Indonesia relocates eight orangutans rescued from fires
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Indonesia has relocated eight orangutans rescued from recent wildfires to a protected forest in West Kalimantan. The apes were saved from various locations destroyed by the blazes in the region last month, according to the forestry ministry and YIARI, a wildlife rehabilitation foundation, in a statement. The orangutans, consisting of three mother and baby pairs and two male teenagers, were moved to the Batu Nyambu Protected Forest, a 23,000-hectare reserve with primary and secondary forest cover.
YIARI's CEO, Karmele Llano Sanchez, emphasized that relocating the animals to a new location is necessary when their habitat is no longer safe. She highlighted that while protecting habitats remains a top priority, rescue operations are crucial in ensuring the orangutans' survival as long as their habitats remain threatened. According to Murlan Dameria Pane, head of the local natural resources agency, Indonesian authorities and YIARI rescued a total of 46 orangutans from fire threats between August and October 9.
Orangutans are critically endangered, with around 104,000 remaining in Borneo and Sumatra. The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently warned that fires were burning in areas containing 52% of Borneo's orangutan population. The fires have caused severe haze, leading to tens of thousands of respiratory illnesses and air pollution spikes in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.
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