Category: Wildlife

Environmentalists scramble for answers as a post mortem is inconclusive

A dead male orangutan found floating on the Kinabatangan river in northeast Sabah last week has sent environmentalists scrambling for answers as a post-mortem failed to find the cause of his death. The autopsy performed by a veterinarian at the Danau Girang Field Centre as soon as the orangutan was found has ruled out foul play saying there were no gunshot wounds in the 10-year-old primate’s body. The DGFC run by Sabah Wildlife Department and Britain’s Cardiff University studies wildlife. No bones were broken. Neither were there any signs of an attack except for a bruise in the neck that could have been caused by a fall from a tree into the river, according to Christina Liew, minister of tourism, culture and environment. Augustine Tuuga, Sabah wildlife director, said the orangutan might have drowned. These arboreal anthropoid apes can’t swim. Yet the post-mortem didn’t say that the orangutan drowned. His organs are said to be healthy. Ms Liew said the orangutan’s heart, lungs, kidney, gallbladder and liver would be sent to a laboratory for further investigation.