ORANG PENDEK ENCOUNTERS : 15 Minutes With An Apeman

Eyewitness: Mr.Poniman

Date: November 1980

Location: Planation on Gunung Kerinci

On a sunny morning around 9am Mr.Poniman made his way up to the end of a potato plantation on the slopes of Mount Kerinci. Like many of the inhabitants of the area,he worked the fields surrounding this enormous stratovolcano and had visited this particular location countless times but this day was to be very different.As he neared a clearing which was bordered by a dry stream bed with dense forest behind it he came upon a strange animal which was standing upright and somewhat resembled a pygmy gorilla.

The creature was standing almost motionless and observing him from a distance of approximately 10m. He estimated its height to be around 1.2m and it was covered with reddish brown hair which was of medium length and uniform across the body.The shape of the head was similar to a human's and not pointed.The face resembled a gorilla except the eyes looked very human and the brow ridge was not particularly prominent.The face was hairless but appeared to be somewhat darker than the surrounding hair,the lips were thin.The neck-less head was set on incredibly wide shoulders,possibly 50% wider than that of a normal man.The arms and legs appeared to have very human proportions.

They watched each other for several minutes before it calmly started walking down to the dry stream bed taking steps in a side to side manner.On several occasions it emitted a “Hoo Hoo” sound as it slowly moved away and then proceeded to start grabbing at branches and leaves as it made its way up the bank and then into the forest. The entire encounter lasted for approximately 15 minutes and Mr Poniman was able to examine the tracks in detail. They where approximately 18cm in length with a pointed heel and the track depth was similar to his own foot prints, indicating a body weight of about 60kg. Interestingly,he also determined that the tracks led with the heel and the toes pointed in the opposite direction. 

His son also encountered a similar looking creature on the same plantation in 1983 or 1984.

ORANG PENDEK EXPEDITION 2015: YouTube Videos

Over the past couple of weeks I've been able to put together two short videos which I have now uploaded on YouTube.

The first video (Part 1) is a compilation of photos from the Danau Gunung Tujuh phase of my investigation. I have also included some jungle trekking footage and a series of trail cam pics of a large Malaysian tapir (Tapirus indicus) which was roaming the perimeter of the lake not far from our main camp.   
              

Part 2 is a collection of photos and video clips from the mysterious marshlands known as the Rawa Bento Swamp Forest.This area has a rich history of Orang Pendek tracks and sightings which by all accounts continue up to this very day.The first farming communities appeared here in the mid-1960s and while large portions of the marsh forest have been converted into paddy fields the region remains sparsely inhabited and the surrounding hills still form a large tract of primary rainforest which is very rarely explored even by the locals.In the not so distant future I plan a more extensive investigation of this fascinating region.

My next series of posts will be devoted to eyewitness encounters.None of these individuals have ever been interviewed before and therefore their stories offer additional insight into the physiology and nature of the pygmy apeman known as Tirraw.

ORANG PENDEK EXPEDITION 2015:The Hantu Photo

Orang Pendek is the generic Bahasa Indonesia name for the pigmy apeman said to inhabit the forested mountains  and valleys of central Sumatra. However,in the Kerinci region this unknown hominid is more commonly known as Tirraw. Sometimes the word hantu is added to the name to create Hantu Tirraw. This now means ghost or spirit Tirraw.

On January 27th my guide and I set up a trail cam on a remote plantation just below some steep jungle clad hills. The following morning when I examined the pictures through the view finder I was surprised that only one photo had been triggered,the rest being taken using the pre-set field scan mode. On closer inspection I found find that a strange and shadowy image had been captured at 7:01pm.To make things even more puzzling a 5-foot long stick that had been baited with fruit and stuck into the ground was missing from the photo.Only to reappear in the morning field scan shots leaning against a tree.

In the photo below the yellow elongated triangle represents the initial position of the stick when we left it at 5 pm.The red line is its approximate position in the morning.The blue circle indicates the area where something very black and without eyeshine appears to be lying on the ground,possibly falling on

top of the stick after trying to climb or pounce on it.

Since the object is lacking any distinguishable physical  features and its outline is barely discernible I can only speculate as to what it could be. My initial reaction was that it was a siamang or possibly a langur as there seems to be something elongated like a tail coming off the the main body.Other possible candidates would be a binturong or a local species of jungle feline,but once again the lack of detail makes it impossible to know for sure. As a result I will simply name it the "Hantu Photo".

ORANG PENDEK EXPEDITION 2015: Trail Camera Photos

ORANG PENDEK EXPEDITION 2015: Interview on Paranormal Central

Just a few days ago I participated in my first ever internet radio talk show.I was interviewed by the folks on Paranormal Central which is broadcast on Livestream and Art Bell's Dark Matter Radio Network. The subject matter was my recent expedition to Sumatra and you can see the show here(part 1) http://new.livestream.com/ParanormalCentral1/events/3827303

and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkKtxbb2SuE

It was a great experience and I'd love to do another show in the near future.

ORANG PENDEK EXPEDITION 2015: Photos from the Rainforest

After a 20-month break I was back in Sumatra to conduct my fourth Orang Pendek expedition.Since they say a picture is worth a thousand words I'm starting off my report with a series of photos.The last one is a bit strange.

ORANG PENDEK HYPOTHESES

Considerable amount of discussion and speculation on the Web regarding the possible identity of the infamous short person of the Sumatran jungles.Since I will be conducting my fourth expedition in a matter of days I have prepared a brief photographic comparison of three possible "candidates", starting with the least  plausible hypothesis and ending with my personal favorite.I will expand on these when  get I back.

                                 THE HOBBIT HYPOTHESIS

 PYGMY ORANG UTAN HYPOTHESIS

                        

   ROBUST SIAMANG  HYPOTHESIS