Indonesia relocates eight orangutans rescued from fires

EIGHT orangutans rescued in recent weeks from blazes that tore through Borneo island have been released into a protected forest, said Indonesian authorities and rescuers yesterday.

The apes were saved from several locations razed by fires in West Kalimantan last month, said the forestry ministry and the YIARI wildlife rehabilitation foundation in a statement.

The orangutans, three mum and baby pairs as well as two male teenagers, were relocated on Friday to the Batu Nyambu Protected Forest, a 23,000ha reserve with primary and secondary forest cover, in West Kalimantan.

YIARI chief executive officer Karmele Llano Sanchez said relocating the animals to a new location was a "necessary step" when their habitat was no longer safe.

"Protection of habitats will always be a top priority to ensure orangutans continue to have safe forests to live in, but as long as their habitat remains threatened, rescue is one of the best options we can take to help them survive," she said.

Indonesian authorities and YIARI rescued 46 orangutans from threats of fires between August and Oct 9, said local natural resources agency head Murlan Dameria Pane.

Orangutans are critically endangered, and around 104,000 remain in Borneo and Sumatra.

Last month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature warned fires were burning in habitats containing 52 per cent of Borneo's orangutan population.

The fires have created severe haze locally, with tens of thousands of cases of respiratory illnesses, and also caused regional air pollution spikes in Singapore and Malaysia.