An adult female orangutan and her infant have been rescued and evacuated after severe forest fires drove them from their home. The mother and infant have been named Mama Man and Man.
YIARI worked in collaboration with The Ministry of Forestry through the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) to rescue the pair who had become stranded in the Sungai Awan Kiri Village, Muara Pawan District.
There had been sightings of the two in mid-June in a local plantation area bordering a patch of forest. At that point, they still had room to move within the remaining habitat. But the situation changed as forest and land fires spread in the surrounding area.
Flames continued to blaze isolating the mother and infant, while their surrounding habitat became increasingly restricted, leaving them with nowhere safe to go. The mother and infant were at risk not only from the fires, but life-threatening smoke exposure.
The team arrived on the scene at 06.30 WIB (Western Indonesian Time) and confirmed the condition and location of the pair, before carrying out an immediate evacuation. Mama Man, estimated to be around 20 years old, was carefully sedated with a dart gun. Ten minutes later, she was successfully evacuated to the YIARI rescue and rehabilitation centre using a net. Her infant, Man, estimated to be less than a year old, always remained at her side.
Initial examinations revealed no physical injuries or burns on Mama Man’s body, and she was administered oxygen as she started coming out of her sedation. The team observed nasal discharge and dried secretions around little Man’s nose, a condition linked to smoke exposure. Given his vulnerability, and that the two were found in an area heavily affected by fires, health checks and monitoring will continue to ensure both their wellbeing.
YIARI veterinarian Drh. Komara stated: “Prolonged smoke exposure remains a concern as it can affect the orangutans’ respiratory systems, especially when smoke concentrations in the habitat are very high.”
Rescue efforts continue in West Kalimantan as the dry weather conditions intensify and more orangutans are being cut off from their homes and movement corridors. At time of writing, YIARI has rescued a total of 18 orangutans in the last month.