(MY) Hospital that heals baby apes

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http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/article2327853.ece (with

slideshow)

 

Hospital that heals baby apes

 

By TIM SPANTON

 

THESE cheeky youngsters look cute enough for pin-up posters as they

monkey around in their nappies for the camera.

But behind their crazy ape japes there is a serious reason for

treating the baby orang-utans like human infants.

 

They have all been abandoned or injured at an early age, leaving staff

at a unique intensive care unit in the heart of the Malaysian jungle

to work around the clock to care for them.

 

With two-hourly feeds and 30- minute checks, the patients need all the

care human babies do.

 

But unlike their hairless distant cousins, the orang-utans can get up

to advanced mischief as soon as their carers' backs are turned.

 

Pulling at a heart monitor cable or trying to suck on an intravenous

drip is a fun game for three-month-old June-Junior and her pal April,

ten months. They are among 23 Borneo orang-utans at the unit, which is

part of a conservation centre called Orang-Utan Island.

 

Head vet Dr Sabapathy Dharmalingam says: " It is a matter of the

survival of the species. The plan is to start returning them to the

wild in a secret location in Borneo.

 

" April is in intensive care after being rejected by her mother, who

was very aggressive towards her.

 

" June-Junior is a more serious case as she was born weighing just 2lb

6oz and had respiratory problems. We frequently have to put her into

an incubator because her temperature falls. "

 

It costs £30,000 a year to staff the orang-utan hospital and the cash

comes from admission fees to a nearby wildlife park.

 

Dr Sabapathy adds: " The babies stay in the intensive care unit until

they are almost a year old and are then moved to our infant

development unit. There they are taught how to survive in the wild and

their human contact is gradually cut to a minimum. "