Three Orangutans Rescued After Wildfires Force Them From Habitat in Indonesia

Dragon Media News Desk

Three orangutans have been rescued in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province after forest and land fires forced them out of their natural habitat, bringing the total number rescued due to the fires to 18, according to the local conservation agency.

Murlan Dameria Pane, head of the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency, said the three orangutans were evacuated in two separate operations from Penjalaan and Padu Banjar villages in Ketapang regency after they were found in plantations belonging to local residents.

According to Karmele Llano Sanchez, executive director of the Indonesian Nature Rehabilitation Initiative Foundation, a mother orangutan and her offspring, named Mama Penja and Penja, were found extremely thin and weak. Mama Penja was also suffering from severe dehydration, anemia, burns on both feet and damaged teeth.

A male orangutan named Kumbang was found with respiratory problems, injuries and signs of having been caught in a snare. A foreign object suspected to be a bullet was also detected in his right hand. Kumbang had previously been rescued from the same area and released back into the wild in 2022.

All three orangutans are currently receiving treatment at a rescue center in Ketapang. The areas where they were found form part of the habitat and buffer zone of Gunung Palung National Park, an important conservation area for orangutan populations in West Kalimantan.