Eight endangered orangutans have been released into a protected forest in Indonesian Borneo after wildfires destroyed large areas of their habitat, a conservation group said.
The orangutans, including three mothers with their infants and two adolescent males, were rescued from fire-ravaged areas in Ketapang and North Kayong regencies between August and September.
They were relocated to Batu Nyambu protected forest in West Kalimantan province on October 8, said Heribertus Suciadi, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Nature Rehabilitation Initiative Foundation, or YIARI.
The wildfires destroyed habitat corridors and reduced access to food, forcing the orangutans into plantations inhabited by people in search of food and shelter, where they became stranded, Suciadi told The Associated Press on Monday.
"They had no burns, open wounds, broken bones or other life-threatening injuries, but appeared to be suffering from malnutrition and dehydration," Suciadi said.
Among those rescued were a female orangutan known as Mama Man and her infant, Man, which had been monitored for months in a small patch of forest surrounded by plantations.
Expanding fires and heavy smoke left them with no safe route to larger forests before they were evacuated in early September, Suciadi said.
Two other mother-and-infant pairs and two juvenile males were found in similar conditions after fires swept through forests near villages in Ketapang and North Kayong.
The orangutans underwent veterinary examinations and observation at a rehabilitation centre operated by YIARI to ensure they were healthy enough to return to the wild.
YIARI Operational Director Argitoe Ranting said Batu Nyambu was selected as the release site because much of the forest remains intact despite the wildfires and provides abundant food, water, nesting trees and connections to neighbouring forests.
"We want to ensure that rescued orangutans are not simply moved from one place to another, but actually have a chance to survive in their natural habitat," he said, adding that protected forests capable of accommodating displaced orangutans are becoming increasingly scarce as fires spread.
Forest and land fires in Indonesia have worsened this year as El Niño intensifies a prolonged dry season. Other contributing factors include land clearance through burning in Indonesian Borneo and parts of Sumatra, as well as water shortages that have hampered firefighters. Japan has provided assistance to Indonesian firefighting efforts.
In a separate incident, a male orangutan named Sampurna, believed to be around 20 years old, was found struggling to breathe by residents in early September at a palm oil plantation in Ketapang district of West Kalimantan, an area affected by wildfires.
He died hours after being rescued, Indonesia's Forestry Ministry said.
As of Saturday, more than 270 wild animals in the Indonesian part of Borneo had been rescued, rehabilitated or guided to safer habitats, including 46 orangutans rescued by YIARI, according to the ministry.
YIARI Chief Executive Officer Karmele Llano Sanchez said the relocation was a last resort after the animals' original habitat became unsafe.
"These orangutans have been traumatized and other impacts by wildfires that devastated their habitat, leaving them displaced," she said. "Rescuing them is one of the best ways we can help them survive."