World’s newest species of primate – the Tapanuli orangutan – will be appear on UK TV for the first time in new documentary filmed in Indonesia
- Primates is narrated by Chris Packham, and begins on BBC One next Sunday
- It follows Tapanuli orangutan in Batang Toru, northern Sumatra, Indonesia
- They were identified as a new species in 2017 and will be shown for the first time
The world’s newest species of primate, hidden for thousands of years, is set to be shown on British television for the first time.
The Tapanuli orangutan has been described as the rarest great ape on Earth and fewer than 800 live in Indonesia.
The orangutan was identified as a new species in 2017 after it was spotted by scientists decades earlier.
It is already considered endangered and conservationists fear that the population could be wiped out within a generation as humans invade their territory.
The Tapanuli orangutan has been described as the rarest great ape on Earth and fewer than 800 live in Indonesia. A new BBC documentary will give a rare glimpse into their lives
Viewers in Britain will have their first chance to study them in a documentary – Primates narrated by Chris Packham – next weekend, filmed at their home in Batang Toru, northern Sumatra.
The rare footage shows a mother and her baby swinging together through the trees and learning to seek out food.
The show is a three-part series from the BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU).
Primates is narrated by the naturalist Chris Packham (pictured), and begins on BBC One at 8.15pm on Sunday, April 26
Mike Gunton, creative director of the NHU and the show’s executive producer, said it was ‘very pleasing’ to introduce audiences to a new species, especially one so similar to humans.
‘These are our closest relatives — and to find a new one is always amazing,’ he told The Times.
He added that the footage was incredible but also sad, given the threat of extinction.
The animals are smaller than other orangutan species, with paler, thicker fur – which is an adaption due to living at altitude.
Tapanuli are thought to have split from Bornean orangutans — one of only two other species — 674,000 years ago, and have been entirely isolated for about 20,000 years.
Primates is narrated by the naturalist Chris Packham, and begins on BBC One at 8.15pm on Sunday, April 26.