Camera shows Sumatra orangutan using a canopy bridge to cross a road for the firs time
Rapid development has been shrinking the jungle habitat of the critically endangered species, and fatal conflicts with people have been increasing.
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AsiaCamera shows Sumatra orangutan using a canopy bridge to cross a road for the first timeRapid development has been shrinking the jungle habitat of the critically endangered species, and fatal conflicts with people have been increasing.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleOrangutan seen using human-made bridge for the first time00:50Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 28, 2026, 3:47 AM EDTBy The Associated PressA Sumatran orangutan has been filmed for the first time using a human-made canopy bridge to cross a public road on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, conservationists said Monday.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Rapid development has been shrinking the jungle habitat of the critically endangered species, and fatal conflicts with people have been increasing.The fleeting scene, captured by a motion‑sensitive camera, showed a young Sumatran orangutan pause at the forest’s edge, grip a rope with deliberate care and step out into open air. Halfway across, it stopped, casting a glance down at the road below. Moments later, it crossed.Conservationists said that it marks the first documented case of an Sumatra orangutan using an artificial canopy bridge to cross a public road that had divided its habitat.“This was the moment we had been waiting for,” Erwin Alamsyah Siregar, executive director of Indonesian conservation group Tangguh Hutan Khatulistiwa, or TaHuKah, told The Associated Press. “We are very grateful that the canopy here provides benefits for orangutan conservation efforts.”In this undated photo provided by Sumatran Orangutan Society/TaHuKah, a Sumatran orangutan crosses a canopy bridge that stretches over a road in Pakpak Bharat, North Sumatra, Indonesia.Sumatran Orangutan Society / TaHuKah via APHe said that the bridge spans the Lagan–Pagindar road in Pakpak Bharat district, a vital corridor connecting remote villages to schools, healthcare and government services. But the road also cuts directly through prime orangutan habitat, splitting an estimated 350 orangutans into two isolated forest areas: the Siranggas Wildlife Reserve and the Sikulaping Protection Forest.When the road was upgraded in 2024, the gap in the forest canopy widened, eliminating natural crossings for tree‑dwelling wildlife.“Development was necessary for people,” Siregar said. “But without intervention, it would have left orangutans trapped on either side.”TaHuKah, working with the Sumatran Orangutan Society, or SOS, and local and national government agencies, proposed a simple solution: rope bridges suspended between trees, allowing arboreal animals to cross above traffic.Five canopy bridges were installed each with a camera trap, carefully positioned after surveys of orangutan nests, forest cover and animal movement. The structures were designed to support the orangutan’s weight — no small feat for the world’s largest tree‑dwelling mammal.The program is closely monitored, with camera traps on every bridge and regular patrols to prevent forest encroachment. Conservationists hope more orangutans will follow the first pioneer.They waited two years for the first orangutan to cross the bridge. Before the accomplishment, only smaller animals used it. Camera traps recorded squirrels, langur monkeys and macaques, followed by gibbons — a promising sign.The orangutan’s approach was slower, building nests near the bridge, lingering at its edges…
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