Searching for Sumatra's endangered orangutans
Posted: Friday, September 25, 2009 2:03 PM
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On Assignment
By Mike Mosher, NBC News Producer
BUKIT LAWANG, North Sumatra, Indonesia – It’s said one should not take work along on vacation. "Leave the BlackBerry at home!" my supervisor insisted. But, no way was I going to leave behind the camera with the opportunity to spend a week on an eco-tour in Indonesia.
In the forests of North Sumatra, Indonesia, there's a delicate balancing act going on, witnessed by a few eco-friendly tourists every year. It's not easy to see, but well worth the trip. And you might even see a little piece of yourself looking back at you from high in the trees.
The location was new for me and the trip was special, hardly work, particularly when I can share the experience (through the video links here) with others.
I set out to find a critically endangered species, the orangutan, in their native habitat before they become extinct. Its estimated just 6,600 Sumatran orangutans remain.
With reddish-brown hair the "person of the forest," as they are known, is actually a lot like us – at least in mannerism, if not in looks.
They typically stand about 5 feet tall, weigh 75 to 250 pounds, and have hands with four long fingers and a thumb. Their arms are twice as long as their legs and they grip branches with curved toes as they swing from tree to tree.
They are remarkably intelligent and with a mournful look they seem to know they are endangered and disappearing at an alarming rate.
Looking for the ‘person of the forest’
The Gunung Leuser National Park, which is 3,200 square miles, is what's left of the Sumatran orangutan’s natural habitat. Their forests are being replaced by lucrative palm plantations that feed the palm oil industry. The oil is used in everything from lipstick to detergent to bio-fuels.
Bukit Lawang is a small tourist village at the bank of the Bahorak River next to the National Park. It is known for its sanctuary of Sumatran orangutans and a rehabilitation center attempting to preserve the decreasing orangutan population.
But a flash flood hit Bukit Lawang in 2003. The disaster was the result of illegal logging and destroyed the local tourist resorts. It also killed 239 people and around 1,400 locals lost their homes.
Felix Lilisuheri survived the flood, and now he's a licensed expedition guide. Lilisuheri used to work at the orangutan rehabilitation center and knows many of the animals that have been recovered and released back into the jungle. "Bukit Lawang owes its recovery to the orangutan. They bring the tourists," he said.
A good local guide is essential to navigate the area. Getting around is a challenge. Roads are few and built for logging trucks. Where the road ends and the jungle begins, Sumatran elephants, also an endangered species, took us through deep and steep terrain. The real treat of the trip was lending a hand to help bathe the elephants in the river.
One of the other treats was trying to catch a glimpse of the orangutan as they ate. Park rangers, who call the orangutans down from the treetops by banging a rhythm with sticks, have set up a feeding platform. For a small fee, visitors come too and sit quietly in a viewing area. But the orangutans don’t always com, especially when the fruit is ripe in the forest.
Sugary fruits are the orangutan’s favorite food. So to see an orangutan in the wild it is necessary to hike to where the fruit is ripe and plentiful.
The orangutan prefers to be left alone in their shrinking world. But being endangered doesn't leave a lot of options. They are so elusive that they've become a rare treat for eco- friendly tourists.
Just as the town needs to bounce back from the tragic flood, so too do the orangutans and each needs the other to do it.
