Before being asked to leave the plantation by park rangers, over half a dozen villagers came to visit us to discuss their encounters with Orang Pendek or Orang Itam as they called them. Most of the reports were very recent which was excellent news, however I was also related two very fascinating stories that took place over forty years…
Just returned from Sumatra so I’ve had a couple of days to reflect on what transpired over the course of two weeks. I can now say that this was a very fascinating and at times challenging expedition with its share of frustrating moments.My first post will simply be a short photographic summary and I will discuss various aspects…
The very first cryptid that I investigated was the anomalous primate historically called Orang Dalam ( Interior Man ). More commonly known today as Orang Mawas or the Johor Hominid,this creature is said to inhabit the lowland rain forests,or what’s left of them in the southern Malaysian states of Johor and Pahang. Virtually unknown to the outside world until stories of enormous…
Several months ago I was finally able to get a hold of Professor Sykes’ latest book NATURE OF THE BEAST, in which the renowned human geneticist from Oxford documents his search for DNA evidence to support the existence of anomalous primates and relict hominds. Although the release date of the book was moved on at least two occasions, his conclusions regarding the Yeti hair samples remain unchanged: an archaic proto-polar bear inhabits both the western and…
Eyewitness: Mr. Rahman Kitab and his wife. Date: 2004 Location: Rawa Bento Swamp Forest Approximately halfway between the towering Kerinci volcano and the mysterious mountain lake Gunung Tujuh lies an extensive tract of marshland and jungle-clad hills known as the Rawa Bento Swamp Forest. This area has an interesting history of Orang Pendek sighting and some of the first…
Eyewitness: Mr. Jur Date: 1987 Location: Danau Gunung Tujuh At almost 2000m above sea level ,Danau Gunung Tujuh (the Lake of Seven Peaks) is the highest lake in southeast Asia and is reputed to have a depth of 250m. This crater lake has long been considered by the inhabitants of the Kerinci region to be the home of a short but powerfully built primate whom they call Tirraw, and…
Eyewitness: Mr.Matidris Date: 1980 Location: Rawa Bento Swamp Forest While traversing through dense rainforest in the late morning about an hour from his village, Mr.Matidris made his way into a clearing where to his shock he saw two creatures walking side by side. Frightened by the angry looking expression on their faces he quickly climbed up a…
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…
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…
One of the lesser known Asian hominids is the Mande Burung of northeastern India.Said to roam the subtropical rain forests of Meghalaya,particularly the western region of the Garo hills.Reports and sightings are rare,however, curiosity got the better of me and I ended up visiting the area in April 2011. The most challenging aspect of organizing an investigation…