International Animal Rescue save orphaned baby orangutans

DOZENS of orphaned and malnourished baby orangutans have been rescued from the wild and taken into care.

Rescued from the wild ... Baby orangutans Rocky and Rickina share a tender moment together at the International Animal Rescue...

DOZENS of orphaned orangutans have been rescued from the wild and taken into care.

The baby monkeys have been picked up by International Animal Rescue and are now settling into their new surroundings at a rehabilitation centre in the West Borneo jungle.

The youngsters have been saved from lives of cruelty and starvation.

Among them is baby Marie, a seven month-old orangutan weighing just two kilograms due to severe malnourishment.

Malnourished and at risk ... Orphaned baby orangutans Rocky and Rickina sleep together at the International Animal Rescue Orangutan Conservation Centre in West Borneo. Picture: Snapper Media

Orphaned and being rehabilitated ... Baby orangutan Rickina at the International Animal Rescue Orangutan Conservation Centre in West Borneo. Picture: Snapper Media

Marie was discovered by a fisherman after he heard her crying alone in the forest. When the fisherman realised he couldn’t afford to care for her properly, he handed her over to the IAR.

Sharing a new home with Marie are Rocky and Rickina, who have been inseparable since arriving at the centre in Sungai Awan, West Kalimantan.

Five month-old Rickina has a scar on her head after suffering a machete attack in the wild.

Rocky, who had been kept in a cage and starved by his former owners still struggles to overcome his ordeal, needing constant encouragement to eat and drink.

Dr Karmele Llano Sanchez, Executive Director of IAR Indonesia said; ‘When the forest is destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations, it’s easier for hunters to find and shoot orangutans.’

‘These hunters kill the mother and other members of the family and take the babies to sell them into the pet trade.

‘People who buy orangutans to keep them as pets are as culpable as those who pull the trigger on the gun.’

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We always like to know what our readers think. Tell us your thoughts below

Given hope in the face of poachers ... Orphaned baby orangutan Rickina were rescued after their mothers likely to have been killed trying to defend them from poachers. Picture: Snapper Media