There are three species of orangutan. Do not sacrifice the foundations of life for short-term economic interests! Once a diverse lineage of Eurasian apes, the subfamily has only one extant genus, Pongo (orangutans), which contains three extant species; the Sumatran orangutan, the Tapanuli orangutan and the Bornean orangutan. The pre-construction phase of the power plant has been started after the Purchasing Power Agreement (PPA) contract with the National Electricity Company (PLN) was signed on December 21, 2015. The research was published in the journal Current Biology.
All three species of orangutan face dire threats to their populations at the hands of humans.
Do not build a dam in the habitat of the Tapanuli orangutan. We call on you to do everything in your power to protect the Tapanuli orangutan. News and updates Call to action. At only 800 known individuals, this species is the most endangered group of great apes in the world. [2] [10], Genetic comparisons show that Tapanuli orangutans diverged from Sumatran orangutans about 3.4 million years ago, and became more isolated after the Lake Toba eruption that occurred about 75,000 years ago. “This discovery shows that despite almost 50 years of orangutan research on Sumatra there is still so much to learn about these apes," said Serge Wich, a co-author on the study, which was published in Current Biology this week. All rights reserved. The Tapanuli’s high-altitude habitat – living some 900-1,100 metres above sea level – sets them apart in this regard.
The forests also provide protection against erosion and flooding. Last but not least, they serve as a carbon sink and are therefore of great importance for the global and local climate in otherwise largely deforested Sumatra. [13]. A brand-new species of orangutan exists, scientists have determined, based on their analysis of a skull and a population of 800 animals living deep in the Indonesian forest.
There is also the danger that the partner countries could unwittingly become dependent on China, as Sri Lanka has done after being unable to service Chinese loans related to a BRI infrastructure project. This new third species lives in North Sumatra, but is genetically and behaviorally distinct from the two other species. A new great ape species—the Tapanuli orangutan—was officially announced by an international team of scientists today.
Until the Tapanuli orangutan was described, there were only six official species of nonhuman great ape: chimpanzees, two species of gorillas, bonobos, and two species of orangutan. The Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis) was discovered by scientists in 2017, and just 800 individuals are believed to exist, making it the rarest great ape species on the planet.
We’re dedicated to rainforest conservation. Washington, DC 20037. The celebration marks a significant milestone in the rewilding of Argentina.
A Chinese hydropower project may soon destroy their habitat.
Found only in the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan but more common than the recently identified Tapanuli orangutan, also of Sumatra. [1] [2] [12] Conservationists predict an 83% decline in three generations (75 years) if the necessary conservation measures and practices are not implemented. “There is a third species of orangutan and somehow nobody noticed”, wrote New Scientist in November 2017. [3] As of 2020 [update] , there are roughly 800 individuals of this species and it is currently on the critically endangered species list.
Please speak out to protect the world’s rainforests – your signature carries real weight! [2] The holotype of the species is the complete skeleton of an adult male from Batang Toru who died after being wounded by locals in November 2013. The Tapanuli orangutan is a sensational discovery – it was only recognized as a distinct species in 2017 and it is already facing extinction. The Sumatran ground cuckoo's diet is thought to consist of invertebrates, small mammals, and reptiles. The discovery of the animal in 2017 made it … Until recently, they had been considered a subspecies of the Sumatran orangutan. Mining, logging, poaching and plantations are already decimating the biologically rich and diverse forests of Batang Toru. The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) is a collaborative project involving Indonesian NGO Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (YEL) - as the main implementer in Indonesia, its Swiss partner the PanEco Foundation, and the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Directorate General of Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservation, under several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) starting in 1999.
Declining orangutan population in the unprotected forest of Batang Toru. You can help keep this newly discovered species just by sharing this story, spreading the word to your friends and family about the threats to orangutans in Indonesia. This discovery shows us just how little we know about our closest relatives and how incomplete our understanding of biodiversity remains. South Tapanuli is a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia. According to wildlife studies in recent years, the Batang Toru Ecosystem is home to nearly 100 mammal species, 18 of which are on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. “It’s critical to address the many threats to their habitat if we want to secure their future.”. It was only in November 2017 that scientists found that the orangutans in Tapanuli are a distinct species and not a subspecies of the Sumatran orangutan. ©2020 Group Nine Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nasution, A., et al. The calls of the males could be mistaken for a human language. When compared to orangutans from other populations, the skull from Batang Taru showed noticeably different characteristics. [8] The present range of Tapanuli orangutans is thought to be close to the area where ancestral orangutans first entered what is now Indonesia from mainland Asia.