There are various kinds of mythological creatures in the world, which are usually said to be in certain locations. Call it Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. Well, Indonesia also has, among them are Short People in Sumatra.
In fact, scientists think that the Orang Kunci really exist because Indonesia, like Brazil or Madagascar, is rich in species and not all of them have been studied.
As quoted by us from Live Science, Orang Short is considered by scientists to have more potential than other legendary creatures to be discovered.
Orang Short is a two-legged ape that reportedly roams Sumatra, lives on the ground and is between 80 and 150 cm tall. Several people report seeing it, from locals, guides, and Western researchers.
Orang Kunci have the best discovery chances of any mysterious primate, according to the book 'The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primamate'.
One of the authors, Loren Coleman, founder and director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Maine, told Live Science that Short People would be hard to find, but were the creatures he would most want to look for if he had unlimited funds.
Sumatra is home to orangutans. Well, this reddish primate lives in trees and its home range in northern Sumatra does not appear to be the same as that of Orang Short in central Sumatra.
"It seems that where orangutans live, there are almost no stories about them (Orang Short)," said Serge Wich, a primate biology professor at Liverpool John Moores University in England who surveyed orangutans in Sumatra.
So, it's possible that the story of Orang Pendek is about orangutans who used to live further south before being restricted to the north. Serge himself found it strange that no one had found Orang Short if there really was one, considering that the forest where their home was said to have been monitored by cameras. "To me, showing them maybe wasn't there," he said.
But many believe they have seen it. One of the people who is sure to meet Orang Short is Jeremy Holden, a freelance photographer. He claims to have seen it himself in Sumatra in October 1994, in the Kerinci Seblat National Park, where several others have previously claimed to have seen it.
"The animal was maybe 7 meters in front of me. It was walking upright," he claims. Holden said the creature was about 1.5 meters tall, stocky and covered in yellowish hair.
Holden actually had a camera strapped to his neck at the time of the incident, but didn't take a photo because he didn't want the creature to hear the camera click and see him.