A population of Sumatran orangutan has been found in Batan Toru forest in North Sumatra, but their number had not yet been determined.
The population, found in areas located in South Tapanuli, North Tapanuli and Central Tapanuli, is believed to be the first found this year. Last year, an orangutan population was found in Dairi regency.
Nasir Siregar, a resident of Sipirok in South Tapanuli, said he found four big orangutan nests in the forest.
"Based on their location, it's unlikely the nests are made by animals other than orangutans," he said.
Spokesman for the Orangutan Conservation Services Program (OCSP) in Sumatra, Erwinsyah, said on Wednesday that at the sites found last year, the orangutans were estimated to number around 200.
"We still don't know the number of Sumatran orangutans *in the wild*," he said.
Data from Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation in 2005 cited 7,334 Sumatran orangutans were found in the wild, mostly in Aceh and small
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A little more breathing space before we lose all the wild ones? I hope this discovery incites renewed efforts to protect the forests and not complacency.
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