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Batang Toru people to protect Tapanuli orangutans through local wisdom
The indigenous people believe that endangering the Tapanuli orangutans would bring danger to their villages.
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In the wild: A Tapanuli orangutan and her twin babies were spotted in May in the Batang Toru forest in Tapanuli, North Sumatra, by members of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP). The newly identified orangutan species, 'Pongo tapanuliensis', is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) list of critically endangered species. (Courtesy of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program/File)
P
eople living around the Batang Toru ecosystem in South Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra, have reiterated their commitment to protecting the endangered Tapanuli orangutan using local wisdom.
People in the area, according to Sipirok people empowerment activist Koesnadi Wirasaputera, are committed to protecting nature, including the rare Tapanuli orangutans.
The villages of Haonatas, Tanjung Rompa, Bonan Dolok and Siranap in Batang Toru, he added, believed that disturbing orangutans would lead to danger in their villages.
“They consider orangutans to be sacred animals,” Koesnadi told The Jakarta Post recently.
According to local myth, orangutans were members of their “family” that had to be protected, with whom they must share the forest.
The belief also accounted for why locals had not considered orangutans to be their enemies even though they often looted durian from their fields.
“That is how they interact with orangutans,” Koesnadi said, adding such a scene could still be found in Sitandiang, Aek Batang Paya, Marancar Godang.
