Here is the heart-warming moment an abused and vulnerable orangutan ape was rescued from a miserable existence after two years locked up in a small wooden box.
The moment an abused orangutan was freed after spending two years locked up in a dark wooden box
An abused orangutan ape called Kotap, who was rescued by a team from International Animal Rescue and local officials at a remote village in West Kalimantan, Borneo, has been seen in a heart-warming video clip after it was freed after spending two years locked up in a dark wooden box.
According to Dailymail, 4-year-old Kotap, had spent half his life shut up in the ramshackle box, measuring just 10 sq ft, with nothing but a straw and an empty plastic bottle to play with.
He was so frightened of the outside world that he cowered at the back of his cramped home when rescuers first opened the front hatch. But they were eventually able to coax him to the entrance before the young animal was finally lifted to safety.
A man identified simply as Baco, who is the ape's captor, claimed to have been given the orangutan by some people he met in the village of Ketapang, West Kalimantan after he had spotted the small baby ape in a cardboard box and agreed to take him home and look after him.
However he soon became concerned that Kotap would disturb the neighbours and built a cage for him at the front of his house, adding that he had fed Kotap on a diet of human food, including bread and rice.
Baco claimed that the orangutan's favourite meal was uncooked instant noodles, washed down with a sachet of sugary drink.
Officials from the BKSDA had previously visited Baco at his home in Rabak, a village in West Kalimantan, but were unable to persuade him to hand over Kotap. But after they explained the plight of orangutans in Borneo and that he must act in the best interests of the animal, Baco agreed to give up Kotap.
When the door of the box was opened and IAR vet Uwi extended her hand to Kotap, at first he was frightened and ran to the back of the box where he couldn't be reached. After years in the darkness, he clearly found the sight and sound of the outside world terrifying.
Uwi said: 'Kotap was very stressed by all the strangers who gathered to see him when he was taken out of the box. He became nervous and aggressive which is not surprising. So during the long journey back to the centre we kept people away from him so that he remained as quiet and calm as possible.'