(MY) orang utan (cont)

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Tuesday January 3, 2006 - The Star

 

Lessening the pain

 

So similar is the orang utan to humans that an illustration book on

the human anatomy was used for reference by Swiss orthopaedic surgeon

Dr Andreas Messikommer.

 

Pointing to the three main interconnected nerves and bone structure in

the human elbow, Messikommer explained the gun shot injury sustained

by Bolo, a three-year-old female orang utan received by the Sumatran

Orang Utan Conservation Programme (SOCP) recently.

 

Wounded orang utans are common in Sumatra where habitat destruction is

forcing the ape to intrude into orchards and oil palm plantations in

search of food. Locals have no qualms about shooting them.

 

Initially slated to have her limb amputated to stop further infection,

Bolo was lucky that Messikommer was willing to take time off his

private practice in Switzerland to operate on her left elbow.

 

Like humans, Bolo will be fitted with metal plates and she will be

able to utilise her left arm with minor restriction. She can still

swing among the trees but will not be able to bend her elbow to feed

herself.

 

Messikommer is no stranger to operating on orang utans, a newfound

vocation for the Swiss who had volunteered his service to tsunami

victims last year. Last February, he performed a hernia operation on a

young male orang utan rescued from Lohksumawae on the east coast of

Aceh. The orang utan, named Jondel, has joined four other orang utans

in preparation to be released at the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park.

 

Jondel and Bolo's plight might be the extreme cases but most rescued

orang utans suffer physical abuse and psychological disorder from

long-term confinement or torments from their keepers. SOCP scientific

director Dr Ian Singleton said owners tend to chain up young orang

utans and fail to adjust the leash as the animals grow.

 

" By the time the animal is in pain from the metal leash that has cut

into their flesh, there is no way the owners can undo the leash as the

tortured ape will bite them. Most just leave them alone and only call

in the authorities when the animal is near death. "

 

The centre has treated many such cases and sent the animals back to the wild.

 

While physical injury can be treated with relative ease, orang utans

with neurological problems pose a greater challenge. Time is needed to

rehabilitate them.

 

Singleton said Lita, the oldest of the lot repatriated by Malaysia,

exhibits the behaviour of an animal that has been in solitary

confinement for a long period. However, he is hopeful that Lita could

be treated and will join the other five scheduled for reintroduction

in mid-2006. – By Hilary Chiew