A reader forwarded this AP story about a new orangutan count for a relatively unexplored corner of Borneo:
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia — perhaps as many as 2,000 — giving a rare boost to one of the world's most endangered great apes.
A team surveying forests nestled between jagged, limestone cliffs on the eastern edge of Borneo island counted 219 orangutan nests, indicating a "substantial" number of the animals, said Erik Meijaard, a senior ecologist at the U.S.-based The Nature Conservancy.
The area is around a fifth the size of Yellowstone National Park in the U.S., so 2000 orangutans sounds like a pretty high density.
