Forest fires threaten endangered orangutan sanctuary

Saturday, October 10, 2015, 10:08 AM - Forest fires in Indonesia have damaged several square kilometres of orangutan habitat on the island of Borneo.

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) released images of the flames earlier this month as they neared the group's orangutan reintroduction station within a protected forest.

It was the latest of several fires that together burned around 130 hectares around the area, requiring the assistance of firefighters from a nearby TOTAL oil installation to extinguish, an operation that lasted a few days.

"The fire spread to the area where our newly built orangutan enclosures are being constructed, but fortunately the enclosures are still empty and at the last moment the fire changed direction heading towards the helipad and arboretum," BOS said in a statement.

There's little word on the effect the fires have had on the area's orangutans, but BOS says the flames partially burned an area where the group had planted endangered tree species for conservation.

"With at least another month or two without rain, we are prepared for more fires and remain on high alert," BOS said in a statement.

The fires are not limited to that part of Borneo.

Greenpeace released drone footage earlier this month, showing the extent of the forest fires at the edge of Gunung Palung national park in western Borneo. The group blames the extent of the fires on decades of illegal logging and deforestation to make room for palm oil plantations, according to the Guardian.

The BBC reports forest fires across the Indonesian archipelago have forced the government in Jakarta to call for international aid.

The Bornean Orangutan is considered an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The last census, in the early 2000s, but the population at no more than 69,000, and the IUCN that number is likely lower today.

SOURCES: BOS | Greenpeace | The Guardian | BBC News | IUCN