Man loses eye to irate orangutan

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: A farmer from Sebulu Kutai regency in East Kalimantan lost his left eye and was hospitalized after being attacked by an orangutan.

Kasito, 40, told Antara that the primate attacked him Monday as he was trying to scare a group of the animals from eating his crops.

He said he struck the back of one of the animals.

"The orangutan suddenly turned around, grabbed my feet and bit my face," he said.

Kasito was rescued by two fellow farmers who managed to fend off the animal and took the injured man to a local hospital.

The Semboja Orangutan Rehabilitation Center has reported that as a result of the massive forest fires in 1998, many orangutans have been forced from their natural habitat and are seeking food in villages. (04)