The Great Ape Found in 2017
In 2017, scientists announced a new species of great ape, living in a small patch of Sumatran forest. It's the rarest great ape on Earth.
What was reported
Local people in the Batang Toru forest of North Sumatra had long known of orangutans in their hills, far from other known populations. In 1997, researchers confirmed them, but it took twenty more years to show how different they were.
In 2017, scientists studying their skulls, teeth and DNA announced they were a separate species, the Tapanuli orangutan, with frizzier hair and different calls. It was the first new great ape species to be described since the bonobo in 1929.
Explanations offered
There are thought to be fewer than 800 of them, in a forest threatened by roads, mining and a hydroelectric dam. Their discovery shows that even large animals can go unrecognised.
- When
- Described in 2017
- Where
- Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia
- Witnesses
- Scientists and local people
- Status
- Confirmed
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