Proof Of Orang Utan Using Rope Bridge In Kinabatangan, Malaysia

Bernama 11 Apr 10;

SANDAKAN, April 11 (Bernama) -- We will cross the bridge when we come to it. An orang utan has given new meaning to this oft-said adage, based on photographic evidence obtained last February.

The young male primate spent about 20 minutes at an orang utan rope bridge which was specially-built to re-connect isolated orang utan populations within the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

According to Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project (KOCP) co-director Dr Isabelle Lackman, there was photographic evidence showing the orang utan using the bridge to cross from the Pangi Forest Reserve into Lot 1 of sanctuary.

She said the photographs were obtained from a member of the local community, Ajirun Osman @ Aji, who took snap shots of the primate in February.

"Over the years, we have received numerous eye-witness accounts of the orang utan using these rope bridges.

"However, this is the first time we have received photographic evidence which clearly shows a young male orang utan using the first rope bridge we constructed in 2003, to cross over Rasang river, a small tributary of Kinabatangan," she said in a statement here Sunday.

Dr Lackman explained that in the past, the primates would have used tall old trees in forests as "natural bridges" over small rivers.

Currently however, the orang utan no longer have this luxury since most trees have been logged.

"Today, the orang utan is facing more man-made obstacles such as illegal planting of oil palm all the way down to the river bank, leaving no riparian reserve which are actually required by law under the Environment Protection Enactment of 2002, as well as the Water Resources Enactment of 1998," she said.

Unfortunately, all the great ape species which includes the orang utans are unable to swim, hence are further isolated within forest.

To address such issues and to reconnect isolated populations, KOCP which was established by the Sabah Wildlife Department and the French non-governmental organisation HUTAN in 1998, built six rope bridges.

Camera traps were also set up to capture pictures in the event of orang utan using the rope bridges. However, they either malfunctioned or were destroyed by macaques which used the rope bridges regularly.

-- BERNAMA

No bridge too far for orang utans

New Straits Times 12 Apr 10;

KINABATANGAN: One orang utan has been seen using the rope bridge built specifically to reconnect isolated orang utan populations in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary to cross the Rasang river and get to another part of the sanctuary.

Snapshots taken in February show a young male primate crossing the bridge from the Pangi forest reserve.

Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project (KOCP) co-director Dr Isabelle Lackman said this was the first photographic evidence of such an encounter.

"Over the years, we've received many sightings of orang utans using the rope bridges but no visual proof.

"These pictures clearly show that orang utans have used it to cross the Rasang river," she said here yesterday.

The bridge, built in 2003, was the first of six to be built for the orang utan population.

The photographs were taken by Ajirun Osman Aji, who claimed the orang utan spent about 20 minutes on the bridge before crossing it.

Lackman said in the past, orang utans would use giant trees as "natural bridges" to swing from one area to another.

But most of the trees had since been logged and thus made it difficult for the orang utans to move from one area to another.

There are an estimated 1,000 orang utans within the protected and non-protected areas of Lower Kinabatangan.

Sabah has an estimated 11,000 orang utans.

Ape bridge project a success
The Star 12 Apr 10;

KOTA KINABALU: The orang utan bridge project to reconnect isolated populations around Kinabatangan has proven to be successful.

Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project (KOCP) co-director Dr Isabella Lackman said pictures of an orang utan using the rope bridges built in 2003 confirmed that the project had met its objective.

“Over the years, we have received local eyewitness reports of orang utans using these rope bridges.

“But this is the first time we have received photographic evidence, showing a young male using the first bridge we constructed in 2003 to cross over Resang River, a small tributary of the Kinabatangan,” said Dr Lackman.

Local community member Ajiran Osman Aji, who took the pictures in February this year, said the orang utan spent about 20 minutes at the rope bridge tree before finally crossing over.

“It seemed like once he decided to cross, he did so very fast, going over in about three minutes from the Pangi Forest Reserve into Lot 1 of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Lackman said unlike in the past when orang utans could use tall, old growth forest as “natural bridges” over small rivers,they now no longer had this luxury since most trees had been logged.

Illegal oil palm plantations, she said, also contributed to the isolation of orang utan populations as large drains the size of small rivers were built to draw off excess water.

“Unfortunately, all the great ape species, including the orang utans, are unable to swim. They are further isolated within the forest,” said Dr Lackman.

To address these issues and reconnect isolated populations, KOCP had built six rope bridges.

Wildlife veterinarian and KOCP co-director Dr Marc Ancrenaz said: “Using rope bridges is a quick fix but eventually, the most ideal solution would be to reconnect the forest and we are all working on this.”

Orangutan uses bridge to find mates
Straits Times 11 Apr 10;

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN wildlife activists said on Sunday they have photographic evidence of the endangered orangutan using man-made treetop bridges to find new mates and prevent inbreeding.

Orangutan habitats in Malaysia and Indonesia have been devastated as jungles are cleared by logging companies and to make way for plantations, putting the ape at risk of inbreeding as they are split into smaller populations.

Activists in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state on Borneo island since 2003 began building bridges in a bid to save the species, which could be virtually eliminated from the wild within two decades if deforestation continues. 'Over the years we have received numerous local eyewitness reports of the orangutans using these rope bridges but this is the first time we have received photographic evidence,' Isabelle Lackman from environmental group Hutan said.

She said a group of pictures captured by a local in February showed a young male ape crossed the single rope 20-metre bridge, one of the six built by activists, in the Lower Kinabatangan Sanctuary in Sabah.

Experts say there are about 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans - Asia's only great ape - left in the wild, 80 percent of them in Indonesia and the rest in Malaysian's eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo.

Ms Hutan said the evidence marked a success in efforts to conserve the population but called for the establishment of wildlife corridors that would enable the apes to move across the fragmented landscape and alongside rivers. The group said using rope bridges is a 'quick fix", while Sabah Wildlife Department head Laurentius Ambu said the permanent wildlife corridor will help save other species like Bornean Pygmy Elephants, sunbears and clouded leopards. -- AFP