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Gunung
Leuser National Park
Gunung Leuser National Park,
a national park on the northwestern end of the island of
Sumatra.
"Gunung Leuser is located mainly in the region of Acheh
and also in the province of North Sumatra. First
protected in 1934 and later, in 1980, founded as a
national park, the park covers 8,305 sq km (3,207 sq
mi) and is one of Indonesia's larger parks. Two ranges
of the Barisan
Mountains dominate the area: the Pusat Gayo and
the Serbculang. Among the highest peaks are Leuser
(3,404 m/11,168 ft) and Kemiri (3,314 m/10,873 ft).
The Alas River runs through the ranges, providing
access to several parts of the park, while a road from
Medan,
the capital of North Sumatra, is the park's main
access. Gunung Leuser is popular for its good hiking
paths.
The
park is Sumatra's most important center for the
two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros. The rhinoceros is
under threat of extinction, largely because logging,
farming, and other forms of development have replaced
its habitat. The rhinoceros is the smallest of its
group, standing 135 cm (53 in) tall and 250 cm (100
in) long. Gunung Leuser National Park has two research
stations that serve as orangutan rehabilitation
centers. The centers help orangutans that have been
raised illegally as pets adapt to wilderness.
A
rain forest in the park offers habitat for a wide
variety of animals, including elephants, tigers,
gibbons, leaf monkeys, jungle cats, forest deer,
otters, hornbills, and argus pheasants. In the higher
mountains, the serown, or goat antelope, can be
found." (Encarta Online Encyclopedia)
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