Fleeting Glimpse

The Tapanuli orangutan was recognised as a new species less than two years ago but is already under threat from a hydroelectric dam project that will impact its Sumatran forest home. Tim Laman’s images reveal the beauty and fragility of the rarest great ape in the world.

- Paul Bloomeld

A male Tapanuli orangutan has a bad hair day, his reddish fur flying in the breeze of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. In November 2017, Pongo tapanuliensis was confirmed as a separate species, genetically, behaviourally and physically distinct from the Sumatran and Bornean species. Its fur is frizzier than the loose locks of Sumatran orangutans living north of Lake Toba, and a more cinnamon colour All images: Tim Laman/naturepl.com than its Bornean cousins.

BELOW Beti, a juvenile female aged about six, drinks water from a pitcher plant – behaviour not observed in the other two species. It wasn’t until 1997 that this species really came to light. The population has been studied intensively since 2005, leading to the description of the new species two years ago, when it was also classified as Critically Endangered – it’s thought no more than 800 are left.

RIGHT A Tapanuli male named Togus relaxes in Batang Toru (Harangan Tapanuli in the local Batak language), where his species is restricted to around 1,100km of upland forest. His prominent soft cheek pads, known as flanges – which appear in some males from the age of about 20 years – are visible expressions of sexual dominance.

LEFT Beta, mother of Beti, peers down from the high canopy. Female orangutans first breed at about the age of 12, producing one or, occasionally, two ospring at intervals of around eight or nine years. With such a slow reproductive rate, numbers of these great apes recover extremely slowly from any population loss.