Indonesia releases 8 orangutans rescued from fires to protected forest

Indonesian authorities rescued and released eight orangutans from the Batu Nyambu Protected Forest in West Kalimantan on Friday, following recent fires that devastated their habitat. Three mother and baby pairs and two male teenagers were relocated to the 23,000-hectare reserve, which offers primary and secondary forest cover. The YIARI wildlife rehabilitation foundation, in collaboration with the forestry ministry, made the decision to move the orangutans to a new location to ensure their survival in the face of increasingly threatening habitat conditions.

YIARI CEO Karmele Llano Sanchez emphasized the importance of habitat protection, stating that rescue efforts are crucial while their homes continue to be endangered. The reserve was chosen for its availability of food and water sources, as well as its connectivity to other forests. Indonesian authorities and YIARI had rescued a total of 46 orangutans from fires between August and October 9.

Orangutans, classified as critically endangered, now number around 104,000 in Borneo and Sumatra, down from over 230,000 a century ago, according to the WWF. The International Union for Conservation of Nature warned that fires were burning in habitats containing 52 percent of Borneo's orangutan population. Indonesia regularly faces wildfires during the dry season, but this year, the fires have intensified due to the El Nino weather phenomenon, which is one of the strongest in over four decades.

Slash-and-burn land-clearing practices have also altered the landscape, making it less fire-resistant. The fires have caused severe haze, leading to tens of thousands of respiratory illnesses, and have contributed to air pollution spikes in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.