Over the weekend, I posted a story about a Russian tourist being caught and arrested with a drugged baby orangutan in his luggage.
The story says he was going to attempt to have it as a pet.
While it may seem like a happy ending that he was caught, it’s far from a happy ending for this baby orangutan.
In the wild, orangutan babies spend more time with their mothers than any other animal (other than humans) learning critical skills.
That means the 2 year old orangutan has a long road ahead.
Megan Elder from Como Zoo said that it can take 10 years or more to rehabilitate an orangutan.
The other sad news is the mother is almost certainly dead...because they will fight to the death to protect their young.
Not only do orangutan face extinction from loss of their Rainforest habitat in Indonesia, but also babies are captured for the illegal pet trade
It's worth noting that authorities also found two live geckos and five lizards in the Russian tourist's suitcase.