Vets believe the orangutan's mother was almost certainly killed before
her baby was snatched from her arms before it was sold as a pet and kept in a
cage suited for keeping chickens.
Upon arrival at Borneo's International Animal Rescue (IAR) centre the orangutan - who
rescuers have named Udin - was found to be severely malnourished and
psychologically detached from his surroundings.
The touching video shows vets at
the centre cuddling, feeding and caring for Udin in
an attempt to bring him back to life.
One of them said: "Udin tried to die several times, but we wouldn't
let him. We just kept interacting with him and doing lots of physiotherapy so
he could not ignore us and had to learn to trust us as his sole link to
survival."
Although his condition has improved, Udin still requires constant care
and intensive medical treatment.
Alan Knight, IAR Chief Executive, said: "The vets are doing
everything they can to give Udin the best chance of survival.
"From the moment he was rescued, members of the team have stayed
with him round-the-clock and still sleep on the floor beside him so that they
can comfort and console him during the dark hours of the night.
"He clings constantly to a large fluffy teddy bear, just as he
would have clung to his mother in the wild. By the time we rescued him his mind
and body were shutting down.
"But our medical team refused to give up on him and slowly they are
winning the battle to save him."
Udin was rescued along with two other young orangutans by Borneo police
and IAR rescuers from villages near a palm oil plantation in West Kalimantan.
The plantation is suspected of being responsible for the orangutan's
plight, having left them with no shelter or protection from the hunters who
caught them to sell as pets.
Karmele Llano Sanchez, Programme Director of IAR Indonesia, said:
"Three orangutans rescued in the same small village next to an oil palm
plantation that just carried out forest clearance - that's more than a
coincidence.
"As the forest is wiped out, the orangutans are more vulnerable to
hunters and the babies are then captured."