As orangutans are added to a list of the world's 25 most endangered primates, we are discovering that these great apes are more like humans than we supposed. August 19 was International Orangutan Day. This year it follows hot on the heels of exciting genetic results from Sumatra made public at the International Primatological Society’s biannual conference on Sunday which suggest the discovery of a new species of the ape.
Dr Michael Krutzen of Zurich University studied the most southern population, known as the Batang Toru orangutans, in the Tapanuli region of northern Sumatra. “From a genetics point of view we were taken by surprise to see these stark differences compared to other Sumatran orangutan populations further north,” he said. “Our findings highlight the urgent need for special conservation status for the Batang Toru forests.” Indonesia is home to 59 species of primate and 35 of these are found only in Indonesia. But today around 70% of Indonesia’s primate species are threatened with extinction. The majority of orangutans live in the protected Leuser Ecosystem but the local Aceh government plans to develop the area, which is reportedly rich in minerals.
Dr Ian Singleton, conservation director of the Orangutan Project, said: “We are extremely concerned about this situation. With these new developments it seems crystal clear the Aceh government deliberately intends to open up and destroy huge tracts of the Leuser Ecosystem. This will be disastrous for Sumatra’s orangutans.” Orangutans have been studied for two hundred years and in 1837 were the first great ape species to be displayed at London Zoo.
They diverged from the lineage leading to humans, gorillas, chimps and bonobos 10 million years ago. They are the only Asian great ape and the only non-human ape with a fossil record.
From it we know that archaic orangutans had bigger heads and far bigger teeth. The fossil record also suggests that 5m years ago orangutans spent more time on the ground and used more complex tools. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2014
