PUBLISHED ONFebruary 19, 2018 8:15 AMJakarta – Four Indonesian men have been arrested over the killing of an orangutan shot some 130 times with an air rifle, police said Monday, in the latest fatal attack on a critically endangered species.
The suspects, farmers from the island of Borneo, admitted killing the animal, saying it ruined their crops at a pineapple and palm oil plantation, according to authorities.
“They meant to shoo away (the orangutan) but their actions instead killed the orangutan,” East Kutai district police chief Teddy Ristiawan told AFP.
Photo: AFP
The suspects, who were arrested last week, will be charged with killing a protected animal and face up to five years’ jail and a maximum fine of about $7,400.
Ristiawan said a fifth suspect, a 13-year-old boy, was arrested but later released because he was a minor.
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Villagers in Borneo’s East Kutai district discovered the male orangutan’s corpse riddled with pellets two weeks ago. Its mutilated body also showed signs of machete wounds.
The gruesome killing came about a week after Borneo police arrested two rubber plantation workers and accused them of shooting an orangutan multiple times and then decapitating it.
Mystery Orangutan Body Finds Its Way to Borneo River
Earlier this week, a rather spooky sight caught the eye of locals: a headless orangutan corpse drifting down a river on the shared island of Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo.
Where and What Happened
- The body was discovered along a riverbank that borders both Indonesia and Malaysia.
- While a dark tale, this incident underlines how fragile the wild orange‑eyed residents of this region are.
What the Numbers Say
- Sumatran orangutans: under 15,000 live according to IUCN.
- Bornean orangutans: around 54,000 individuals in the same region.
- Both species are critically endangered, a status not just scary but urgent.
Why This Matters
Every headless body that washes ashore is a reminder that the habitat loss, poaching, and disease outbreaks are tightening the squeeze on these charismatic creatures. The conservation community is on high alert, and every ripple in the river could be a signal calling for more action.
Takeaway
We hope this unsettling find sparks more awareness and, frankly, urgent rescue efforts. Because even without heads, the story of these orangutans lives on—if only we watch it closely enough.
Environmental activists hold a rally against the deforestation in Banda Aceh
Photo: AFP
The population of orangutans in Borneo has plummeted by more than half since 1999 – nearly 150,000 of the apes have been lost in that time – largely due to chopping down forests for logging, paper, palm oil, and mining, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology last week.
Plantation workers and villagers are sometimes known to attack an animal that they see as a pest, while poachers also capture them to sell as pets.