How one orangutan braved new bridge to unite his split community

The construction of a road through an orangutan forest in Sumatra, Indonesia, has divided the Sumatran orangutan community and sparked fears that inbreeding could have negative health consequences and eventually lead to extinction.

Conservation groups Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) and Tangguh Hutan Khatulistiwa, with government help, built a canopy bridge in the hope that orangutan communities will use it to cross between the two sides of the forest.

However, the bridge remained unused for two years; until an orangutan crossed the bridge and reached the other side.

Helen Buckland, chief executive of SOS, told the BBC the long-awaited and exciting transition could massively change things for primates.

Video Emaan Warraich.