[Ammi]

An orphaned orangutan was forced to bite off his own hand when he became entangled in a snare in the Borneo jungle.

Pelangsi found himself trapped for 10 days living on rainwater but, rather than give up on life, he chewed off his own hand to make an escape.

He was spotted and taken in by the International Animal Rescue (IAR) in Indonesia, and underwent a five-hour operation to repair his damaged arm.

According to The Sun, IAR Veterinary Director Karmele Llano Sanchez said: "While it is a tragedy that he has lost his limb this is far better than him losing his life through septicaemia.

"There is no reason why he shouldn't return to the wild and fend for himself again.
"He's a wild orangutan so finds it quite stressful to be in captivity, he tries to hide under the foliage in his cage whenever we approach him with darts and the blowpipe to sedate him."

The sad news is that the charity says Pelangsi's story is not uncommon.

Alan Knight added: "He was driven from the forest when it was destroyed to make room for a palm oil plantation," he said

"He was forced into an area where wildlife and humans are competing for space and food.

"Unfortunately we came too late to save his damaged hand but we certainly saved his life."

According to the Telegraph, the team are now looking for a site in the forest safe enought to release him