Indonesia (AFP) – Two orangutans, a mother and her calf, were evacuated and brought to safety as they were threatened by smoke from the fires ravaging the island of Borneo, Indonesian authorities announced Thursday.

Published on: 09/03/2026 - 1:31 p.m.

The vast archipelago has been struggling for weeks to contain wildfires that have blanketed parts of Borneo and Sumatra in thick smoke, which has drifted across borders to Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Following a report, authorities set out to locate an orangutan seen Wednesday clinging to the top of a tree in Central Kalimantan province, Muriansyah, an official with the local natural resources conservation agency, who like many Indonesians only goes by one name, told AFP.

The great ape was discovered amid smoke rising from surrounding peat bogs, prompting it to be immediately evacuated to a safe location, he added.

During the evacuation operation, rescuers discovered that this female was carrying a baby.

“If we did not carry out the rescue, I feared for the safety of the orangutan” because of the fumes, Muriansah told AFP.

The female orangutan, estimated to be around 20 years old, was named Raya, after a nearby street where she was discovered, while her one-year-old baby, also a female, was named Rayu, the official added.

A preliminary veterinary examination established that the orangutans were not injured and had not been seriously affected by the smoke.

The two apes were then taken to a clinic for observation, said Heriyanto, an official with the natural resources conservation agency in Borneo's Central Kalimantan province.

“If they are healthy and can be released immediately into the wild, they will be released,” added Heriyanto, interviewed by AFP.

In the West Kalimantan region, also on the island of Borneo, at least seven orangutans were rescued last month due to forest fires.

Orangutans, whose population is in sharp decline, are endemic to the forests of Sumatra, as well as to Borneo, a territory shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Their number was estimated at around 57,000 in Borneo, according to figures from 2016.

There were also around 11,000 individuals in Sumatra, according to an Indonesian study carried out between 2021 and 2023. In Sumatra, many orangutans, particularly of the Tapanuli species, perished in the floods which ravaged part of the island last November and December.

© 2026 AFP

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