Vets from Cornwall return from delivering aid in Indonesia after orangutan centre destroyed

  • Watch Grace Pascoe's report here.

Two Cornish vets have returned from Indonesia, after delivering medicines and equipment to an orangutan rescue centre wrecked in a landslide.

Husband and wife team Dr Nigel Hicks and Sara Fell Hicks set up their own charity OVAID in 2014.

The landslides happened early on November 27 last year following severe floods throughout North Sumatra.

The site is run by the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP).

  • Watch Dr Ian Singleton from SOCP describe the damage caused by the landslide (Video from Dr Ian Singleton).

Nigel first encountered orangutans as a volunteer in Malaysia in 2009, after retiring as a full-time vet.

He said: “Once you look into the eyes of an orangutan you almost see their soul, they’re very human like. They play tricks on you, they are social animals, that interaction which makes all the difference.”

The charity now supports training and equipment for orangutan rescue groups and centres in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The centre on Sumatra which they visited before Christmas looks after nearly 40 of the critically endangered animals. Two died as a result of the landslide.

Sara said: "The landslides were horrendous to see in real life."

Dr Nigel Hicks and Sara Fell Hicks on a previous trip to Indonesia Credit: OVAID

OVAID is running a fundraising campaign to support the centre on Sumatra.

Nigel says the main focus "is to replace and re-equip the clinic facility with everything OVAID has donated over the years".

"OVAID has a longstanding and very close relationship with the centre and the vets, having lived & worked alongside them. The charity has also run specialist workshops on-site and mentored new vets."

Sara said: "It was heart-warming how many people helped us, you know, through donations and the veterinary industry - we're just amazing about how generous they were."

Nigel said: "Whilst we have drawn on our charity resources to supply the centre's most immediate and pressing needs, properly re-equipping a new clinic facility is a daunting task and will take a huge sum of money."