Orangutan That was Shot with 74 Air Gun Pellets Undergo Surgery

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hope, the female orangutan that was shot 74 times with air gun pellets continue to receive intensive care and has undergone surgery to fix her open wound in her shoulder under the medical supervision of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) team on Sunday, March 17.

“The surgery is prioritized to treat her shoulder wound considering that part is loomed by the risk of infection,” said SOCP senior veterinarian Yenny Saraswati on Monday.

According to Yenny, Hope’s surgery lasted more than 3 hours since the team discovered that the broken shoulder bone ruptured her air sac that caused a local infection around the broken shoulder. The team of doctors also prioritized on closing wounds across Hope’s arm and leg.

Read also: Kalimantan Orangutan, Rare Species in the Verge of Extinction

The orangutan’s condition is currently stabilized but will continue to be quarantined and further rehabilitated for additional intensive check-ups for her physical and mental health. There is little hope that Hope will ever be reintroduced to the wild.

“Her condition makes it impossible for her to be reintroduced. The shootings caused total blindness to both of her eyes,” said Yenny.

The SOCP medical team will also medically treat another orangutan aged 3-4 months known as Brenda, which was evacuated from West Aceh last week. Brenda is currently suffering a broken humerus bone.

LIL AZKAR MONZA