Indonesia rescues starved orangutan from fires: Officials
A female orangutan that was likely starving was evacuated Wednesday from an area razed by fire on the Indonesian island of Borneo, officials said, as the country rescues hundreds of animals affected by the blazes.
A starving female orangutan was rescued from a burned forest in Central Kalimantan province on the Indonesian side of Borneo, officials announced on Wednesday. The animal, estimated to be around 20 years old, was spotted by locals and reported to authorities, who then captured the great ape safely using a net from a tree. Preliminary examinations revealed that the orangutan, named Ira, was indeed suffering from starvation, although she showed no signs of injury or respiratory problems.
Indonesia has been grappling with wildfires that have ravaged parts of Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua islands, causing haze to spread to neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. As of October 8, the country had rescued a total of 232 wild animals, including 71 orangutans on Borneo. Orangutans, which are critically endangered with only around 104,000 remaining in the wild, face a critical threat from the ongoing fires, which have consumed habitats containing 52% of the species' population.
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