DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16250654
title: A single observation of an Orangutan carcass decomposition

description: Description

SummaryThis dataset contains the observation of a female orangutan carcass discovered on the 21st May 2025 at Danum Valley Field Centre. To track the decomposition process of the carcass, observer deployed a HC500 camera trap with timelapse settings from the first day of discovery until the orangutan carcass was reduced to bones only. Sticky insect fly traps and insect hand-collection were also conducted at the site for the first six days of the decomposition process. From the camera trap and daily observations, a TBS (total body score) qualitative scoring of carcasses method was used to evaluate the progression of the decomposition process. A decay curve with comparison to the decomposition process of other taxa from regional published articles was compiled for analysis purposes. All camera detections during the decomposition were documented and can be found on the "CT_detections" worksheet. A total body score to accumulated degree days (ADD) relationship curve was developed for this study and the data can be found on the "TBS_ADD" worksheet. Contact DetailsFor more information and any questions related to the dataset, please contact suipeng.heon@gmail.com

Funding

These data were collected as part of research funded by:



ATBC Seed Grant (Standard grant , https://tropicalbiology.org/ )


 

This dataset is released under the CC-BY 4.0 licence, requiring that you cite the dataset in any outputs, but has the additional condition that you acknowledge the contribution of these funders in any outputs.

Permits

These data were collected under permit from the following authorities:



Sabah Biodiversity Council ( Research licence JKM/MBS.1000-2/2 JLD.19 (174))


 

Files

This dataset consists of 2 files: orangutan_carcass_observation_data.xlsx, supplementary_materials_and_references.docx

orangutan_carcass_observation_data.xlsx

This file contains dataset metadata and 4 data tables:

Total body score of the carcass decomposition



Worksheet: TBS_sheet

Description: Daily observations of the decomposition process and the corresponding total body score of the outcome

Number of fields: 8

Number of data rows: 40



location: Location of observed carcass (type: location)

observation_date: The date of the observation (type: date)

species: Species of carcass (type: taxa)

day: The ith day of observation (type: numeric)

observations: Observations of the carcass condition (type: comments)

decomposition_stage: Stage of the decomposition as per Payne (1965) (type: ordered categorical)

body_part: The parts of the body undergoing the decomposition (type: categorical)

TBS_score: Total body score from 0-35 (type: numeric)



Decay curve of carcasses



Worksheet: Decay_curve

Description: A comparison of the decomposition process with other taxa from the region

Number of fields: 13

Number of data rows: 21



study_area: The study area where carcass was observed (type: categorical)

region: The study region where carcass was observed (type: categorical)

country: Country of the carcass study (type: categorical)

start_day: The first day of the observation (type: numeric)

end_day: The last day the observation was recorded on the carcass (type: numeric)

duration: Total sampling duration (type: numeric)

start_time: Start time of observation (type: numeric)

end_time: End time of observation (type: numeric)

phase: Stage of the decomposition as per Payne (1965) (type: categorical)

species: Carcass species (type: taxa)

weight: The weight of the carcass as provided by articles (type: numeric)

habitat: The habitat type as provided by articles (type: categorical)

reference: Studies used by dataset. Please refer to supplementary material document attached below. (type: comments)



Camera trap detections



Worksheet: CT_detections

Description: The species detected on the camera trap at the site of the carcass

Number of fields: 5

Number of data rows: 10



location: Camera trap location (type: location)

species: Species detected on camera trap (type: taxa)

date: The date of the observation (type: date)

time: Time stamp on camera trap image (type: time)

decomposition_stage: Stage of the decomposition as per Payne (1965) (type: ordered categorical)



Decay curve relative to temperature



Worksheet: TBS_ADD

Description: A comparison of the temperature-decomposition relationship between the Orangutan carcass and a small mammal

Number of fields: 5

Number of data rows: 20



day: The ith day of observation (type: numeric)

TBS: Total body score from 0-35 (type: numeric)

ADD: Accummulative degree days (type: numeric)

decomposition_stage: Stage of the decomposition as per Payne (1965) (type: categorical)

species: Species of carcass (type: taxa)



supplementary_materials_and_references.docx

The file contains the equations for calculating values for accummulation degree days (ADD) and studies referenced by the dataset.

Extents



Date range: 2023-05-21 to 2023-06-02

Latitudinal extent: 4.95° to 4.97°

Longitudinal extent: 117.79° to 117.81°


Taxonomic coverage

This dataset contains data associated with taxa and these have been validated against appropriate taxonomic authority databases.

GBIF taxa details

The following taxa were validated against the GBIF backbone dataset (version 2023-08-28). If a dataset uses a synonym, the accepted usage is shown followed by the dataset usage in brackets. Taxa that cannot be validated, including new species and other unknown taxa, morphospecies, functional groups and taxonomic levels not used in the GBIF backbone are shown in square brackets.

 - Animalia -  - Chordata -  -  - Aves -  -  -  - Galliformes -  -  -  -  - Phasianidae -  -  -  -  -  - Rollulus -  -  -  -  -  -  - Rollulus rouloul -  -  - Mammalia -  -  -  - Artiodactyla -  -  -  -  - Suidae -  -  -  -  -  - Sus -  -  -  -  -  -  - Sus scrofa -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - Sus scrofa domesticus -  -  -  - Carnivora -  -  -  -  - Viverridae -  -  -  -  -  - Viverra -  -  -  -  -  -  - Viverra tangalunga -  -  -  - Lagomorpha -  -  -  -  - Leporidae -  -  -  -  -  - Oryctolagus -  -  -  -  -  -  - Oryctolagus cuniculus -  -  -  - Primates -  -  -  -  - Cercopithecidae -  -  -  -  -  - Macaca -  -  -  -  -  -  - Macaca fascicularis -  -  -  -  - Hominidae -  -  -  -  -  - Pongo -  -  -  -  -  -  - Pongo pygmaeus -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - Pongo pygmaeus morio -  -  -  - Rodentia -  -  -  -  - Muridae -  -  -  -  -  - Mus -  -  -  -  -  -  - Mus musculus -  -  - Squamata -  -  -  - Varanidae -  -  -  -  - Varanus -  -  -  -  -  - Varanus salvator