Saving Sampurna: Farmer rescues weakened orangutan from forest fires in Indonesia's Borneo
Wildlife organization Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia has rescued seven orangutans from fires so far, as the country battles to contain haze from forest and land fires
A farmer in Ketapang, West Kalimantan on Borneo island found an orangutan in a weak state on a palm-oil plantation near a forest fire site. According to the New Straits Times, the farmer, Jais, gave the orangutan water and called for help. A wildlife foundation, Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia, arrived with a veterinarian to provide treatment.
The orangutan, named Sampurna, had fainted by the time help arrived. The foundation's CEO, Karmele Llano Sanchez, said Sampurna had hypoxia due to the thick smoke in the area. So far, Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia has rescued seven orangutans from the fires, as reported by Channel News Asia.
The forest fires have burned at least 202,010 hectares of land from January to July, according to Indonesia's Forestry Ministry. The fires have triggered respiratory illnesses and forced thousands of schools to move classes online, not only in Indonesia but also in neighbouring Malaysia.
Brief written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia, New Straits Times — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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