – domestic
Javan Deer (Rusa timorensis)
Javan Chevrotain (Tragulus javanicus) 
Eurasian Wild Pig (Sus scrofa)
Javan Warty Pig (S.verrucosus) 
16 species and 4 lifers.
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Jon Hall
Genetically Welsh, spiritually Australian, currently in New York City. I’ve also lived and worked in London, Canberra, Paris and Lusaka, and watched mammals in over 100 countries.
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