Doctors yesterday successfully carried out the first ever cataract operation on an orangutan, at a wildlife centre in Sarawak.

The two South African doctors declared the three-hour operation to save 20-year-old ape Aman's eyesight a success, state Bernama news agency reported.

Aman, a male orangutan, has suffered from diminishing vision in both eyes since 2000.

Doctors had said the operation would not entirely restore Aman's vision but the orangutan would be able to identify objects in front of it.

It was not the first time Aman had undergone surgery. He bit an electric cable and had to have his tongue removed in 2000, and his left index finger was bitten off by another orangutan.

Officials at the Matang wildlife centre said Aman was rescued from a market in 1989 and kept as a pet for three months before being surrendered to an animal sanctuary.