December 19, 2020
published at 4:46 AMReuters
An orangutan, which was seized from the Thailand-Malaysia border three years ago, looks from a cage at Sultan Thaha Saifuddin Airport in Jambi before being released into the forest, in Dec 18, 2020
Reuters
JAMBI - A pair of critically endangered orangutans, rescued from smugglers on the Thai-Malaysian border in 2017, have arrived in Indonesia to undergo rehabilitation so they can finally be released back into their native forest habitat.
Believed to be between the ages of four to six the orangutans, Ung Aing and Natalee, spent three years at Khao Pratab Chang Wildlife Breeding Center in central Ratchaburi province, Thailand.
Smuggled orangutans start new life: Critically endangered primates arrive in Indonesia to undergo rehabilitation newshub.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newshub.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A Sumatran orangutan sits in a cage before being repatriated from Thailand to Indonesia after having been smuggled into the kingdom, at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok in December 17, 2020. - AFP MEDAN, Indonesia, Dec 19 (AFP): Nine trafficked orangutans were flown back home to western Indonesia on Friday night (Dec 18) after the primates were rescued from the illicit wildlife trade in Malaysia.
Poachers in South-East Asia frequently capture the critically endangered Sumatran orangutans to sell as pets, and fewer than 15,000 of the apes are estimated to remain in the wild.
The group were flown to North Sumatra province on Friday, a day after arriving in Indonesia from a wildlife rescue centre in Malaysia that was caring for the creatures.