JakartaPost/AFP-Feb 13
Footage of a seemingly confused orangutan roaming the desolate site of an Indonesian coal mine, meters from excavators, has sparked renewed concern about the future of the critically endangered species. The images, taken last month by a local resident and verified by AFP, are from the same province on Borneo island where Indonesia is building its new capital, a project environmentalists fear will endanger animal habitats in Asia’s last great rainforest. Indonesia has one of the world’s highest deforestation rates, with commodities mining a key driver, but it is also one of only two places in the world where orangutans are still found, along with Malaysia. The footage, which went viral on social media, shows the male orangutan roaming across a chasm of sand streaked with white and black rocks, dug into land still surrounded by vegetation. “Humans are sometimes too greedy. I hope God won’t punish us,” read one comment on the video, which racked up tens of thousands of views across YouTube and TikTok. Locals standing on a bluff overlooking the site filmed the creature as it meandered meters from a digger that was seemingly oblivious to its presence. Ahmad Baihaqi, who filmed the images, said a group of locals had been watching activity at the mine site when they spotted the primate. “I felt bad because he looked so confused,” the 22-year-old driver told AFP. “He was alone and looked lost, he didn’t know where to go because the forest was disappearing.” The sighting took place in East Kalimantan, where Indonesia is building its multi-billion-dollar capital city Nusantara at breakneck speed. Although the coal mine is a nine-hour drive from the construction site, the images renewed doubts about government claims that economic activity in the province is not affecting endangered animals. Local environmentalist Mappaselle of the Balikpapan Coastal Working Group said the footage was clear evidence of that impact. The orangutan sighting “was definitely because their habitat has been disturbed and is getting smaller,” he said. “Our endangered wildlife could go extinct,” he warned. All three species of orangutan are considered critically endangered, though estimates of the number left in the wild vary considerably. Read more at:
