Source : The Star, Malaysia, 26 Nov '04
By : The Star
  

State Assistant Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Karim Bujang said the sightings of the animals was another attraction for the area that is already known as home for Sabah’s second highest mountain, the 2,642m Mount Trus Madi.

“The Wildlife Department is working hard to determine the number of orang utan there,” he said yesterday, adding that the population in Trus Madi was estimated to be less than 25 animals.

He said the department would also be creating awareness among the villagers living in the area about the need for the conservation of the animals.

“We are telling them that with the existence of the primates there, tourists will be coming in to see the orang utan in their natural habitat. The villagers will get the economic benefits,” Karim added.

Although the Sabah’s east coast areas such as Sepilok and Kinabatangan were well-known as orang utan viewing areas, the primates were actually spread out throughout the state with small pockets of the animals found at the Crocker Range, he said.

One of the recent sightings of the orang utan was earlier this year by a Forestry Department team that was clearing a trail from Ulu Sungai Mansok to the peak of Mount Trus Madi.

The team initially spotted the orang utan tracks and later their nests in trees at an altitude of about 1,500m.

Assistant district forest officer Julius Peter said the sightings of the orang utan were timely as efforts were under way to develop Tambunan’s potential as an eco-tourism destination.

In this regard, he said the forestry office in Tambunan was currently drafting a management plan for the proposed eco-tourism development of the Trus Madi area.