Mingky The Orphaned Baby Orangutan Chained Between Walls For A Year And Hugged Himself To Sleep At Night Until Rescued [Video]

Heartbreaking images of an orphaned orangutan have gone viral, showing the poor little guy chained between two concrete walls while hugging himself for comfort.

The sad images were shared across the Internet, showing Mingky the orangutan chained between two homes, secured with a bolt to a crumbling concrete wall. Metro revealed that Mingky the orangutan was chained to the wall in Indonesia for a year.

Mingky’s tragic story began when a poacher killed his mother. Although Mingky escaped the murderous profiteers, he was soon found wandering alone in the tropical wilderness. Rather than kill the baby orangutan, the poacher spared Mingky’s life and gave him to a friend. That friend allowed Mingky to live as well, chained by the neck to a crumbling wall, with only 2 feet of space in the narrow corridor between two homes.

Mingky mourned his mother for the year that he was held captive in the confined space, hugging himself to sleep each night, scared and lonely in the cramped space.

https://youtu.be/Y2EwFnQgutk

Mingky was left mostly alone with his own thoughts as he remained chained to the wall. However, on special occasions, his owner would allow him to come out of the corridor and entertain his family and friends during celebrations.

Panut Hadisiswoyo, of the Orangutan Information Centre in Indonesia, revealed that Mingky was fed fruits and rice, but just enough to keep him alive and seemingly healthy.

“The man who was holding Mingky captive said he wanted him to be chained in his premises as entertainment for his family. He’d feed him bits of fruit and sometimes rice. But it was no life for Mingky.”

Hadisiswoyo is part of an intelligence network that found Mingky and rescued him.

“Through our intelligence network, we discovered the orangutan illegally held in a house in a rural area near Blang Pidie city, Aceh Barat Daya. He was chained to a wall between two houses and we estimated that he was around three years old.”

According to the Mirror, Hadisiswoyo worked with local police to rescue Mingky and nurse him back to health.

Heartbreaking photos of baby orangutan chained to a wall for YEARhttps://t.co/8LpgHifv0N bless this little one. Hugs an hope he recovers????

— helen hurst (@ruby1628) October 29, 2016

Mingku was severely neglected for months leading up to his rescue. When rescuers arrived on the scene, he was apprehensive to interact with them and showed signs of aggression and fear. The rescuers had to tranquilize Mingku before they could release him from his chains and observe him to determine his level of health.

The Orangutan Information Centre in Indonesia plans to nurse Mingky back to health and release him back into the wild, where he can live his life with other orangutans.

Until he is released back into the wild, Mingky will reside within a sanctuary that will focus on his health and well-being, allowing him to live a life of luxury in comparison to the horrific conditions he was found in.

Heartbreaking story of orangutan who hugged himself to sleep every night: Mingky’s mother was killed while wa… https://t.co/HBLLnUYGIx

— Mants? TACKIE (@Mantsetackie) October 30, 2016

The man that owned and neglected Mingky will not face prosecution. Although it is illegal to capture and own an orangutan in Indonesia, Mingku was given as a gift, and the man had no part in his capture. In addition, the man willingly allowed the rescuers to engage and remove Mingku from his dire surroundings.

“There is no prosecution for the owner as the police believed that the owner received the orangutan from his friend and thus he was willing to surrender the orangutan.”

Mingky is expected to fully recover from his tragic experience. He might never get over the loss of his mother, but it is hoped that someday soon he will move on from hugging himself to sleep at night to hugging another orangutan for comfort.

[Featured Image by volkova natalia/Shutterstock]