People The people of the Batu Islands have had substantial interaction with the populations of Nias, to the north, whose language they share. The islands have occasionally been a destination for slaves who escaped from Nias, and in the past decade have become a destination for surfing boat charters from Padang, on the Sumatran mainland. The population at the 2010 Census was 28,468. The islands were visited by Simon Reeve during Equator, a 2006 BBC TV Series. Wildlife A population of the Sunda clouded leopard had been recorded here. See also Sunda Islands References Archipelagoes of Indonesia Landforms of North Sumatra Islands of Sumatra