Budi the orangutan is recovering after almost a year of neglect

 By 
Tricia Gilbride
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Budi the orangutan is recovering after almost a year of serious neglect.

The tiny ape spent the first 10 months of his life in a chicken coop and was severely malnourished after surviving only on condensed milk.

Before his rescue, Budi was a family pet in Ketapang, Indonesia. The milk alone couldn't provide the nutrients the growing orangutan needed to properly develop.

[seealso slug="lost-pets"]

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Eventually, the family realized that Budi was very ill and turned him over to authorities.

He traveled for 10 hours to the International Animal Rescue (IAR), where he is currently being nursed back to health. Recovery is a slow process, though, since Budi's limbs are malformed due to undernourishment.

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"His little body was bloated with fluid from severe malnutrition and his limbs were swollen and bent. He was completely unable to move or even sit up on his own," IAR Director Karmele L. Sanchez told The Daily Mail. "At more than a year old, he should have been strong enough to climb and swing. Instead, he was as helpless as a newborn baby."

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Budi is making progress; he can now sit up on his own for short periods. It's still too early to tell whether any of the damage inflicted is permanent, but his caretakers are optimistic that his resilient spirit will help him recover.

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