A SUSSEX charity saved the lives of four orangutans in the space of three days.

Two teams from the International Animal Rescue (IAR) charity based in Uckfield rescued a tiny baby, a young male and a mother and baby in West Borneo last month.

The mother and baby, named Mama and Baby Rindi, were found after reports from villagers in Semanai said they had been spotted in a rubber tree plantation.

A juvenile male named Nemung was also spotted at the scene and later rescued, while a four month old baby called Paijo was saved in Randau Jekak Village after being handed over by a resident.

Karmele Llano Sanchez, programme director for IAR Indonesia, said: “These three rescue operations are all very different but the underlying problem is the same.”

Much of the orangutan’s habitat is lost through forest clearing for plantations with deforestation also making it difficult to find safe release sites for them.

Six porters used a wooden wheelbarrow to carry Nemung to the release site deep in Gunung Palung National Park.

The rescue team brought Paijo back to IAR’s centre in Ketapang and he is now in quarantine under the supervision of the veterinary team.

Mama and Baby Rindi were released about 200 metres from where Nemung had been freed previously.

Mr Llano Sanchez added: “We can’t envisage a bright future for orangutans if their habitat continues to be lost at this rapid rate.”

According to statistics released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), wild populations of orangutans in Borneo have declined by more than 80 per cent in the past 75 years.

Mr Llano Sanchez said the orangutan only stands a chance of survival if people start to take the problem seriously.

The charity's chief executive Alan Knight said: “While the current situation is a bleak one, we wouldn’t be working to save orangutans if we didn’t still have hope for their future.”

The Bornean orangutan was recently classified as Critically Endangered by IUCN.

Mr Knight said: “Our teams in Indonesia will continue their lifesaving work during the year ahead with as much commitment and determination as ever to fight for the orangutans’ survival.”