Pongky was first discovered by the Orangutan Information Centre in July 2013, being kept illegally by a high-ranking police official, locked in a small cage with very limited room to move and a single rope on which he swung back and forth obsessively.

They tried to rescue Pongky, but the police commissioner refused to surrender him, so they alerted the Government authorities, who confiscated Pongky a few weeks later.Instead of placing him in the specialist orangutan rehabilitation programme, Pongky was taken to Medan Zoo, simply swapping one life behind bars for another.

Ever since, we have campaigned for the government to transfer him to the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme’s care centre, with the aim of eventually returning him to the wild. 

Now, finally, Pongky is in safe hands with SOCP.

Following a full health check, we are optimistic that he will enter the rehabilitation programme and be released back to the forest, to contribute to the survival of his species in the wild.