Eight endangered orangutans moved to safety after Borneo fires

JAKARTA- Indonesian authorities and conservation workers successfully moved eight orangutans to a safe location after the endangered primates' homes were destroyed by wildfires in the forests of Borneo, they said on Sunday.

The Southeast Asian nation is battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, mainly on Sumatra and Borneo islands, and the government has warned the blazes could continue until November, aggravated by the El Niño weather pattern.

Three mother-child pairs and two adolescent male orangutans were among those rescued between August and September from several locations, the Indonesian government and wildlife foundation, Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI) said in a statement.

"Their relocation to Batu Nyambu protected forest is expected to give the eight orangutans a chance to return to living naturally," the statement read.

Orangutans are critically endangered great apes found in the wild only on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra, with Indonesia home to all three recognised species, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Populations have declined due to deforestation, wildfires and poaching.

The relocation operation took six hours by car, one hour on boats, and two more hours on foot, with the orangutans in cages carried on bamboo poles. Before they were moved, YIARI conservationists checked the animals' health.

Since August, the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency and YIARI have rescued 46 orangutans affected by fires, agency head Murlan Dameria Pane said.

From January to July this year, fires burned around 202,000 hectares (500,000 acres) in Indonesia. No official data for subsequent months has been released, but non-governmental organisations estimate fires have burned at least 600,000 hectares more since.

Haze from the fires has caused 175,000 cases of respiratory illness in Indonesia, with the smog affecting neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia where many schools were closed on Friday as air quality deteriorated.

Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Gibran Peshimam and Kate Mayberry/Reuters