Prigen Conservation Breeding Ark (PCBA) was established in 2017 on the initiative of Taman Safari Indonesia and KASI Foundation as one of the units in Taman Safari Prigen. PCBA receives support from Indonesian and international zoological institutions. PCBA focuses on the conservation breeding of threatened species in Indonesia. This ex-situ conservation effort focuses on those that do not receive conservation attention in the mainstream conservation efforts organised by NGOs in Indonesia.
PCBA unit is closed for the public to maintain the breeding process undisturbed. Many species that are cared for and bred in PCBA are unprotected under Indonesian laws, yet in urgent need of ex-situ conservation to prevent extinction. Species that are cared for in PCBA, among others, are:
PCBA is home to 28 species and subspecies of songbirds that are endangered. There are 215 enclosures built for conservation breeding of them. Some of those key species are:
Nias hill myna (Gracula robusta) (CR)
Javan green magpie (Cissa thalassina) (CR)
Wangi-wangi white-eye (Zosterops paruhbesar) (NE)
Five species of parrots make PCBA their ex-situ home and a total of 21 enclosures are built to care for them. Some of them are:
Yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea) (CR)
White cockatoo (Cacatua alba) (EN)
Red-and-blue lory (Eos histrio) (EN)
Three Galliformes are cared for in PCBA, and a total of 16 enclosures are made for their conservation breeding efforts. Some of them are:
Green peafowl (Pavo muticus muticus) (EN)
East Java grey-breasted partridge (Arborophila orientalis) (VU)
Great argus (Argusianus argus) (VU)
Five mammal species that are endangered are taken care of in PCBA, three enclosure complexes with a total of 32 enclosures are made to care for the mammals in PCBA. Those mammals are:
Javan warty pig (Sus verrucosus) (EN)
Javan small-toothed palm civet (Arctogalidia t. trilineata) ( NT as species, ssp NE)
Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) (CR)
Javan mountain weasel (Mustela lutreolina) (LC)
Javan flying squirrel (Petaurista p. nigricaudata) (LC, as species, not evaluated as subspecies)
The world’s first breeding records (as we have researched) have been made for the following species:
Nias hill myna
Wangi-wangi white-eye
Maratua shama (Copsychus barbouri)
Sula hanging parrot (Loriculus sclateri)
Javan small-toothed palm civet
In addition to that, PCBA is the biggest breeding facility in Southeast Asia that is especially dedicated to the conservation breeding of endangered species. Globally, the focus and the size of PCBA are unrivalled. All installations and facilities in PCBA are designed to meet the needs of the endangered species that are often very sensitive. The enclosures in PCBA are designed to keep the animals in an ideal environment to ensure breeding success. Besides that, all animal keepers are trained in animal husbandry for sensitive species.
Established on the idea that all species are worthy, including those that are overlooked in conservation, PCBA cares for species that are not cared for in other places and are in critical situations. Some of those critical species are Maratua shama, Kangean shama, Wangi-wangi white-eye and Javan small-toothed palm civet.
Maratua shama is functionally extinct in the wild and is not cared for by any other institutions in the world. A total of more than 60 individuals (as of May 2023) fostered in PCBA are the only known population in the world, which makes PCBA the only hope for the conservation of the biggest shama of all.
Apart from the ex-situ conservation of Maratua shama at PCBA in TSI Prigen, Taman Safari Indonesia and KASI Foundation also actively organise in-situ conservation efforts in Maratua Island to protect its habitat in the hope of reintroduction of Maratua shama to its natural habitat in the near future.
Apart from Maratua shama, PCBA also breeds Javan Pied Starling (Gracupica jalla). The Javan Pied Starling is a songbird that falls under the Critical (CR) conservation status that used to be an endemic bird in Jawa, Sumatra and Bali. Today this bird ought to be considered extinct in the wild with no records of sightings in years. TSI Prigen is the first institution that focuses on its organised conservation breeding with the objective of maintaining the original genotype of this species. It is because the Javan Pied Starling is commonly bred in commercial breeding facilities that focus on certain desired morphs by crossbreeding among different species, this results in starlings that are in commercial breeding no longer having the original genotype.