The Undiscovered Animal 

Orang Pendek :The Sumatran Bigfoot 

It has been described as being an ape-like bipedal creature, under a metre high, immensely strong with broad shoulders, short legs and almost entirely covered in short, dark grey hair.  No-one has yet been able to photograph it, but locals are convinced it exists.  The creature, known as the orang pendek or 'short man', is said to live high on a mountainside in West Sumatra.  In recent years, the orang pendek has been the cause of extensive research as scientists hope to prove that this creature is in fact real, and not a myth as many sceptics have reason to believe. 

For the forest villagers, the orang pendek has become part of their natural history and they are genuinely puzzled when other people fail to believe them.  Literally dozens of witnesses have described seeing a small, hairy, ape-like creature both in the forest and in fields on the edges of the jungle.  When questioned about their sightings, the descriptions they give are virtually identical. 

The first recorded sighting of the orang pendek dates back to 1295 when Marco Polo visited the island of Sumatra on one of his expeditions and saw Indonesians hoaxing an ape-like man.  For the next seven centuries, sightings were less well documented and it wasn't until 1910 that sightings became more of a regular occurrence.  In 1923, a Dutch gentleman named Mr van Herwaarden was travelling through the region.  He was looking at forests to see whether the trees would potentially make good timber. During his stay he spent time tracking wild pigs but, despite seeing countless tracks in the mud, he had little luck.  On one occasion, while he was crouching in bushes waiting for the pigs, from the corner of his eye he spotted a small hairy creature in the tree above him.  Initially the creature did not notice him but, on seeing him, the animal started shaking violently. Van Herwaarden immediately recognised it as being the orang pendek that the villagers had spoken of so often.  After some time he tried to climb the tree to where the creature was sitting but, as he 
approached, the small hairy creature slid off the branch and ran away. Many people since then have had stories to tell of encountering the orang pendek.. 

Soon, scientists began to acknowledge that there might be an undiscovered animal in the forests of Sumatra.  They began questioning everyone whose stories sounded legitimate.  Witnesses were interviewed and asked to select a photograph that most resembled the orang pendek. The selection consisted of primates including siamang gibbons and orang-utans, which seemed the obvious candidates.  Only when they came across a picture of a sitting gorilla was there a positive reaction. 
In each case the gorilla was selected and this was an encouraging result. 

Despite all the positive results there were times when the local people were more of a hindrance than a help.   For a while, a reward was offered for a specimen of an orang pendek.  Shortly after the 
announcement the body of a juvenile orang pendek was discovered and instantly made headline news. Forty eight hours later, however, the mysterious corpse was identified as an adult langur monkey whose body had been carefully altered by a group of enterprising locals hoping to claim the reward. 

Today, scientists and volunteers are trying to determine whether there really is an orang pendek.  Traps have been set, and casts are made to document the evidence made by footprints.  Last year a major orang pendek project was established, with its base at Sungai Gambir village.  The team spent the latter part of the year gathering faecal matter and footprint evidence believed to belong to the orang pendek. They also kept records when they discovered signs of something devouring durian fruit, and recorded calls heard in the forest.  Hair samples found on branches were sent off for DNA analysis.  There have been no conclusive results so far. 

More and more organisations are taking a definite interest in the orang pendek and investing time and money into the project, but there are still many questions unanswered.  Is there really a primate lurking in the forests of Sumatra, or is it all a figment of the imagination?  On the other hand there have been so many sightings that it would seem unlikely that they were all cases of mistaken identity. 
It is to be hoped that within the next couple of years the truth about the orang pendek will be revealed. 

copyright BBC


This article is courtesy of  The World of The Strange - http://www.jb-graphics.com/thestrange/