HOOKED up to heart monitors and IV drips as they lay in their cots, these baby apes are reaping the benefits of the world's first orangutan intensive care unit.

Born in an eco-tourism park on the Malaysian mainland, April and June-Junior were taken into the custody of the ICU after being rejected by their mothers.

The hairy tots, named by nurses at Malaysia's Bukit Merah wildlife park, are treated with the same high-tech machines available in any neo-natal unit.

The only difference, say their carers, is these patients are causing mischief and climbing out of their cots many months before their human cousins.

With two-hour feeds and 30-minute checks on vital signs, three-month-old June-Junior and 10-month-old April are in the best possible hands. Their treatment isn't exactly cutting edge, but is at the forefront of animal welfare.

A dedicated team of seven nurses, headed by one of Malaysia's most experienced vets, provides 24-hour monitoring at the world's most advanced ape hospital.

Inside the sealed ICU the baby orangutans are given a daily intake of vitamins and have regular blood checks. Dressed in a nappy, June-Junior and April chew their cots, throw bedding across their sterile room and make faces at each other.

They are the latest of 12 orangutans to pass through the surgical doors of the facility since it opened in March 2004.

"We have 23 orangutans here at the Bukit Merah resort,'' said vet Dr Sabapathy Dharmalingam.