Unknown ape found on Mt. Kerinci

Unknown ape found on Mt. Kerinci

JAKARTA (JP): Researchers from Flora and Fauna International
have confirmed the existence of a primate not previously known in
the Kerinci Seblat National Park, Kompas daily newspaper reported
yesterday.

Three members of the research team said they sighted the
primate after months of surveying the national park. The
existence of the primate was first reported last year.

The research team described the ape as between 115 and 120 cm
tall, weighing around 75 kg, with reddish fur. They also found
that unlike other apes, this one grabs its food with its hands
rather than its teeth. Provisionally, the researchers classified
the primate as a combination of several known apes including
orangutan, lutung, siamang, gibbon and ungko.

The preliminary result of the Orang Pendek (Short Person)
Project has now been reported to the World Wide Fund for Nature
and also the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in Jakarta.

The research team includes Debbie Martyr of Cambridge
University, Yanuar of Nasional University in Jakarta and a
photographer.

A photograph of the primate species was displayed at the
National Building in Sungaipenuh city in Jambi, according to
Kompas. (emb)