Rare Orangutan Sub-Species Found in Borneo

About 200 of the rarest Bornean orangutans were found in Sarawak, Malaysia, said the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus is listed as the most severely threatened subspecies and has a population of around 3,000 to 4,500.

WCS said in a statement that it congratulates the Government of Sarawak for protecting 200 of the rarest orangutans in the world. The orangutans were found in Ulu Sungai Menyang, close to Batang Ai National Park in an area of around 14,000 hectares. Although the presence of these orangutans has been known in the area, there was no major research conducted in the region to protect them.

The sub-species of orangutans were found by a research team from Sarawak Forest Department, assisted by Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Borneo Adventure.

WCS and other agencies had recently found the 995 orangutan nests during a survey of the region. The nests were fresh, indicating that they had been used recently.

Related studies on orangutan nests have found that these nests are complex structures made by weaving branches together.

"We found that the orangutans chose strong, rigid tree branches for the structural parts of the nests that supported their weight, and weaker, more flexible branches for the nest's linings, suggesting that the apes' choice of branch for different parts of the nests was dictated by the branches' diameter and rigidity," said Dr. Roland Ennos, from the University of Manchester's Faculty of Life Sciences and an author of the study published last year in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Sarawak Government is now looking forward to involve local community as well as other conservation agencies to protect the orangutan population in the area.

"It is indeed wonderful to hear the Government's initiative towards protecting these orangutan and their habitat especially when preliminary scientific data indicates the existence of a globally significant population," said Melvin Gumal, Director of Wildlife Conservation Society, Malaysia Program.