Following a successful rescue mission from an Indonesian forest earlier this year, Pelangsi, a Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), is recovering and being prepared for release, according to International Animal Rescue.
Named after the area of forest in Indonesia's Ketapang region where he was found, Pelangsi is now able to move around and climb in his cage despite the fact that one of his arms was amputated during a surgery he underwent in May.
“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," International Animal Rescue's executive director, Karmele Llano Sanchez, told the Huffington Post in a statement. "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.”
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In April, a rescue team found Pelangsi trapped in one of 60 snares set by a local Indonesian man. The man claimed he attempted to free Pelangsi, but was scared of the animal and what would happen to him if he was caught, so he decided to leave Pelangsi in the trap.
Under Indonesian law, snares and traps are prohibited since they indiscriminately capture animals -- even those listed as endangered as in this case. According to the World Wildlife Foundation more than 50 percent of the Bornean orangutan population has diminished in the past 60 years due to logging and hunting activities, which have destroyed the orangutan's environment. Today the global population of Bornean orangutans totals 1,500.
After 10 days with his right arm caught in the trap and no food or water, Pelangsi was found when a local man from West Kalimantan called authorities to report the incident. The International Animal Rescue team sedated the orangutan in order to free him from the snare and transported him to the organization's clinic in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Though Pelangsi is still undergoing anesthetic treatments and has minimal human contact in order to prepare him for release, International Animal Rescue plans to return the Bornean orangutan back to the wild soon.
Check out the gallery below to see photos of Pelangsi's rescue and recovery. All images courtesy of International Animal Rescue. (Warning: Some photos are graphic.)
