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Young Male Sumatran Orangutan Uses New Canopy Bridge Over Indonesian Road, Footage Shows
A young male Sumatran orangutan was captured on camera using a newly built canopy bridge to cross a road in North Sumatra, marking the first such recorded instance. The bridge, constructed in 2024, aims to reconnect fragmented habitats for the critically endangered species. Conservationists expressed hope that this could help prevent genetic bottlenecks in the population.
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A young male Sumatran orangutan was filmed crossing a canopy bridge over the Lagan-Pagindar road in the Pakpak Bharat district of North Sumatra, Indonesia, marking the first time the species has been caught on camera using such a structure. The bridge, built in 2024 by conservationists with help from the local government, spans high above the road, which serves as an essential route for local people but had become a barrier for animals.
Natural crossing over the Lagan-Pagindar road was impossible for wildlife, said Erwin Alamsyah Siregar, director of Tangguh Hutan Khatulistiwa (TaHuKah).
The Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) and TaHuKah monitored camera-trap footage of the bridge for two years. After two long years, an orangutan crossed the bridge, said Helen Buckland, chief executive of SOS.
The young male paused halfway across the bridge to look down at the road and back at the camera before proceeding into the Sikulaping protection forest. The Lagan-Pagindar road split the orangutans into two populations: one at the Siranggas wildlife reserve and the other at the Sikulaping protection forest. There are 350 Sumatran orangutans in the area.
Orangutans have a very slow life history and are prone to genetic bottlenecks, said Helen Buckland, chief executive of SOS. Black giant squirrels, long-tailed macaques, and agile gibbons began using the bridge earlier. Orangutans are the largest arboreal mammal and spend more than 90% of their time in the forest canopy.
There are three species of orangutan, and the entire wild population is concentrated in a corner of south-east Asia. Franc Bernhard Tumanggor, head of the Pakpak Bharat district, said: “Witnessing a Sumatran orangutan confidently crossing that bridge is living proof that we need not sever the forest’s lifeline in order to build our communities’ own.
