AN ORANGUTAN has been given a second chance of freedom after spending a decade behind bars.

After more than two years’ campaigning, the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS), based in Abingdon, has secured the release of 14-year-old Pongky from Medan Zoo in Sumatra.

Director Helen Buckland said: “This is not just a victory for Pongky but also for other orangutans who are in need of rescue from the illegal pet trade.

“Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered, they are one of the 25 most endangered animals.

“There are only 6,600 left in the wild.”

Pongky was kept in a tiny wire cage by a high-ranking police officer in Sumatra’s Aceh province until he was discovered in July 2013.

The case was reported to authorities but Pongky was not taken to a rehabilitation centre and instead ended up in the zoo.

Ms Buckland, 34, who lives in Abingdon, added: “When Pongky was confiscated but then transferred to Medan Zoo, he simply swapped one life behind bars for another.

“He should never have been sent to the zoo – he should have been given a second chance at a life in the wild.”

Oxford Mail photographer Andrew Walmsley visited Pongky in 2014 while documenting SOS’s conservation programmes.

He said: “I visited the zoo one afternoon and could only cope with staying for a couple of hours before I had to leave.

“Measuring approximately two by three metres, his dark concrete box had nothing to occupy his mind, as people came to shout their abuse at him before spitting and walking away.

“For an animal that should spend almost its entire life in the canopy, he didn’t even have a single stick to remind him of the trees.

“Knowing that he has finally been given the chance to live free again is the best news I have ever heard.”

Panut Hadisiswoyo, director of the Orangutan Information Centre, said: “There is still a long journey ahead for Pongky before he can be released.”

But he added: “We are optimistic he has a good chance of being a wild orangutan again, in the forest where he belongs.”

The Medan Zoo has agreed to ensure no orangutans confiscated from the illegal pet trade in the future will be taken to the zoo. Instead, they will be given every opportunity to be rehabilitated and released back into the forest.

The charity is appealing for funds to support Pongky’s care and recovery.

For more information visit orangutans-sos.org.