Indonesia fires force more orangutan rescues in Borneo

A male orangutan nicknamed Bara has been rescued from burned land in Indonesia's Borneo, the latest of dozens of apes taken from wildfires burning across parts of Sumatra and Borneo in recent months.

Bara was found on top of a tree on razed land in Central Kalimantan on Oct. 8, local natural resources conservation agency official Handi Nasoka said. He said haze was thick because fires were burning around the area and authorities did not want to assume the orangutan would survive.

Handi said Bara was relatively healthy, with minor burn injuries, and would be moved to a nature reserve elsewhere in Central Kalimantan.

Another rescued orangutan, a female nicknamed Novita, remains at the Nyaru Menteng rehabilitation centre in Palangkaraya after being found clinging to a tree in late September. Novita is estimated to be three to four years old.

Andi Muhammad Khadafi, head of the Central Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency, said on Oct. 8 that Novita was still receiving intensive care. He said burns on her hands and feet were improving, but she may not fully return to her previous condition after recovery.

Jamartin Sihite, chief executive of the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, said Novita had walked through fire before climbing the tree where rescuers found her. He said the rescue team tranquilised her, gave her oxygen and intravenous fluids, and moved her to the rehabilitation centre.

Wildfires have increased pressure on endangered orangutans and forced local groups and authorities to rescue animals suffering from smoke inhalation and burns.

Indonesia regularly faces wildfires during the dry season, which in Borneo typically peaks between July and September. The fires have intensified this year in part because of the El Nino weather phenomenon. Experts cited in the AFP account also said slash-and-burn practices and the drying of peatlands have made previously resistant landscapes more fire-prone.

Government figures show more than 202,000 hectares burned between January and July. The Nusantara Atlas satellite monitoring project estimated nearly 896,000 hectares had burned by the end of August.

The fires have caused severe local haze, tens of thousands of respiratory illness cases, and air pollution spikes in Singapore and Malaysia.