Eight orangutans released into Borneo forest after rescue from wildfires

Eight orangutans were released back into the wild on Friday in a reserve in the west of Borneo, after being taken into care in the summer when wildfires threatened their habitat. International Animal Rescue Indonesia (Yiari), a wildlife rescue group, and Indonesia's forestry ministry announced the release. The group consisted of three mothers, their three daughters and two adult males.

Indonesian authorities rescued 46 orangutans from the fires in August and September. Wildfires are normal in the country's dry season, but this year they were more intense. The source attributes this to El Niño, an ocean warming phenomenon that makes weather patterns more volatile and extreme.

A critically endangered species

Orangutans are critically endangered. According to the conservation group WWF, about 104,000 remain in Borneo and Sumatra, compared with more than 230,000 a century ago.

Rescue and relocation

Yiari chief executive Karmele Llano Sanchez described moving the eight animals to the reserve as a "necessary step" once their habitats became unsafe.

One of the released families was Mama Nopi and her offspring Nopi, Naufal and Nopan. Yiari said they had been surviving in a coconut and rubber plantation until their rescue in early September. The fires had burned the surrounding forest, limiting their access to food and bringing them closer to people.