Wednesday, May 27, 2009

In the forests, bridges of love for orang utans


KOTA KINABALU: Not bothered by the noon sun streaming through the forest canopy, or the buzz and bite of insects, a team recently spent several days on the humid Kinabatangan floodplain on Sabah's east coast putting up a bridge of a different kind.

A 43-metre suspension bridge, made of fire hoses once used to put out flames in Japan, now stands across Sungai Resang in the hope that orang utans will use it and stem the risk of inbreeding, as the protected primate has been separated into smaller populations due to forest degradation.

Several double rope bridges made of chains wrapped in fabric have already been built, but this is the first made of fire hoses. It is similar to traditional suspension links used by rural communities.

Continue reading (incl. pics) at: In the forests, bridges of love for orang utans
.
.

No comments: