Flora and Fauna
The fauna of Bawean Island is generally quite similar to that of Java. Initially, most of the island was covered by rainforest, but as a result of human activity its area gradually declined and by the end of the 20th century was not more than 10% of the island. About 15% is occupied by the artificially planted Common Teak (Tectona grandis).
The local jungles are characterized by dense low understory with a predominance of ferns, bryophytes and orchids. The most common tree species are Ficus, Nauclea and Symplocos adenophylla. Some plant species do not occur in the nearby Java Island, such as Canarium asperum, Pternandra coerulescens, Pternandra rostrata, Champera manilana, Ixora miquelii, Phanera lingua and Irvingia malayana. Mangrove bushes occur in some coastal areas of the island, with the main species being Sonneratia alba, Rhizophora mucronata, Bruguiera cylindrica and Lumnitzera racemosa.
The most notable representative of the fauna of the island is the endemic local subspecies of deer known as Bawean Deer, Kuhl's hog deer or Bawean hog deer (Axis kuhlii). It is considered as symbol of Bawean is protected by Indonesian law. With less than 250 individuals, of which more than 90% belong to a single population, it is considered "critically endangered" and is included into the IUCN Red List.
Bawean hosts other rare mammals, such as Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis), Sunda Porcupine (Hystrix javanica), Small Indian Civet (Viverricula indica), Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). Most common birds are Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) and Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica). Reptiles are represented by different kinds of lizards (Varanus sp .), reticulated python (Python reticulatus) and saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) which sometimes (rarely) swims to the island.
Nature conservation measures were being taken back when Bawean was under colonial administration of the Netherlands. In 1932, five forests with the total area of 4,556 hectares were declared natural reserves. In 1979, two national (Indonesian) nature reserves were created with areas of 3,832 and 725 ha, mostly to protect the forests and the habitat of the Bawean Deer.
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