This human visage has led some to believe these beings could be a lost cousin of humans, sharing a common ancestor. One archeological research group found the remains of a small human-like species in the area, reporting their findings as Homo floresiensis, nicknamed the real-life Hobbit – could this be Sumatra’s cryptid?

According to local Indonesians, the Orang Pendek is an intelligent creature with an uncanny ability to avoid detection while watching humans, causing Sumatrans to fear the creature and its clandestine nature. During one native’s encounter, he said the creature put its arms in the air to make itself look bigger and more threatening – a classic ape intimidation instinct. Other encounters have reported similar signs of aggression, though it’s unclear whether one of these creatures has ever attacked.

One of the most famous researchers in search of the Orang Pendek is a former British journalist, Debbie Martyr. While investigating the cryptid in 1994, Martyr sighted the Orang Pendek herself in the jungles of Sumatra. Unfortunately, she was unable to snap a photo in time but knows that she witnessed a bipedal primate, unlike anything she had ever seen before.

Another sighting came from a former military helicopter pilot, who spotted the creature while flying through Kerinci Seblat National Park – the epicenter of Orang Pendek sightings. There he said he witnessed the cryptid in a tree and flew closer to get a better look. He said the head was shaped differently than a human’s and had more of an ape-like structure, but the face was distinctly humanoid.

Orang Pendek Evidence

Though there is a dearth of definitive Orang Pendek pictures, there has been one video that stands out above the rest. In it, a small pygmy-like being darted out of the woods in front of a group of dirt-bikers. The creature runs off into the jungle, just before one biker catches up to it, capturing just a few seconds of fleeting footage of the elusive cryptid.

The creature falls over, before picking up a long staff and running off, appearing to be wearing nothing but a loincloth. This creature appears to be the size of a small human, though height is hard to judge due to the varying angles of footage.

But the creature in question appears less hairy than one might imagine when comparing it to the majority of descriptions of a hirsute Orang Pendek. In the video, the creature appears to have very little hair on its back, adding to the possibility that it could be a hoax.