Feb 19.06
APIs Charles Groh kindly emailed these additional comments: "I have earlier translated the malay written historical records to show that there was a colony of mawas near sedili forest (Sedili/Lenggor/Madek/Panti forest are all just 1 big forest subdivided into many zones) as called by the original settlers from Indonesia for the known animal Orangutan (Section 3.7).
"Recent logging activities and land clearing must have eventually reach inner areas occupied by this colony.
"But most probably economic reasons could have caused this news gag by that Wildlife Protection Society member who would surely knew that any population of the great apes found in Johor forest would render it into a preservation territory and thus protected from further economic inroutes.
"In reading their article and comparing with mine, I am glad that my conclusions have been correctly given that it could be due to destroying of the creature habitat (logging and forest clearing) (Section 6), and that aerial mapping shoyuld be untaken to determine the extent of encroachment (Section 10.2.3). During my drive to the orang Asli village, I had noted in Section 6 photos that I did not drive pass any stretch of road for 5 minutes without seeing plantations instead of natural forests."
Charles Goh, founder of API, who are actively engaged in investigating the so-called Johor bigfoot eyewitness accounts, makes the following observations about this newly released information:
"I do believe the height of the Orang Lenggor has been over emphasized. Orang Utans are known to have varying shades of brown and Orang Utan babies with black or dark down hairs are common. And if what the Johor Wildlife Protection Society claimed is true, then we may have a 3rd Orang Utan Species on our hands.
"Though then the question will arise why, if there was a colony of Orang Utan (they may call it Orang Lenggor) and they knew about it, did they not report such a find earlier to the authorities?
"I am puzzled by the next response of the Society, which is to 'organise an expedition to the Orang Lenggor colony in either March or Apr.'
"If it is Bigfoot they found 6 years ago, then the entire forest area should have be protected against all logging and forest clearing activities then. I note that the Society member who saw the Bigfoot Colony was a logger.
"But even if they were to report it now, whether it's a 12 ft Bigfoot or a 5 ft Ape, it's the Malaysian Authorities they should be reporting to, not the News Media."
(Original headline: Society Claims To Have Scientific Evidence Of Bigfoot Colony )
JOHOR BAHARU (Bernama) -- The Johor Wildlife Protection Society said it has "scientific evidence" to prove the existence of Bigfoot whose reported sightings recently in the Johor jungles have excited the world's media.
Not just one Bigfoot but a whole colony of the giant, hairy creatures which the society named "Orang Lenggor" (Lenggor People) as one was spotted in an area by that name, said the society's secretary Tay Teng Hwa.
"We will make public the evidence soon," he said today.
He said a member of the society had studied the creatures for six years and interacted directly with the colony.
"The adult creatures are between 10 and 12 feet tall while their children are 6 to 7 footers. Seventy per cent of the Orang Lenggor have a human appearance but the rest resemble apes," he said.
Tay declined to reveal the location of the Bigfoot colony or the type of "scientific evidence" in the possession of the society.
The claim by the society followed a statement by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman that he was convinced about the existence of Bigfoot based on information provided by Orang Asli.
Tay said the society decided to reveal its discovery because foreigners armed with sophisticated equipment were entering the Johor jungles to track down Bigfoot without the knowledge of the state government.
"We are worried these foreigners might find Bigfoot and then announce to the world as their discovery," he said.
Relating the background to the society's study of the creatures, he said a member of the society, who was a logger, came across Bigfoot when the creature encroached into the logging company's base camp to look for food.
Since that incident, the member began to study the creatures and went close to their colony.
Tay said the creatures, despite their size and rough appearance, were timid and showed no aggression to humans who approached them.
The "Orang Lenggor" had a covering of black hair on their bodies when they were young but the hair gradually turned brown as they grew older, he said.
"They like to eat fish and fruits they gather in the jungles, including durian. They also have a liking for river water that contains dissolved salt and would walk for miles to get it," he added.
Tay said the society would organise an expedition to the "Orang Lenggor" colony in either March or April.
