Eight Orangutans Rescued From Indonesian Fires Released in Borneo Reserve
After wildfires threatened their habitats have been released into a reserve in western Borneo. The site offers food and water and connects to other forested…
Wildfires left some orangutans with shrinking access to food and safe forest. Indonesia finds home orangutans rescued from the blazes, with eight released into a reserve in western Borneo on Friday, according to International Animal Rescue Indonesia (Yiari) and the forestry ministry.
The group includes three mothers, their three daughters and two adult males. The release gives them access to food and water in a reserve connected to other forested areas, Yiari said.
The move follows the rescue of 46 orangutans from fires in August and September. The apes were taken into captivity after fires threatened their habitat over the summer. Wildfires are usual during Indonesia’s dry season, but this year’s fires intensified.
The animals are critically endangered. Around 104,000 orangutans remain in Borneo and Sumatra, down from more than 230,000 a century ago, according to conservation group WWF.
Fires cut off habitat and food
Some of the released orangutans had been living close to plantations as fires spread. Mama Nopi and her offspring Nopi, Naufal and Nopan survived in a coconut and rubber plantation before their rescue in early September, Yiari said.
Fire had burned the surrounding forest, restricting the family’s access to food and bringing them closer to people. Mama Lifa and her child Lifa were found in a patch of acacia trees surrounded entirely by oil palm plantations. Habitat damage from fires and a lack of food led to their rescue in mid-September.
Rescuers had monitored Mama Man and her baby, Man, since June, when they were found in a plantation beside a small patch of forest. Fires spreading nearby further limited their movement and left them without a safe route to other forest. They were evacuated in early September because of the risk from the flames, Yiara said.
The reserve’s location matters: moving the animals would not be enough if they landed in another isolated area without food or a route into forest. Yiari’s Argitoe Ranting said, “We want to ensure that rescued orangutans are not simply moved from one place to another, but actually have a chance to survive in their natural habitat.”
Fire risks extend beyond the rescued group
Indonesia is among countries that face wildfires during the summer. This year’s fires were more intense because of the El Niño ocean-warming phenomenon, which makes weather patterns more volatile and intense, according to the BBC report.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature warned last month that wildfires were burning in habitats containing 52% of Borneo’s orangutan population. It said a large portion of the apes’ habitat could become inhospitable if climate change continues at its current pace.
This year’s El Niño has become the strongest on record and is expected to affect the climate into next year, the report said. Experts have also pointed to land clearing for plantations as a factor that helps fires spread: naturally fire-resistant forests have been replaced by less dense, less shaded vegetation.
Yiara said the orangutans’ original habitats had been burned and fragmented to the point that they could no longer sustain the primates. The eight released animals were moved to a reserve chosen for available food and water and its connection to other forested areas.
Source: bbc.com
