An Orangutan Named Hope Survived a Barrage of 74 Air Gun Pellets
An X-ray showing air rifle pellets inside the body of female orangutan Hope.
Photographer: Binsar Bakkara/AP Photo
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Sibolangit, Indonesia (AP) -- An orangutan mother has been blinded after being shot with at least 74 air gun pellets on Indonesia's Sumatra island, where threats to the endangered species have increased as the palm oil and paper industries shrink its jungle habitat.
An X-ray showed at least 74 air gun pellets in her body, including four in her left eye and two in the right, said veterinarian Yenny Saraswati with the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program.