The Lost Forest
Page 60
Chapter 59
NEWS BREAKS
As Ennis made his way towards the transfer lounge in Hongkong airport he took a moment to inspect the latest international press at a news stand. There was the usual assortment of local English language papers, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times…but it was the Singapore Times that caught his eye. He picked it off the tray slowly and held it before his astonished eyes examining and re-examining the large black headlines; Yeti Discovered in Borneo
French scientists are believed to have discovered the remains of a ‘Yeti-like’ creature on the Indonesian island of Borneo. It is reported that they are studying a skull which has baffled scientists.
Our correspondent in Kuala Lumpur reports that the Malaysian authorities have made an official demand to the Indonesian government concerning the remains of what is believed to be those of an Orang Pendek, or Little Man of the Forest, a hitherto unknown type of gibbon. According to the Malaysian authorities illegal excavations have been made by foreigners in the Sarawak border region that adjoins the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan.
He paid quickly folding the paper under his arm and headed to the nearby bar ordering a beer then spreading the pages on the bar continued to read the story.
Australian specialists at the University of Melbourne have recently studied samples of hair of such a yeti-like creature found by a team of explorers who discovered traces of an ape-like animal in Kalimantan and part of the ancient folklore of the tribes’ people in the heart of Borneo. See page 7
He looked at his watch he had time, he gulped back his beer and ordered another whilst turning to page 7.
The DNA analysis in Oxford showed that there was no resemblance with orang-utans or other animals of Borneo like sun bears, red leaf monkies, pigtail macaques or man.
The Orang Pendek is said by those who have seen it to be a 5ft tall creature with brownish- orange hair. It walks with an upright stance on its back legs and lives mainly on the ground. First mentioned of such an animal goes back to Marco Polo when he visited the island in 1292.
Is this the same creature that the French have discovered? If the existence of such a creature is proved it could cause a sensation in anthropological circles as the possible ‘missing link’ between apes and humans.
If the orang pendek exists it could be a new genus of ape, along with the gibbon, orang-utan, chimp and gorilla. The other possibility is that it is the ‘missing link’ between and apes and humans which could throw into doubt evolutionary theories linking human evolution to Africa.
The orang pendek could also be a new species of ape, the discovery of fossilised giant gibbons from the late Pleistocene could support this theory.
This new evidence as to the existence of the Orang Pendek shows that the local population has co-existed with these over centuries. The major question is can the Indonesian authorities in the present economic and political provide protection for the creature from the unscrupulous. It is not difficult to imagine what might happen to the orang pendek if it were not protected from the media and the threat of tourism.
The human population of Kalimantan is growing at an ever increasing rate with loss of the islands primary forest. Indeed, gold mining projects and illegal logging have already destroyed some of the region where evidence of the orang pendek’s existence was first discovered in the early nineties. Toaday drought and the fires that are raging out of control are a further menance with the air filled with smoke making it almost unbreathable and destroying much of the vegetation.
The affect on the fragile habitat of the orang pendek is disastrous. Science and mankind will have to act quickly to save this creature from extinction.
The Malaysian Straits Times reported that a serious diplomatic incident had broken out with France and Indonesia concerning the intrusion into Malaysian territory of their nationals with the intent to remove material of national interest. The Malaysians accused the scientists of having stolen fossils and have undertaken excavation work without having received permission from the authorities in Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak.
They accused Ennis of being a maverick using illegal methods, which was not totally untrue, though he was far from being the head of the expedition, in which he participated, technically, as a guest of the Indonesian government.
It was unacceptable to the scientific community to announce such a discovery through the general press, without having first published in a recognised scientific publication.
The discovery of archaic sapiens would turn the world of science upside down not leaving renowned scientists the possibility to study the new discoveries and revise their theories which had governed thinking up to that dramatic discovery.
They were accused of being unethical, forgetting conveniently that Donald Johansson had presented Lucy to the world in 1974 before publication of the find or even attributing a scientific name to the creature.
It was reminiscent of the battles that the Leakey family had led in Kenya trying to preserve a dynastic right to search for fossils in Kenya accused for imposing his views on the world of anthropology in a dictatorial fashion.
The search for fossils, whether they be for dinosaurs or the ancestors of man, had become the terrain of not only scientific battles but also for money where the world’s media was prepared to pay fortunes for the exclusivity of photographs, books and films of the subject, information consumed by a growing public that was better educated and better informed with almost instant access to news.
The Malaysian Straits Times also reported that the Office of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice had instructed police and customs departments to arrest Ennis or Lundy if found on Malaysian soil and seize fossils or scientific materials in their possession.
It added that Lundy had illegally exported the fossils from Malaysia to France and announced that the intention of the Police to intercept Lundy to search him confiscate any materials related to Malaysian national scientific interests. He should be formally charged and tried with the bandits who have assisted him.
Malaysian para-military had reported incidents with foreigners near the border area where they had set up a camp and accused the bandits of having fired shots across the border.
In additions an Israeli scientist specialised in radio carbon dating techniques was arrested by the Malaysian police and accused of spying for Israel and illegally crossing the border into Malaysia. Citizens of Israel were forbidden to enter Malaysia. The accused, Jacques Weinstein, of the CNRS, in fact a French citizen, was being held in the Kuching prison awaiting transfer to Kuala Lumpur.
Ennis took a seat in the nearby passenger lounge to recover from the confusion at seeing the story spread across the headlines, it was also shock to know that he was probably a wanted man, the Malaysians were clearly after his skin, as he knew they would be. It was also laughable to read the journalists interpretation of the discovery; they clearly ignored the complete story. It would be just a question of time before the got to the truth.
It a phrase, he thought, now truer than it had ever been as far as he was concerned, the shite was about to hit the fan. He gathered the paper and headed towards the boarding gate for his connecting flight to Beijing.