Jakarta, Dec 15 - Alarms are ringing in Sumatra as the only known population of Tapanuli orangutans faces survival risks following Cyclone Senyar, conservationists warned today.
Of these great primates, considered the rarest in the world, fewer than 800 individuals remain in the wild, and they are endangered, according to scientific data.
It is believed that these vulnerable animals were affected by the floods and landslides caused by Cyclone Senyar last month.
The silence detected by Indonesian conservationists in the Batang Toru forest, in northern Sumatra, where these primates live, makes them fear for their lives and doubt whether they survived.
According to the Independent website, local forest rangers say they are having difficulty finding the primates in an area where sightings were frequent before the disaster.
On the matter, biologist Erik Meijaard told AFP that they estimate that between six and eleven percent of these orangutans probably died.
This endemic species was scientifically recognized as distinct from other orangutans in the country in 2017.
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