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View all search resultsOrangutan uses canopy bridge to cross fragmented habitat for ‘first time’
A Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a man-made canopy bridge to cross a road in North Sumatra, marking a major conservation milestone and offering rare proof that development need not sever forest lifelines.
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This screen grab from a handout video taken on December 14, 2025, and released by the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS), shows a Sumatran orangutan using a canopy bridge constructed by conservation NGO Tangguh Hutan Khatulistiwa (TaHuKah) in collaboration with government partners and UK-based charity SOS to cross a road in Pakpak Bharat district, North Sumatra. A Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time crossing a man-made canopy bridge constructed to help the endangered animals bypass a tarred road on the Indonesian island, an NGO said on April 26. (AFP/SUMATRAN ORANGUTAN SOCIETY (SOS) )
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Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) has been filmed for the first time using a man-made canopy bridge to cross a road in North Sumatra, marking a major conservation milestone and offering rare proof that development need not sever forest lifelines.
The footage, captured by a camera trap, shows a young male carefully making his way along a rope bridge suspended above the Lagan–Pagindar road in Pakpak Bharat regency.
Midway across, he pauses as if taking in the view, then glances toward the camera before continuing, a moment conservationists say they had long been waiting for.
The roughly 10-meter bridge was installed in 2024 through a joint initiative between Indonesian conservation group Tangguh Hutan Khatulistiwa (TaHuKah), the United Kingdom-based Sumatra Orangutan Society (SOS) and local authorities. It is one of five canopy crossings built to reconnect forest patches fragmented by the expansion of the Lagan–Pagindar road.
While the road has improved access for remote communities to schools, hospitals and other essential services, it has also split a population of around 350 orangutans, isolating them in separate forest blocks and heightening the risk of inbreeding and long-term decline.
“For two years, we have watched and waited for this moment,” SOS chief executive Helen Buckland said in a statement on Sunday. “Seeing this young male orangutan confidently cross the road using the canopy bridge is a huge milestone for conservation.”
Read also: Sumatran orangutan's use of medicinal plant to treat wound intrigues scientists
