British vet hopes to restore sight of blind orangutan shot over 100 times by air rifle
A critically-endangered orangutan who was blinded after being shot over 100 times with an air rifle is to undergo an operation that could restore her sight.
The ape, known as Aan, was attacked on a palm oil plantation in Indonesian Borneo.
About one third of the pellets were removed during a three-hour operation, but dozens which hit her eyes left her right eye damaged and her left permanently blind.
The orangutan became unable to protect herself or forage for food, and has since been taken care of by the Orangutan Foundation in an enclosure in the Lamandau River wildlife reserve in Borneo.
While the ape's left eye can no longer be repaired, British volunteer veterinarian ophthalmologist Claudia Hartley believes sight could be restored in Aan's other eye with a simple cataract operation.
"I'm really hopeful that actually we may be able to give her vision, and then, even though she will only be one-eyed, she will be able to be released because primates can still forage one-eyed," Ms Hartley said.
"She's a wild animal that's currently in an enclosure, and that's quite miserable for an animal that's as intelligent as an orangutan."
Ms Hartley's team of four plans to travel to Borneo in February with 120kg of equipment in an attempt to restore Aan's sight.
The procedure is similar to cataract surgery in humans and is expected to take around 20 to 30 minutes.
Ashley Leiman, Director of the Orangutan Foundation, hailed the mission as "incredibly exciting".
"As a blind orangutan, she was going to spend the rest of her life in a cage," she said.
"If it happens it will be absolutely amazing. She will be able to be released into the wild, she will be able to survive perfectly well with one eye."