A BABY orangutan found dying in an urine-soaked box has made a remarkable recovery just a week after a Sussex charity rescued him.

The tiny ape, now named Gito, was rescued in Borneo by Uckfield-based charity International Animal Rescue, which has now released a video of the miraculous survival.

He was suffering from sarcoptic mange, had lost most of his hair and his skin was grey and flaking.

Charity workers told how they found him lying "corpse-like with his arms folded across his chest" and was so still and lifeless that they feared he was already dead.

Gito was treated at the charity's rehabilitation centre in Ketapang, west Borneo, 105 miles from where he was found in the village of Hamlet Giet in Simpang Hulu district, where he was put on a drip and treated for dehydration and malnutrition.

A video of the baby, who is just weeks old, showed him to be completely helpless, unable to sit up on his own and crying weakly as coconut oil is massaged into his flaking skin when he was first rescued.

But a week later staff said he had transformed "beyond recognition" with soft, supple skin. He is now strong enough to hold and drink from a bottle of milk without help and is more alert.

Alan Knight, from the charity, said: "What better present could there be for everyone who has donated to our appeal for Gito than to see him looking so much better so soon.

"We are all thrilled with his progress so far. Of course he has a very long way to go in his recovery - and a long journey ahead if he is to be rehabilitated and eventually return to the wild - but he is in safe hands now and our medical team is doing a fantastic job caring for him.

"Our thanks go to everyone who is helping to fund Gito's treatment and the treatment and care of all the other orangutans in our centre.

"Tragically Gito won't be the last baby we rescue. Right this minute our rescue team is risking their lives to save orangutans caught up in the fires and there will certainly be more babies orphaned and captured in the days and weeks ahead. I would just urge the public to continue supporting our work so that we can save as many orangutans' lives as possible."

The charity is appealing for support and donations so it can continue to rescue orangutans from forest fires burning across the Ketapang Regency.

To donate at internationalanimalrescue.org.