Why did someone do this to me? Baby orangutan looks at the stumps of its missing fingers that were sliced off with a machete during forest clearances

Sura, four months, was found wounded in Tumbang Koling, in Indonesian Borneo, after a forest was cleared for a new oil palm plantation

Latest in a series of deforestation projects that has affected orangutan

Environmentalists warn it will have devastating affect on the population

A four-month-old Orangutan is recovering after having the tips of his fingers hacked off, allegedly during forest clearances for a new oil palm plantation in Indonesian Borneo.

Sura, who was discovered by a resident of the Tumbang Koling village in East Kotawaringin Regency, is being nursed back to health by specialists at the Nyaru Menteng Rescue centre.



Vets carried out a full health check and discovered three of his fingers had been severed by either a knife or machete.

Tragic: Four-month-old Sura was found in the wreckage of his home with fingers hacked by a machete

Sura now needs to be cared for by a full-time babysitter.

British charity Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation is helping fund the centre and Sura's care.

It is the latest scandal to emerge in the controversy over deforestation as companies plough through Indonesia's wildlife to build oil plantations.

The sweep has caused a rapid decline in the orangutan population.

Disgraceful: Environmentalists warn this is the latest in a series of brutal attacks on the innocent creatures

Rescue: He is being cared for by a full-time baby sitter at Nyaru Menteng Rescue Centre in Indonesian Borneo

Environmentalists fear they have years of work ahead of them in educating remote villages about the need to protect, not capture or kill, these animals whose numbers are falling dramatically.

About 100 years ago it was thought there were 315,000 orangutans in the wild but today there are less than 54,000 in Borneo and only around 6,000 on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.



As manufacturers look for places to cultivate oil for soaps and perfumes, the primates' natural habits are being ploughed by bulldozers.

Attack: Vets who examined Sura say his fingers were cut off by a knife or a machete during deforestation

And now homeless, many have been captured by local villagers, abused, and used for entertainment.

Last month, International Animal Rescue saved an orangutan from Tempurkan, which had no food or water and was being forced to dance and fight with humans.



Alerted by a villager, the charity found Ael - which means 'Saint' - sedated her and then moved her to a rescue centre. She will be released into the wild when a safe area in the forest can be found for her.

