Indonesia rescues six orangutans from fires in a week
Indonesia rescues six orangutans from fires in a week
Six orangutans, including two nursing infants, were rescued from plantations in West Kalimantan after fires cut off access to their forest home.
A large fire was burning just 200m from where the critically endangered orangutans were found, leaving them without a safe route back to their habitat.
Four orangutans were rescued with help from residents and plantation workers. Another mother and infant were also saved that week, bringing the number rescued in the past month to 15.
Rescuers anaesthetised the orangutans to minimise stress and the risk of injury. All six were taken to a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Ketapang.
More than 202,000ha of land burnt across Indonesia between January and July, according to government figures. An independent estimate puts the area affected at nearly 896,000ha through August.
