v14i2.388

Volume 14 | Number 2 | November 2025

Short Note

eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v14i2.388

Submitted date: 20 September 2024
Accepted date: 21 July 2025
Published date: 28 November 2025
Pp. 318–322.

Interference avoidance by wild ungulates at a mineral lick, Central Kalimantan

G. Wicaksono*, T.M. Setia, I. Sapari, F. Basalamah & T. Ariyanto
*Corresponding author. E-mail: wawan.sujarwo@brin.go.id

Mineral licks are small, mineral-rich sites within forests that wildlife visit to supplement their mineral intake by licking or consuming soil. These licks are essential sources of minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, which support osmoregulation, toxin neutralization, and the development of bones and muscles. Due to mineral deficiencies in plant foliage, wild herbivores often resort to geophagy. The Belantikan Hulu area, within the Arabela landscape of the Schwaner Mountains in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, comprises lowland forest dominated by Dipterocarpaceae species such as Dipterocarpus fagineus and Shorea laevis, along with Eusideroxylon zwageri. There are several active mineral licks in this landscape.

Section Editor: Juan Herrero