In search of the Orang-Pendek

[Still Waters]

Adam Davies is a first-class investigator of all-things cryptozoological and monster-themed, and the author of the book Extreme Expeditions, which I most definitely recommend to anyone and everyone interested in knowing what goes on during a quest to seek out strange beasts in remote and exotic locations.

And, Adam has some excellent news to relate: later this year, he will be leading a team from Britain’s Center for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) to the depths of Sumatra – in search of a breed of mysterious, diminutive ape-men known locally, and collectively, as the Orang-Pendek.

So, it’s over to Adam for all the details: “Sumatra, and the Orang-Pendek, in particular, holds a special affection for me. Since I first visited this beautiful country, with its dense virgin rainforest and proud tribal people, I have always been fascinated by the Orang-Pendek, the ‘short man’ of the forests.

“I have no doubt the Orang-Pendek exists. Over the years I have interviewed many witnesses who have seen this creature. In 2009 the CFZ expedition was fortunate to have an eyewitness ourselves in Dave Archer. And Sahar Didmus saw one pinned against a tree, before it scurried away from us into the jungle. The experience so moved Sahar that he burst into tears.”

Adam continues: “Importantly, there has been a considerable body of scientific evidence that has been gathered to support the existence of the Orang-Pendek. For example, previous expeditions I have led, in 2001 and 2004, brought back both prints and hair samples. These were analyzed by various international experts, including Drs. Chivers, Meldrum and Brunner, who all came to the conclusion that they were from an ‘unknown primate.’”

Read more...

[aquatus1]

It would be neat if a new primate is discovered. It will be even more exciting if it is on our branch of the family tree. Otherwise, though, cool, but not exactly a cryptid.

[Mr.United_Nations]

The rainforest is a virgin?

[+DieChecker]

Can't wait to see what happens.

[tipotep]

Very interesting , this would be a big discovery

TiP.

[aquatus1]

Well, depends on what it is. If it's just another monkey, it'll be forgotten in a month.

[tipotep]

Well, depends on what it is. If it's just another monkey, it'll be forgotten in a month.

Yeah true but i dont think they would go to all the trouble if they thought it was just another monkey .

That said its more likely to be an ape like rather than human like ...

TiP.

Edited March 15, 2011 by tipotep

[Clobhair-cean]

Yeah true but i dont think they would go to all the trouble if they thought it was just another monkey .

That said its more likely to be an ape like rather than human like ...

TiP.

I've read it at a reputable place (Darren Naish's Tet Zoo) that the most recent DNA results came back as an unknown primate that's very very close to orangutans. It kinda makes sense.

[ColoradoParanormal]

This is one Cryptid I find possibly could be real. I'm not saying this is a bigfoot etc but, rather like stated above, a type of primate. It's not hard to believe they could find a large, undiscovered primate due to the fact, I believe in the early to mid 80's scientists were told about a large mountain gorilla living (I'm sorry I don't remember the lacation I will search) and scientists dismissed these claims off hand. Finally, evidence and proof of this primate were found, and it became another listed Primate.

[angi chiesa]

I hope they find a new ape.I think that there could be something undiscouvered in a dense jungle/rainforest. I absolutely do not believe in the big foot nonsense,or Nessie .

[HMS Dreadnought]

Hopefully they get some firm evidence this time, certainly looks likely that the orang pendek does exist.

[marcos anthony toledo]

I hope the mystry of the wild man of Sumatra is finally solved once and for all.

[zooage]

So why bother them? They have done nothing to us, lets leave them alone. As soon as he has either captured or photographed one, the "Virgin" rain forest will be full of gun toting thugs wanting to be the first to hang one on their wall or put one in a cage as a pet. Go away and leave them alone!

[Mattshark]

This is one Cryptid I find possibly could be real. I'm not saying this is a bigfoot etc but, rather like stated above, a type of primate. It's not hard to believe they could find a large, undiscovered primate due to the fact, I believe in the early to mid 80's scientists were told about a large mountain gorilla living (I'm sorry I don't remember the lacation I will search) and scientists dismissed these claims off hand. Finally, evidence and proof of this primate were found, and it became another listed Primate.

The mountain gorilla has been know since way before the 80's, both subspecies of the eastern gorilla were classified by 1914. It was never a cryptid.

Edited March 16, 2011 by Mattshark

[Mattshark]

So why bother them? They have done nothing to us, lets leave them alone. As soon as he has either captured or photographed one, the "Virgin" rain forest will be full of gun toting thugs wanting to be the first to hang one on their wall or put one in a cage as a pet. Go away and leave them alone!

Because we can't protect a species that we do not know exists or understand the ecology of.

[psyche101]

Not holding my breath, I do not see why they feel #6 is lucky. Hair from unknown primate, just has no lustre for me any longer - heard it far too many times already.

[psyche101]

The mountain gorilla has been know since way before the 80's, both subspecies of the eastern gorilla were classified by 1914. It was never a cryptid.

I agree Mat, is was never a cryptid.

[+DieChecker]

The mountain gorilla has been know since way before the 80's, both subspecies of the eastern gorilla were classified by 1914. It was never a cryptid.

Debatable. Many of the stories from the 17th, 18th and 19th century tell of an ape that did magical things, that sounds like a cryptid to me.

[xXHellkittiesXx]

I can't imagine, with so many places they've been seen, Bigfeet haven't been found yet?! They can't be that hard to miss....(Yeah thats right, I choose to believe the plural of Bigfoot is Bigfeet, your welcome:)

Edited March 16, 2011 by xXHellkittiesXx

[Mattshark]

Debatable. Many of the stories from the 17th, 18th and 19th century tell of an ape that did magical things, that sounds like a cryptid to me.

Gorilla's can do magic!?

Edited March 16, 2011 by Mattshark

[a vampire wears my boxers]

The rainforest is a virgin?

not for long. giggity giggity! if its a new species of primate that is found, that would be cool. hope we find out soon! but just our luck, the unknown primates will be illuminati or something......

[psyche101]

Gorilla's can do magic!?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Classic, damn it is good to see you around mate!

[Myles]

I'm amazed at the comments they make in the article.

"I have no doubt the orang-pendek exists". He says this without ever seeing it himself. Without ever having solid evidence. That right there shows me that he is not credible.

Heck, I drove my car today. I still have "some" doubt of whether it will start the next time or not.

[+DieChecker]

Gorilla's can do magic!?

Maybe not magical, but certainly their abilities were exaggerated.

Here is the story of Paul du Chaillu who in the 1850s went to Africa and shot a lot of animals.

Looking once more to our guns, we started off. I confess that I was never more excited in my life. For years I had heard of the terrible roar of the gorilla, of its vast strength, of its fierce courage when only wounded. I knew that we were about to pit ourselves against an animal which even the enormously large leopards of the mountains fear, which the elephants let alone, and which perhaps has driven away the lion out of this territory; for the "king of beasts," so numerous elsewhere in Africa, is not met with in the land of the gorilla.

One of the men told how, some years ago, a party of gorillas were found in a cane-field tying up the sugar-cane in regular bundles preparatory to carrying it away. The natives attacked them, but were routed, and several killed, while others were carried off prisoners by the gorillas; but in a few days they returned home, not uninjured indeed, for the nails of their fingers and toes had been torn of by their captors.

Finally came the story that is current among all the tribes who are acquainted with the habits of the gorilla, that this animal will hide himself in the lower branches of a tree, and there lie in wait for people who go to and fro. When one passes sufficiently near, the gorilla grasps the luckless fellow with his powerful feet, which he uses like giants' hands, and, drawing the man up into the tree, In quietly chokes him there.

http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=books&MenuItem=display&author=chaillu&book=gorilla&story=wilderness

I wonder what this animal was? Paul du Chaillu was familiar with Chimps and Gorillas by this time in his adventures. Curious...

http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=books&MenuItem=display&author=chaillu&book=gorilla&story=bald

As I was trudging along one day in the woods, rather tired of the sport, and on the point of going back to the camp, I happened to look up at a high tree which we were passing, and saw a most singular shelter or home built in its branches. I immediately stopped and asked Okabi why the hunters slept in that way in the wood. Okabi laughed, after looking at me quizzically, and then he told me that no man had ever built that shelter. He said that it was made by a kind of man of the woods, called nshiego mbouvé, an animal which had no hair on the top of its head. I really thought Okabi was joking. An animal—a man-monkey—with no hair on the top of his head!—a bald-headed ape! It was now my turn to laugh, for I did not believe Okabi's story about the bald-headed animal, though I believed what he said about the shelter in the tree.

I saw at once that I was on the trail of an animal which no civilized man had ever seen before. I no longer felt tired, but pushed on through the woods with renewed ardor and with increased caution, so as not to alarm our prey. The shelter we had seen was an old one, which had been abandoned, but we had a hope of finding another which should be still occupied.

We were not disappointed. We soon found two more shelters. They were about twenty feet from the ground, and were on two trees which stood a little apart from the others, and which had no limbs below the one on which the nests were placed. This location for its house is probably chosen by the animals to secure them at night from beasts and serpents, and from the falling limbs of surrounding trees. They build only in the loneliest part of the forest. They are very shy, and are seldom seen, even by the negroes.

The next morning I examined the nshiego mbouvé. Okabi, pointing to the head, triumphantly exclaimed, "See, Chaillie, is not the animal bald-headed? Did I not tell you the truth?" So it was. The nshiego was quite bald; not a hair could be seen on the top of his head. He was a full-grown specimen, and measured three feet and eleven inches in height. His color was intensely black, and the body was covered with short, rather blackish hair. On the legs the hair was of a dirty gray, mixed with black. On the shoulders and back the hair grew two or three inches long. This animal was old, and his hair was a little mixed with gray. The arms also, down to the wrists, were covered with long black hair. The hair is much thinner than on the gorilla, and is blacker, longer, and glossier. The nose, also, is not so prominent. Though only three feet and eleven inches in height, the animal had an extremely broad chest, though not so powerful as that of the gorilla. The fingers, also, were much longer, and not large; and the hand was longer than the foot; while the gorilla, like man, has the foot longer than the hand.

Some of the teeth were decayed; so the poor fellow must have had the toothache badly; and I suppose there were no dentists among the nshiego mbouvés. I have killed several of these animals. One of them was a very old one; he had silvery hair; nearly all his teeth were decayed, and some were missing, which had dropped out with age. He was getting so infirm that he had not strength enough to pick berries or break nuts; and, when killed, he had only leaves in his stomach.

This too was supposedly a new ape. I wonder if anyone has ever positively IDed these apes in the story. Maybe they were just chimps?

http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=books&MenuItem=display&author=chaillu&book=gorilla&story=yet

We had hardly got clear of the Bashikouays when my ears were saluted by the singular cry of the ape I was after. "Koola-kooloo, koola-kooloo," it said several times. Only Gambo and Malaouen were with me. Gambo and I raised our eyes, and saw, high up on a tree-branch, a large ape. It looked almost like a black hairy man. We both fired at once, and the next moment the poor beast fell with a heavy mash to the ground. I rushed up, anxious to see if, indeed, I had a new animal. I saw in a moment that it was neither a nshiego mbouvé, nor a common chimpanzee, nor a gorilla. Again I had a happy day. This kooloo-kamba was undoubtedly a new variety of chimpanzee.

We at once disemboweled the animal, which was a full-grown male. We found in his stomach nothing but berries, nuts, and fruits. He had, no doubt, just begun to take his breakfast.

This kooloo-kamba was four feet three inches high. He was powerfully built, with strong and square shoulders. He had a very round head, with whiskers running quite round the face and below the chin. The face was round; the cheek-bones prominent; the cheeks sunken. The roundness of the head, and the prominence of the cheek-bones, were so great as to remind me of some of the heads of Indians or Chinamen. The hair was black and long on the arms, which, however, were partly bare. His ears were large, and shaped like those of a human being. Of its habits the people could tell me nothing, except that it was found more frequently in the far interior. I brought the skin of this kooloo-kamba to New York, and some years ago many people saw it.

[bunji]

I'm amazed at the comments they make in the article.

"I have no doubt the orang-pendek exists". He says this without ever seeing it himself. Without ever having solid evidence. That right there shows me that he is not credible.

Heck, I drove my car today. I still have "some" doubt of whether it will start the next time or not.

lol so saying he's sure it exists and stating his opinion makes him not credible? they have hair samples of a unidentified primate plus foot prints and hundreds of eye witness statements. sounds like some evidence to me. i mean orang pendek isn't a dragon or alien or the lochness monster its perfectly viable to believe that an undiscovered primate lives in the thousands of square miles of sumatran rain forest. we discover new species all the time. now whether its actually bipedal thats the big question.