Two critically endangered orangutans, Samson and Boboy, have been rescued from captivity on Indonesia’s Java island. They were sent to a rehabilitation center on Borneo to assess whether they can be released back into the wild, the animal protection organization International Animal Rescue (IAR) said.
The orangutans are estimated to be twenty years old and have been rescued from two different locations , one from an amusement park and one from a family home. They were kept illegally in truly shocking conditions, IAR said.
A veterinarian from IAR Indonesia examined the two orangutans before their journey to the rehab center. Both orangutans showed signs of malnutrition, which had resulted in growth problems and vulnerability to various diseases. Their poor health was also the result of being confined for years in narrow cages.
The orangutans were likely captured from the wild, forced to be kept as pets and locked up in tiny cages. To see these beautiful majestic apes forced to live in such unsuitable and unacceptable conditions is heartbreaking, IAR continued.
They have been sent to a rehabilitation center in Ketapang, in West Kalimantan province on Borneo, IAR said. At the center, they will be given health checks and quarantined for two months before being assessed to decide whether they can be returned to the wild.
“It’s very sad to see individuals like Samson and Boboy who should be living free in their natural habitat but instead have been confined to cages for years,” said Karmele Sanchez, program director of IAR Indonesia.
“The rehabilitation process for rescued orangutans is long and complicated. It will be extremely difficult for an orangutan that has been locked in a cage all his life to learn how to survive in the wild.”
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