Bornean Orangutan With 104 Air Gun Pellet Wounds Recovering Well From Three-Hour Operation

Press Release -
5 November 2012

A wounded female orangutan, rescued from an oil plantation in the Indonesian part of Borneo where she had been roaming for over a month, has survived an operation to remove 32 of the total 104 air gun pellets in her body.

The orangutan, named Aan, was anesthetised and removed to safety by a rescue team from the Orangutan Foundation and the Indonesian Agency for Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA-Kalteng). Aan was X-rayed to discover the extent of her wounds. The X-rays showed that 104 pellets were scattered all over her body, including vital organs, her eyes and ears.

Dr Zulfiqri, a veterinarian from the Orangutan Foundation, assisted by a specialist surgeon from the local Imanuddin Hospital, managed to remove 32 of the pellets lodged in her body and head during a three-hour surgery at the BKSDA-Kalteng office in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan. Aan has survived the operation and is recuperating in the Orangutan Foundation Veterinary Facility where she is taking food and water, showing an incredible resilience against all she has undergone.

When she was rescued from the oil palm plantation, she had already lost the sight in her left eye and was losing the sight in her right eye day-by-day...

Source: Bornean Orangutan With 104 Air Gun Pellet Wounds Recovering Well From Three-Hour Operation
Author: Orangutan Foundation, London, UK

Link: Aan the orangutan recovering after being shot 100 times with airgun
Link: Bornean orangutan rescued with 104 air gun pellet wounds – in pictures
Link: Borneo may lose half its orangutans to deforestation, hunting, and plantations
Link: Orangutan Day 14 Nov 2012