Sometimes people can be absolutely horrible to other people and animals, but luckily there are also good people in the world that try to fix the things that other people do wrong. That is exactly what happened with Novi the orangutan.

Novi was discovered tied up beneath a house in Borneo, Indonesia. The chain was short and Novi appeared to be malnourished and unhealthy. The only companionship he had was a dog chained up beside him.

Rescuers determined that Novi’s mother was killed for destroying crops or perhaps she was killed out of fear. Nonetheless, Novi was captured and taken in as a pet because he was still a baby at the time.

He was likely kept as a pet, but as he got bigger, he ended up chained outside. The Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) says that when they finally cut the chain off of him, he had a scar where it has rubbed on him.

After being rescued in 2015, Novi was taken into the care of COP and they worked to make him healthy again. While getting him strong again, they also taught him how to live in the wild at their forest school. They taught him how to build a nest high in the trees and how to search for food. He was a quick learner and earned the nickname “big boss” at the school.

After three years at the school, Novi was released into the wild in November 2018. The video below shows his return into the jungle, but as he climbs the tree, he takes a moment to turn around and look at his rescuers as if to say thank you.

Check out the video below of this amazing rescue and be sure to share it with your family and friends.