Orangutan blinded after being shot 74 times with air gun

Published March 18, 2019

A veterinarian says an endangered orangutan with a young baby on Indonesia's Sumatra island has gone blind after being shot at least 74 times with an air gun.

Yenny Saraswati said Monday that an X-ray showed at least 74 air gun pellets in the orangutan's body, including six in its eyes. It apparently also was stabbed and clubbed.

Villagers spotted the wounded orangutan with its month-old baby in a farm in Aceh province's Subulussalam district last week.

The baby orangutan died from malnutrition last Friday as rescuers rushed the two to an Orangutan veterinary clinic in neighboring North Sumatra province. The mother is recovering from surgery on Monday.

Orangutans are a protected species in Indonesia, but deforestation has dramatically reduced their habitat.

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