UK charity helps rescue two orangutans in Borneo from illegal sale

Two baby apes were discovered in tiny cages in Ketapang, Borneo. A man has been arrested for trafficking wildlife via social media

Tuesday 22 August 2017 15.05 BSTFirst published on Tuesday 22 August 2017 15.02 BSTA UK charity has helped rescue two baby orangutans who were found by police in West Borneo caged and ready to be sold through social media to illegal buyers.

The two apes, a one-year-old male and an eight-month-old female, who were discovered in tiny cages are now in the care of International Animal Rescue (IAR) at its centre in Ketapang, Borneo.

A man was arrested for the trafficking of wildlife both directly and by using online social media sites.A spokeswoman for the charity based in Uckfield, East Sussex, said: “The general condition of the two orangutans is fair, although both are dehydrated and suffering from severe distress. One of them is rocking back and forth – this is an abnormal behaviour presented by animals in extremely stressful conditions.”

David Muhammad, head of the law enforcement agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said the orangutans were captured by a hunter in Sintang, Indonesia, and collected by the arrested man who was selling them for about IDR 3m (about £175).

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