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A RARE orangutan has been blinded after being shot 74 times as she protected her four-week-old baby from evil hunters in Indonesia.

Veterinarian Yenny Saraswati said X-rays showed four pellets in the poor creature's left eyes and two in the right.

Vets and volunteers of Sumatra Orangutan Conservation Programme tend to a female orangutan they named 'Hope' during surgery in Indonesia.
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Vets and volunteers of Sumatra Orangutan Conservation Programme tend to a female orangutan they named 'Hope' during surgery in Indonesia.Credit: AP:Associated Press

Unable to feed her baby, the infant was malnourished, and died from an infection after being rescued.

Saraswati said the animal, named Hope by the team of rescuers, also had several open wounds believed to have been caused by sharp objects.

She said Hope underwent surgery on Sunday to repair a broken collarbone and was recovering.

Conflicts between orangutans and people have increased as the palm oil and paper industries shrink the animals’ jungle habitat.

Sapto Aji Prabowo, who heads the Aceh provincial conservation agency, said villagers spotted the severely wounded orangutan in a farm with its month-old baby, which was suffering from critical malnutrition.

INFANT DIES FROM MALNUTRITION

The baby died from an infection after rescuers rushed the two animals to an orangutan veterinary clinic in neighbouring North Sumatra province’s Sibolangit district.
Saraswati said: “Hopefully Hope can pass this critical period, but she cannot be released to the wild anymore.”

She said that during the operation they only removed seven of the gun pellets because they had to prioritise fixing the animal’s broken collarbone and the risk of infection that it posed.

15 ORANGUTANS, 500 PELLETS

Saraswati works with the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program.

The orangutan conservation program said the use of readily available air guns to shoot and kill wildlife, including orangutans, was a major problem in Indonesia.
It said in the last 10 years, it has treated more than 15 orangutans with a total of nearly 500 air gun pellets in their bodies.

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Last year, an orangutan in the Indonesian part of Borneo died after being shot at least 130 times with an air gun, the second known killing of an orangutan that year.

A 2018 comprehensive study of Borneo’s orangutans estimates that their numbers have plummeted by more than 100,000 since 1999, as the palm oil and paper industries shrink their habitat and fatal conflicts with people increase.

Only around 13,400 Sumatran orangutans remain in the wild. The species is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The orangutan's one-month-old baby starved to death because she couldn't feed it
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The orangutan's one-month-old baby starved to death because she couldn't feed itCredit: Viral Press
The mother is now blind, and cannot be released into the wild
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The mother is now blind, and cannot be released into the wildCredit: Viral Press
The one-month-old orangutan was starved and passed away from illness
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The one-month-old orangutan was starved and passed away from illnessCredit: AP:Associated Press
Tragically, the infant succumbed to the illnesses shortly after he was taken with his mother to a rehabilitation centre in North Sumatra province
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Tragically, the infant succumbed to the illnesses shortly after he was taken with his mother to a rehabilitation centre in North Sumatra provinceCredit: Viral Press
The mother is now recovering, with many of the pellets still lodged in her body
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The mother is now recovering, with many of the pellets still lodged in her bodyCredit: Viral Press
A vet attends the Sumatra Orangutan
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A vet attends the Sumatra OrangutanCredit: AP:Associated Press
The Sumatra Orangutan is seen on the operating table, where her collar bone was fixed
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The Sumatra Orangutan is seen on the operating table, where her collar bone was fixedCredit: AP:Associated Press
There were multiple pellets in the animal's eyes
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There were multiple pellets in the animal's eyesCredit: Viral Press
X-ray images show the 74 pellets in the animal's body
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X-ray images show the 74 pellets in the animal's bodyCredit: Viral Press

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