Indonesia wildfire rescues reach 96 orangutans as haze spreads
Why it matters: Smoke has shut schools, worsened respiratory illness and disrupted about 2,400 flights since mid-August.
Conservation teams in Indonesia have rescued dozens of critically endangered orangutans from wildfires tearing through Borneo and Sumatra, with forestry ministry figures indicating the total in Kalimantan may have reached 96 in recent months. In West Kalimantan, the local conservation agency and nonprofit YIARI said 51 orangutans were evacuated between Aug. 6 and Oct. 19. The fires, intensified by a strong El Nino, have burned 2.2 million acres this season and damaged or smoke-hit more than half of orangutan habitat, according to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. One recent rescue involved a 20-year-old male in Hampangen village, Central Kalimantan. Another, a 5-year-old female named Novita, suffered burns over 20% of her body and was treated for breathing problems.