MONIC, THE DIABETIC ORANGUTAN
Monic is a female orangutan at the Gunungbayan Coal Company conservation institute, West Kutai, East Kalimantan. For a month, Monic the orangutan had been limp and lifeless in the clinic. She had been receiving intensive care from the vet nurses to bring back the health of this beautiful girl.
In the beginning, Monic suffered from typhoid and was recovering, but 2 weeks ago she began developing a high fever again, said Yasin, one of the vet nurses at Gunungbayan Coal.
After some lab testing, Monic tested positive for Dengue Fever. Her temperature hit 40 degrees Celsius for over a week. Her condition at the time forced the nurses to connect an IV, as Monics appetite had dropped drastically.
Connecting an IV to on orangutan is not as simple a task as with a human. As they are constantly moving and cannot sit still, the IV can occasionally detach and the team must connect it again and again. Seeing this occurring with Monic, the nurses were forced to immobilise Monics left arm in order to secure the IV.
After around 5 days of intensive care, it appeared that Monics appetite was beginning to improve. Seeing her health progress, the nurses agreed to remove Monics restraints and IV. As they removed the tape around the IV tubes, the nurses were shocked to see swelling on Monics palms up to her
fingers. This condition baffled the nurses as the swelling spread rapidly along with open wounds that would not dry out. According to Veterinarian Arifin (COP), The orangutans wounds are constantly wet due to her own behaviours. She is constantly licking and even picking at the sores. So, they’re just going to stay in this condition, or even get bigger.
Seeing the current situation, the nurses and veterinarians decided to move the orangutan from the transit enclosure to a more open place. They then secured her hands and feet to prevent her from trying to touch her wounds.
Afterwards the nurses tested Monics blood glucose levels to explore other possible causes for the sores that would not dry out. The results of this test showed that Monics glucose levels had hit 221 units. And just like that we had an answer to those wet sores. Going ahead, it will be much clearer in which direction we should be going with this orangutans treatment., stated Dr. Arifin. (SAT)
Monic adalah salah satu orangutan betina yang berada di lembaga konservasi PT. Gunung Bayan Coal, Kutai Barat, Kalimantan Timur. Sudah satu bulan lamanya orangutan Monic terkulai lemas di klinik. Perawatan secara intensif dilakukan para perawat satwa untuk memulihkan kembali kesehatan si cantik ini. “Sebelumnya Monic sempat mengalami tipes dan sudah membaik. Akan tetapi mulai 2 minggu yang lalu, ia demam tinggi lagi.”, tutur Yasin salah satu perawat satwa PT. Gunung Bayan Coal.
Setelah dilakukan uji lab, Monic positif Demam Berdarah (DB). Suhu badannya tembus 40 derajat celcius lebih dari 1 minggu. Situasi pada saat itu membuat perawat terpaksa memasang selang infus karena nafsu makan Monic mulai menurun drastis.
Pemasangan selang infus orangutan memang tidak semudah memasang pada manusia. Karena sering bergerak/tidak bisa diam, terkadang infus lepas dan memaksa tim mengulangi pemasangan. Melihat kondisi seperti ini, para perawat terpaksa melakukan pemasungan pada lengan kirinya untuk mengamankan selang infus.
Selama kurang lebih 5 hari perawatan intensif, terlihat nafsu makan Monic mulai membaik. Melihat progress kesehatan yang semakin membaik, para perawat sepakat untuk melepas pemasungan dan selang infus. Ketika perekat selang infus mulai dibuka, para perawat dikagetkan dengan pembengkakan yang terjadi di telapak tangan sampai pada ruas-ruas jari Monic. Kondisi tersebut sempat membuat bingung karena pembengkakan cepat merambat dan disertai luka yang susah mengering. Bedasarkan penuturan drh. Arifin (COP), “Luka orangutan selalu basah, karena aktivitas orangutan itu sendiri. Dia selalu menjilat-jilat bahkan tak ragu untuk mecukil-cukil lukanya. Jadi ya bakal terus seperti ini, bahkan bisa semakin melebar.”.
Melihat situasi seperti ini para perawat dan dokter hewan berinisiatif memindahkan orangutan dari kandang transit ke tempat yang lebih luas. Kemudian mengamankan ke dua tangan dan kakinya agar tidak menjangkau bagian tubuh yang mengalami luka tersebut.
Setelah itu dilakukan tes kadar gula untuk memastikan kemungkinan lain penyebab luka yang susah kering. Hasil tes menunjukkan kadar gula orangutan Monic tembus di angka 221. “Terjawab sudah penyebab utama luka yang susah kering. Untuk selanjutnya akan lebih jelas kemana arah penanganan pada orangutan ini.”, ungkap drh. Arifin. (SAT)
