JAKARTA, Sept 14 (Bernama-Xinhua) — Three orangutans were rescued after forest and land fires forced them from their habitat in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, bringing the total number rescued due to the fires to 18, the local conservation agency said on Monday, reported Xinhua.
Murlan Dameria Pane, head of the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said the three orangutans were evacuated in two operations from Penjalaan and Padu Banjar villages in Ketapang Regency after being found in residents’ plantations.
Karmele Llano Sanchez, executive director of the Indonesian Nature Rehabilitation Initiative Foundation (YIARI), said two of the orangutans, a mother and her offspring named Mama Penja and Penja, were found to be extremely thin and weak.
Mama Penja was also suffering from severe dehydration, anaemia, burns on both feet and damaged teeth.
A male orangutan named Kumbang suffered respiratory problems, injuries and snare marks, while a foreign object suspected to be a bullet was found in his right hand.
Kumbang had previously been rescued from the same area and released back into the wild in 2022. The three orangutans are receiving treatment at the YIARI rescue centre in Ketapang.
The areas where they were found are part of the habitat and buffer zone of Gunung Palung National Park, an important habitat for orangutan populations in West Kalimantan.
— BERNAMA-XINHUA