Jakarta (AFP) – An orangutan mother and her baby, threatened by encroaching wildfires to their habitat in Indonesia, were rescued earlier this week, authorities said in a statement Saturday.
The vast Southeast Asian archipelago has for weeks been fighting wildfires blanketing parts of Borneo and Sumatra with smog, with haze also contributing to air pollution in Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
The orangutan pair had been under observation since July after being spotted in a plantation area near a forest in West Kalimantan, a local natural resources conservation agency said in a statement.
But authorities decided to evacuate them to a rescue center managed by the wildlife foundation Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI) on Thursday as fire spread near their habitat.
Their health is being closely monitored by veterinarians, but a preliminary check found no burn injuries on the two great apes.
"Exposure to smoke over a period of time... can affect the orangutan's respiratory system, especially when smoke concentrations in the habitat are very high," YIARI's veterinarian Komara, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said in a statement.
"Both individuals will continue to be monitored while they are at the rescue and rehabilitation center."
The latest rescue means nine orangutans have been evacuated because of threats from wildfires in less than a month in the Ketapang district of West Kalimantan province, YIARI operational director Argitoe Ranting said.
"This shows that fires not only destroy forests but also deprive animals of shelter and food," Argitoe said.
Most animals "do not have many options" to relocate as their habitat burns, he added.
One orangutan died after being rescued last week, with a necropsy result pointing to smoke exposure as the cause of death, the West Kalimantan natural resources conservation agency said in a statement.