Rescued orangutan recovering well from arm amputation

Being prepared for release into the wild
October 2012. Pelangsi, the wild orangutan whose arm was amputated after he was rescued from a snare, is recovering well from surgery and able to move and climb in his cage in spite of his handicap. The young adult male is at the International Animal Rescue centre in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, where he is being prepared for release back into the wild. Human contact is being kept to a minimum and all treatment of his injury is carried out under anaesthetic to minimise stress.

Executive Director Karmele Llano Sanchez says: "Pelangsi is very active and hopefully it won't be too much longer before he can return to the forest and show us all how well he can cope with his handicap. He is eagerly gathering the leaves and branches provided for him and making nests as well as he can, so he definitely hasn't forgotten the skills he will need to survive in the wild."

Continued: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/orangutan-rescue.html

Orangutan has arm amputated after being released from snare

Hopes that orangutan will return to the wild after recovery
May 2012. Pelangsi, the orangutan that we reported on a few ago after he had been rescued from a snare in Indonesia, is recovering after a five-hour operation to remove his withered hand and arm. The young male orangutan is making good progress: he is alert and eating well.

Karmele Llano Sanchez, Veterinary Director of charity International Animal Rescue Indonesia, was part of the surgical team. She said: "The operation went smoothly and we were able to amputate the arm below the elbow joint. However we still don't know how the arm will react to the surgery: if there are any signs of infection, we may have to remove more of it, but for now we are keeping the wound clean and dry and keeping the limb under close observation using an x-ray machine.

"Pelangsi is a young male orangutan who was clearly fit and healthy before he got trapped in the snare. While it is a tragedy that he has lost a limb, far better that than to lose his life through septicaemia. There is no reason why he shouldn't eventually return to the wild and fend for himself once more. As a wild orangutan, he is finding it quite stressful to be in captivity and tries to hide under the foliage in his cage whenever we approach him with the darts and blowpipe to sedate him. We are keeping disturbance to a minimum but obviously we need to keep a close eye on him until we know his arm is healing properly and he is completely in the clear."

Two month recovery period
It is anticipated that, if all goes according to plan and there are no complications, Pelangsi will need two months to recover from the surgery which was conducted by IAR vet Dr Adi Irawan under guidance from Dr Paolo Martelli, Chief Veterinarian at Ocean Park Hong Kong.

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/snare-orangutan.html