Three orang-utans under rehabilitation at a nature reserve in a resort in Sabah have been found speared to death, a report said today.

The primates were found dead Monday by workers at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort who suspected something amiss when they did not appear during feeding time in the morning, the New Straits Times said.

The three were among six orang-utans, an endangered species, under rehabilitation at the resort's nature reserve, the daily said.