Indonesia finds orangutans saved from wildfires a new home

Indonesian authorities and conservationists have relocated eight orangutans to a protected forest in Batu Nyambu after their habitats were ravaged by wildfires in Borneo. The Southeast Asian nation is grappling with its most severe wildfire season in a decade, exacerbated by the El Nino weather pattern. The rescued orangutans, comprising three mother-child pairs and two adolescent males, were transported over six hours by car, an hour by boat, and two hours on foot, protected in cages carried on bamboo poles.

The relocation was deemed essential due to the endangered primates' habitats being unsafe. The choice of the Batu Nyambu forest was based on its availability of resources and connectivity to other forests. As of August, the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency and YIARI had rescued 46 orangutans affected by the fires.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has warned that fires are burning in areas housing 52% of Borneo's orangutan population. Indonesia has been battling wildfires throughout the dry season, with the current outbreak intensified by the El Nino phenomenon and slash-and-burn land-clearing practices. Since January, fires have scorched around 202,000 hectares in Indonesia, though NGOs estimate that at least 600,000 hectares have burned since the start of the year.

The haze from the fires has caused over 175,000 respiratory illnesses in Indonesia, affecting neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, leading to school closures in some areas.