by Mongabay.com
JAKARTA — Conservation authorities in Indonesia are investigating the death of an orangutan whose headless and apparently tortured body was found earlier this week in a river in central Borneo.
A villager in South Barito district, in the province of Central Kalimantan, discovered the bloated body of the male Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) on Monday, according to Adib Gunawan, the head of the provincial wildlife conservation agency.
He said it appeared the body had been in the water for two days before being found.
Orangutans are ostensibly protected by law, but lax enforcement means few perpetrators ever face justice for killing or trading in these great apes. Under the wildlife conservation law, maximum prison sentences of five years and fines of up to 100 million rupiah ($7,000) can be imposed on anyone convicted of killing, trading, keeping or transporting protected species.
This excerpt from a news story appeared in and is courtesy of Mongabay.com and can be read in its entirety here.
This sad news report reminds us how much more must be done to help protect this vulnerable species better in the future.
