Orangutan survives being shot with over 100 pellets

A female orangutan was shot more than 100 times with a pellet gun by an unidentified individual in Borneo but survived, Indonesian officials said Thursday.

The primate, called 'Aan', was found earlier this month on a palm oil plantation with 37 shots to the head and 67 shots in the rest of her body.

An orangutan with its offspring (File pic)

Aan lost an eye in the attack but has started eating and is expected to live, veterinarians said.

This is not the first time that an orangutan entering a palm oil plantation has been attacked in Indonesia.

The primates' habitat has been threatened in recent years due to illegal logging by timber companies and operators of palm oil plantations.

Some 55,000 orangutans live on Borneo and Sumatra, experts say.u00a0