The story of Pony has been floating around the Internet for some time. Although it seems wrapped up in urban legend or has perhaps been treated with skepticism through sheer disbelief, numerous sources have told the deeply dark and distressing story of Pony.
She was used as a sex slave in the village of Kareng Pangi, Central Kalimantan in the depths of Indonesian Borneo. Men visiting the brothel would have a choice to pay for sex with a woman or Pony.
Numerous attempts to rescue Pony by animal rights groups and local police were thwarted by the villagers who saw Pony as a kind of “good luck charm.” VICE reported that eventually the village was stormed by 35 policemen armed with AK-47s, along with the Central Kalimantan Conservation and Natural Resources Authority.
Since then, Pony has been part of a long rehabilitation programme at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Center near Palangkaraya. The process at the center aims to gradually ease them into the wild, usually starting with a first socialization enclosure, followed by a semi-independent “pre-release island” before finally being returned to the wild.