The Neglected Baby Orangutan
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Rescuers from International Animal Rescue (IAR) have released video footage of a baby orangutan after it almost died from neglect as it lost the will to live.
Poor baby Udin was found to be severely malnourished in West Kalimantan near an oil plantation, along with two other orangutans. Udin is yet another victim of oil plants, as the jungle in which the orangutans live is being destroyed because of the demand for and value of palm oil. The palm oil is used in cosmetics and goods that are not essential to humans, making it simply a luxury with a price.
Another way in which these orangutans were used to make money was by selling them on as pets kept captive in a cage suitable for chickens, where they were left to starve with no shelter or protection. While merciless hunters captured the orangutans, the owners of the plant are under fire for being the party responsible for the orangutan’s ordeal.
Following Udin’s plight, the rescuers are seen in the video spoon-feeding and caring for the baby and bringing it back to life. The IAR told of how Udin tried to die several times after being separated from its mother after she was brutally killed.
Karmele Llano Sanchez, Programme Director of IAR Indonesia, said: “Three orangutans rescued in the same small village next to an oil palm plantation that just carried out forest clearance – that’s more than a coincidence.
“As the forest is wiped out, the orangutans are more vulnerable to hunters and the babies are then captured.”