Overview
- A motion‑sensitive camera captured the first documented Sumatran orangutan using an artificial canopy bridge over a public road in North Sumatra.
- The bridge spans the Lagan–Pagindar route in Pakpak Bharat, a key link for villages that also cut prime habitat into the Siranggas Wildlife Reserve and the Sikulaping Protection Forest.
- Tangguh Hutan Khatulistiwa, working with the Sumatra Orangutan Society and authorities, built five engineered rope crossings in 2024 and fitted each with camera traps and regular patrols.
- Smaller arboreal species used the bridges first as monitoring continued for two years, with squirrels, langurs, macaques, and then gibbons recorded before an orangutan finally crossed.
- Conservationists say the success could guide road planning to keep tree‑dwelling wildlife connected, which is critical for a species the IUCN lists as critically endangered with just over 13,587 individuals.