New Great Ape
Species Described: the Tapanuli Orangutan
A team of Indonesian
and international scientists have described a new species of orangutan, in a
paper published on November 2nd in the scientific journal Current Biology.
The researchers
demonstrate that the Tapanuli orangutan, Pongo tapanuliensis, is genetically
and morphologically distinct from both Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus) and Sumatran
orangutans (Pongo abelii), and is therefore a separate species. According to
the findings, the Tapanuli orangutan is in fact more closely related to the
Bornean orangutan
than it is to the
Sumatran orangutans living further north in and around the Leuser Ecosystem, in
Aceh and North Sumatra Provinces. The three orangutan species —Bornean,
Sumatran and Tapanuli—began to diverge from their common ancestor about 3.4
million years ago.
“It is fascinating
that this population of orangutans differs so much from the orangutans in the
north of Sumatra, and that even in the 21st century a new species of great ape
has been discovered” stated Dr. Ian Singleton, Director of the Sumatran Orangutan
Conservation Programme (SOCP), who have worked on improving protection of the
Tapanuli orangutans and their habitat since 2005.
Tapanuli orangutans
are now only found in the Batang Toru Ecosystem in the North, Central and
Southern districts of Tapanuli, in the province of North Sumatra, south of Lake
Toba. This small remnant population of Tapanuli orangutans survives in only
about 1,100 square kilometers of remaining habitat. Mining concessions, a
proposed hydrodam, encroachment, and illegal logging all continue to threaten
the Tapanuli orangutans’ habitat, and hence the existence of the new species.
With less than 800
individuals left, and the population already divided over 3 forest blocks
separated by roads and agricultural land, urgent conservation efforts are
needed now to ensure the survival of the Tapanuli Orangutan. "Despite only
just now being described, with so few individuals left, the Tapanuli orangutan
is already the most endangered great ape
species in the
world" stated Matthew Nowak, co-author of a recently published ‘Population
Habitat Viability Analysis for Orangutans’. "Orangutans reproduce
extremely slowly, and if more than 1% of the population is lost annually this
will spiral them to extinction", added
Prof. Dr. Serge
Wich, of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group’s Section on Great Apes.
"We have worked
with the local governments in Tapanuli since 2005 to socialize the various
environmental services that the Batang Toru Ecosystem provides for local
communities living near the forest, and their livelihoods, and in 2014 the
Government finally granted protection status to most of the forest",
stated Burhanuddin, who focuses on community
awareness and local
stakeholder relations for the SOCP.
'We now need to
focus on reconnecting the 3 remaining key populations of the Tapanuli orangutan
through corridor development. The most critical habitat area for the species,
with the highest densities of orangutans, is not currently protected in any
way, and in fact is actually scheduled for development of a large new
hydrodam', emphasised Kusnadi, newly
elected Chairman of
the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Forum (FOKUS).
'For sure there a
lot of work to be done to make sure we the Tapanuli orangutan does not go
extinct in the same century in which it is first described, but I am confident
that with close collaboration with the Indonesian Government, and especially
with local stakeholders, we can make this joyful news a conservation success
story', added Dr. Gabriella Fredriksson, who has coordinated the SOCP’s
conservation efforts in Tapanuli since 2006.
Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant        |
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