The Tapanuli orangutan, a recently discovered species of orangutan, is now the seventh designated species of great ape. After years of research and studying the changes in genetic sequence, scientists and anthropologists made it official. Extensive research has been able to see the distinct differences between the Bornean, or the Pongo pygmaeus, and Sumatran orangutans, or the Pongo Abelii. One of the main authors of this study, Michael Krutzen of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, says, “It isn’t an everyday event that we find a new species of great ape, so indeed the discovery is very exciting.”
Although this news is exciting for the scientific community, it also comes with some sad news. The Tapanuli orangutan, after just being discovered, is already on the verge of being extinct. According to researchers, there are only 800 Tapanuli orangutans left. Hunting, as well as the proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam, could flood the lowlands of the Batang Toru area of North Sumatra, Indonesia where the great ape inhabits.
Scientists researching the new species said, “If even 8 out of 800 animals per annum were killed or otherwise removed from the population, the species might be doomed.” The continued research of these great apes, especially the Tapanuli orangutan, provides great insight into the different evolutionary changes between different apes as well as humans. Erik Meijaard of the Australian National University says, “If, after 200 years of serious biological research, we can still find new species in this group, what does it tell us about all the other stuff that we are overlooking: hidden species, unknown ecological relationships, critical thresholds we shouldn’t cross?”