New Species of Orangutan Is Rarest Great Ape on Earth
Published 13 Nov 2017, 15:16 GMT, Updated 14 Nov 2017, 06:55 GMT
An adult male Tapanuli orangutan in the Batang Toru Forest.
Photograph by Tim Lamán, National Geographic Creative
Batang Toru apes are more closely related to their counterparts from Borneo than to other orangutans living on the same island.
Photograph by Tim Lamán, National Geographic Creative
Tapanuli orangutans live only in a single, isolated forest in the mountains of Sumatra.
Photograph by Tim Lamán, National Geographic Creative
A young female Tapanuli orangutan swings through the trees.
Photograph by Tim Lamán, National Geographic Creative
The newfound orangutan species is endangered—like its Sumatran and Bornean orangutan kin.
Photograph by Tim Lamán, National Geographic Creative
An adult male naps in a tree. There are about 800 Tapanuli orangutans on Earth, split into three fragmented populations.
Photograph by Tim Lamán, National Geographic Creative
