(MY)orang utans

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2007/09/16 - New Straits Times

 

Bridging a mate for orang utans

By : Jaswinder Kaur

 

 

KOTA KINABALU: It's a low-tech solution, but it could be just what is

needed to prevent inbreeding in the orang utan population.

 

A conservation group has been stringing rope bridges across rivers to

replace the trees they used previously.

 

The first bridge was built across Sungai Resang more than two years

ago, and since then Kampung Sukau villagers attached to the

Kinabatangan Orang Utan Conservation Project (KOCP) have built another

three links.

 

One is at Sungai Menanggul, a popular spot for viewing wildlife as

visitors travel along Sabah's longest river, the Kinabatangan.

 

KOCP co-director Dr Isabelle Lackman-Ancrenaz said the main idea of

getting orang utans to cross from one forested area to another was to

reduce the risk of inbreeding now that the primate has been separated

into small sub-populations as a result of forest degradation.

 

" It is a cheap and simple way of reducing the possibility of

inbreeding among orang utans that live in degraded places.

Translocating is another method but it has its problems.

 

" Orang utans may look like solitary animals, but they are part of a

well-organised society. Physically moving them to another area may

lead to conflicts, " she said.

 

Single rope bridges cost RM3,000, while double rope ones cost RM6,000,

with an average length of 60 metres.

 

KOCP's bridges are made of chains wrapped with a hose made of a

special fabric as regular ropes rot quickly in the humidity, risking

the lives of animals.

 

The rope bridges were also benefiting other animals, she said.

 

Proboscis monkeys and pigtail macaques, and even reptiles, use the links.

 

The KOCP was building two more rope bridges in the area, she added.

 

Surveys show there are about 11,000 orang utan in Sabah and about 60

per cent live outside protected areas.