The frightening story of the orangutan abused by hundreds of men in an Indonesian brothel

His name is Pony and 18 years ago he lives in a shelter for orangutans, trying to trust people again and unable to live in nature due to the traumas and aftermath he had left from his years of abuse.

In 2003, 35 armed policemen entered an Indonesian brothel to carry out a most unusual rescue, as for many years in this place they had had an enslaved orangutan and victim of sexual abuse.

Before his rescue, Pony was one of the main attractions of a brothel in Borneo, Which was attended by workers from a nearby palm farm who did not have much money to pay for good company.

She was the “solution” to satiating his sexual appetite for little money, and surprisingly it was quite a sensation.

It was a torture diary, Pony remained chained to the brothel, and every two days her whole body was shaved to make it “ready” for customers.. This caused sores on his skin, irritations, exposed him to mosquitoes and diseases.

They also made her up, forcing her to use lips, masks, dresses, wigs, chains and all sorts of artifacts to make her “more attractive.“But that only served to make their situation more degrading.

Pony was taught to have sex from a very young age, when she was snatched from her mother’s arms and sold who knows how many times before stopping at that brothel.

When they rescued her, experts say, the orangutan had long been being abused. A primate of this species stays with its mother for the first six or eleven years of life. So Pony’s separation must have been very traumatic.

Today, at the age of 24, he remains in the care of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, living in one of its rehabilitation centers.

“Pony is living a healthy life within the complex these days. At the age of 24, her current condition, lack of natural skills and behavior, does not allow her to be placed in another type of enclosure.” , says in a recent communication with The Sun the spokesman of the foundation Nico Hermanu.

The foundation has a sanctuary island where it has rescued orangutans, but Pony is not yet fit to live there due to his traumas.

“We hope that one day you will have the opportunity to live on the sanctuary island. In the complex in which it is housed, Pony always shows a healthy appetite for the fruits and enrichment tools that our team provides,” add.

According to experts consulted by this medium, orangutan trafficking is a growing phenomenon and with deforestation has become one of the main threats to the species.

They say that currently, networks like Instagram and Facebook are used to market orangutans on the black market, which can cost about $ 14,000.

No one knows exactly how long Pony was abused before being rescued from the brothel in Indonesia.

“She was horrible. She was a sex slave, she was grotesque. She was covered in abscesses, and they put make-up and rings on her. She must have been suffering a lot. It was horrible to think how terrified she must have been. “, said Michelle Desilets, who worked as director of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK when Pony was rescued.

“When I found out they were using her for prostitution and not just a pet, I was horrified. Perhaps in my naivete I never thought it would be humanly possible to do such a thing to an animal.”, Said Danish conservationist Lone Droscher-Nielsen, who was part of the team that rescued Pony in 2003.

This rescue required the intervention of armed police officers, as the community was reluctant to release the orangutan, as it was a good source of income.

“They were threatened with pistols and knives (the rescuers). The lady (owner of the brothel) cried bitterly when they were taken to Pony,” Michelle counted.

When she was finally released from her chains, Pony was in horrible physical condition, with her skin severely infected and unable to stop scratching herself.

“I met Pony shortly after they rescued her. Her stamina is amazing. Despite the trauma, she maintained her dignity and sense of humor. She had the best personality and learned to trust very quickly, despite what she had. past “, Michelle added.

The process to readjust Pony was not easy, they first had to make her trust people again, so that caregivers could give her new treatment proper treatment.

They had to isolate her from men because she didn’t trust them, and gradually make her feel safe again.

“After her forties, we took her to the woods with the younger orangutans, still only women,” Lone explains.

“As she got better, she was gradually introduced to male caregivers. She no longer seemed to be afraid of them and was happy with any company she might have. Eventually, they moved her to one of the islands.” he added.

Unfortunately, due to her lack of survival skills and the fact that she spent too much time in human captivity, she will never be released back into the wild.

However, now, 15 years later, he is in good health and lives in an enclosure at the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Center with seven other orangutans, and has learned to make nests and fodder.

Still tragic, Pony’s story is one of survival and had a happy ending to how it started, a kind with which not many orangutans trafficked on the black market run.

According to experts, these primates are very welcome, especially when they are babies, as they are very cute animals that seem to make excellent pets.

Nothing could be further from the truth because when they grow up they become ungovernable.

It is estimated that about a thousand orangutans are killed each year so that their babies can be sold on the black market.. For every baby orangutan sold, it is estimated that at least four die.

It is too easy to sell or buy a monkey like Pony, a disturbing fact that confronts us with the very real and quite near extinction of the species.

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