Sumatran orangutan filmed using canopy bridge to cross road for the first time

Indonesia — Ekhbary News Agency

In a significant conservation milestone, a young male Sumatran orangutan has been filmed using a purpose-built canopy bridge to cross a road for the first time. The bridge, constructed over the Lagan-Pagindar road in the Pakpak Bharat district of North Sumatra, Indonesia, was established two years ago by conservationists to mitigate habitat fragmentation. This road had become a significant barrier for wildlife, making natural crossings virtually impossible, according to Erwin Alamsyah Siregar, director of the environmental organization Tangguh Hutan Khatulistiwa (TaHuKah).

For two years, the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) and its local partner TaHuKah monitored camera traps, eagerly awaiting the moment an orangutan would utilize the overpass. The successful crossing was met with "cries of delight" from the team, as reported by Helen Buckland, chief executive of SOS. This footage offers crucial hope for the survival of the critically endangered species, which faces functional extinction if populations become isolated. The road had split the local population of approximately 350 orangutans into two groups, hindering genetic diversity and increasing the risk of inbreeding. The Sumatran orangutan is one of the world's most threatened apes, with only about 14,000 individuals remaining in the wild.