Wildfires and Smoke Threaten Bornean Orangutans as Rescuers Evacuate Dozens in West Kalimantan
Forest and peatland fires burning across Borneo have forced conservation teams to evacuate 51 orangutans from the Ketapang and North Kayong Districts of West Kalimantan between August 6 and October 10, 2026. The fires have choked the region in thick smoke and destroyed vital food sources, leaving many critically endangered primates stranded in palm oil plantations and severely degraded forest fragments.
Rescue Operations and Rehabilitation Center Strain in Ketapang
The nonprofit Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia, known as YIARI, has coordinated emergency responses alongside the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency, or BKSDA. Between August 6 and October 17, YIARI teams evacuated 51 orangutans across the province, while Forestry Ministry figures indicated that up to 96 orangutans had been rescued across Kalimantan during the broader crisis. YIARI’s rehabilitation center in Ketapang subsequently took in 90 orangutans, stretching the facility to full capacity. Rescuers have utilized drones to locate animals in fire-damaged zones before deploying ground teams equipped with tranquilizers and nets.
Medical Emergencies and High Conservation Value Area Destruction
Smoke exposure and starvation have created immediate, fatal risks for displaced wildlife. An orangutan named Sampurna died within 12 hours of being rescued on August 30 after struggling to breathe inside a palm oil plantation. Karmele Llano Sanchez, a wildlife veterinarian and co-founder of YIARI, performed the necropsy and confirmed severe respiratory damage. Further field operations secured four additional animals in October, including adolescent females Lusi and Riri, alongside a mother-offspring pair named Mama Rian and Rian. Satellite imagery analyzed between August 1 and September 25 showed that fires had impacted over 90 percent of a High Conservation Value area inside the PT KALE plantation in Laman Satong Village, an area previously estimated to hold a population density of 5.49 Bornean orangutans per square kilometer.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Borneo Orangutan Rescues
How many total orangutans have been evacuated from the fires?
YIARI reported evacuating 51 orangutans in West Kalimantan between August 6 and October 17, 2026, while separate Forestry Ministry figures suggest up to 96 total rescues across the island of Kalimantan.
What caused the health decline in rescued animals like Lusi?
Karmele Llano Sanchez noted that animals such as Lusi were found extremely stressed and painfully thin, having likely gone without food for days in forests devastated by fires and smoke.
Where are the rescued orangutans being taken?
Surviving animals are receiving medical care at YIARI’s full-capacity Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Ketapang, while others have been rewilded to safer forest preserves such as the Gunung Palung National Park.