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)