Touching moment baby orangutan separated from its mother is rescued in remote Indonesian village
Heartwarming images capture the moment a baby orangutan is rescued by villagers in one of the remotest places on earth.
A frightened baby ape is seen holding on tightly to conservationists who comfort him, after stumbling upon him in a tiny village in Indonesia.
Named 'Aben' by his rescuers, the orangutan - less than a year old - looks around with large beady eyes as he is kept warm and tested for contagious diseases.
According to welfare group International Animal Rescue (IAR), Aben was found in Limpang, a village in Jelai Hulu District, earlier this month.
Scared, suffering with a fever and hungry, authorities reported the case to IAR after he was saved by a West Kalimantan villager known only as Idarno.
Aben was given rice and fruit to sustain him, before IAR’s Orangutan Protection Unit (OPU) arrived and give him milk formula and a blanket.
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Aben was then taken off to quarantine in Sungai Awan. During the next eight weeks, the baby ape will undergo further tests to ensure he is not carrying diseases that could endanger other orangutans.
Programme Director of IAR Indonesia, Karmele Sanchez, thanked the villager for taking "appropriate action by reporting this baby orangutan to the authorities".
She added: "We are also pleased to see an increase in awareness and understanding among the public about orangutans, even in areas far from the city."
Orangutans - namely Bornean and Sumatran breeds - are an endangered species protected by the Indonesian government, meaning it is illegal for locals to keep the apes as pets - or hunt them.
However, more than 70% of orangutans living on the Indonesian island of Borneo live outside protected areas, according to IAR - meaning apes like Aben are often discovered by local communities.
Orangutans are among the most intelligent primates, using tools and constructing elaborate sleeping nests from branches and foliage.
Since the early 2000s, the great ape has faced extinction by the hands of mankind - with possibly three different species of orangutan remaining on earth.
Palm oil cultivation has left their rainforest homes decimated, while orangutans are illegally petted and poached for bushmeat, medicine, and crop protection.
Original estimates showed there was 230,000 Oragntuan worldwide - but at present there may now be fewer than half the population remaining.
