Two critically endangered orangutans smuggled into Thailand three years ago were returned to Indonesia on Thursday, where they will undergo rehabilitation before being released into the wild. Ung Aing and Natalee, both four-year-old Sumatran orangutans, were taken from a wildlife rescue centre in Ratchaburi province to Bangkok’s airport, before being put on a flight to Indonesia where they will initially stay at a rehabilitation centre in Jambi Province on Sumatra island. Orangutans are poached illegally from forests for food, to obtain infants for the domestic and international pet trade, or for traditional medicine. There are only estimated to be around 1,00,000 Bornean orangutans left in the wild, according to the WWF while only about 7,500 Sumatran orangutans are thought to remain.

Geshna

Updated At : 07:12 PM Dec 17, 2020 IST

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