Rescuers scramble to save orangutans as El Niño-boosted fires spread across Borneo
BANJARMASIN, Indonesia — As a strengthening El Niño fuels wildfires across much of Indonesia, NGO and government conservationists are at work in forests here trying to save an increasing number of orangutans from burning landscapes. “Seven individuals were rescued through August,” said Heribertus Suciadi, spokesperson for Yayasan International Animal Rescue Indonesia (YIARI), a Borneo-based NGO…
BANJARMASIN, Indonesia - As a strengthening El Niño fuels wildfires across much of Indonesia, conservationists are racing against time to save orangutans from the burning landscapes. Seven orangutans have been rescued through August by Yayasan International Animal Rescue Indonesia (YIARI), a Borneo-based NGO. The Bornean orangutan, the only species found on the island of Borneo, is critically endangered.
With an estimated 100,000 remaining in the wild as of the last assessment in 2016, conservationists warn of an alarming projected decline of around 86% between 1950 and 2025. This population collapse over three generations is primarily attributed to habitat loss and direct killing. Orangutans reproduce exceptionally slowly, with females typically birthing a single offspring every seven to eight years, making recovery from losses particularly slow.
Major wildfire crises, such as those expected through October due to climate forecasts predicting a strengthening El Niño, can accelerate declines, with such events occurring roughly once every decade.
Written by urgent.news from Mongabay's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
