Mother Orangutan and Baby Who Were Days Away From Death Upon Rescue Make Fully Recover and Return Home! (VIDEO)

When we first met Mama Nam the orangutan and her baby, they were in terrible condition. The pair were discovered by International Animal Rescue (IAR) after villagers reported the presence of two orangutans who were eating their crops. When IAR’s rescue team arrived on the scene, what they found were two emaciated animals, moments away from dying of starvation. Sadly, this is a common sight for IAR as countless orangutans are forced to take solace in farmers plantations because their homes have been leveled for palm oil production or logging.

It is estimated that 300 football fields worth of forest are cleared every hour to make way for palm oil plantations, and tragically, that means the animals who rely on these ancient trees are left without any form of livelihood. Nam and her child were forced onto a local farm in search of food after a massive wildfire, caused by slash-and-burn deforestation, consumed their native habitat. Thankfully, organizations like IAR are working diligently to save orangutans and give them a second chance at life.

In this video, we see the beautiful results of the rescue team’s hard work as Mama Nam and her baby return to their wild home. As the team stated on their blog, “We fervently hope that in future we will be able to protect the forest and its wildlife from further fires and prevent a repeat of last year’s disastrous events.”

We couldn’t agree more! We can all help protect orangutans by avoiding palm oil whenever possible and raising awareness for the impact this single consumer good has on animals in Indonesia. Check out this article to learn how to wean yourself off palm oil and share this post to spread the word!