Eight orangutans have been returned to the wild in Borneo after they were taken into captivity when wildfires over the summer threatened their habitat. Three mothers, their three daughters and two adult males were released on Friday in a reserve in the west of the island, according to International Animal Rescue Indonesia (Yiari) and the forestry ministry.
Indonesian authorities rescued 46 orangutans from fires in August and September. Wildfires are common in the region during the country’s dry season, but they intensified this year. The apes are critically endangered, and conservation group WWF says about 104,000 orangutans remain in Borneo and Sumatra, down from more than 230,000 a century ago.
Eight apes freed in a western Borneo reserve
Yiari CEO Karmele Llano Sanchez said moving the eight orangutans to the reserve was a “necessary step” once their habitats became unsafe. The group said the reserve was chosen because it has food and water and is connected to other forested areas.
Among the released animals was Mama Nopi, with her offspring Nopi, Naufal and Nopan. They had been living in a coconut and rubber plantation before their rescue in early September, Yiari said. Mama Lifa and her child Lifa were found in a patch of acacia trees surrounded entirely by oil palm plantations, and were rescued in mid-September.
Yiari’s Argitoe Ranting said the aim went beyond simply moving the animals. “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,” he said.
Fires and food shortages pushed apes toward people
Fires had burned through the surrounding forest, limiting the orangutans’ access to food and bringing them closer to humans. Mama Man and her baby, Man, had been monitored by rescuers since June, when they were found living in a plantation area next to a small patch of forest. Nearby fires restricted their roaming area further and left them without a safe route to other forest, and they were evacuated in early September, Yiari said.
Yiari said the apes’ original habitats had been burned and broken up to the point that they could no longer support the primates. That was the main reason for relocating them, the group said.
Climate pressure and land clearing add to the threat
The International Union for Conservation of Nature warned last month that wildfires were burning in habitats containing 52% of Borneo’s orangutan population. The organisation said a large part of the apes’ habitat could become inhospitable if climate change continues at its current pace.
The El Niño ocean warming phenomenon has made this year’s fires more intense, as it makes weather patterns more volatile and extreme. The event has become the strongest on record and is expected to affect the climate into next year. Experts have also pointed to land clearing for plantations, which replaces naturally fire-resistant forest with less dense and shaded vegetation that spreads fire more easily.
