What is the orang pendek?
The orang pendek is an unidentified creature said to live in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia. Its name means “short person” in Indonesian; it is said to be about 1–1.5 m tall, covered in short hair, and to walk on two legs.
Sightings and investigations
Around Mount Kerinci and elsewhere in Sumatra, many sightings of the orang pendek have been reported by local people and those who work in the forest. It became known to Western explorers from around the early 20th century, and since the 1990s researchers have carried out field investigations, even taking casts of footprints.
What is the orang pendek really?
The leading theory is that sightings are mistaken gibbons, orangutans or other apes, but some suggest it may be an unknown ape or a surviving early human. In 2003, fossils of a small early human about 1 m tall, Homo floresiensis, were found on Flores, another Indonesian island, drawing renewed attention to the orang pendek.
