Dozens of orangutans saved from fires in Indonesia, according to several NGOs

Rescue operation for wildlife. Several dozen orangutans, a species classified as critically endangered, have been sheltered in recent weeks from the forest fires ravaging Indonesia, several NGOs announced on Sunday October 18. These fires are the cause of air pollution by toxic fumes which has lasted for months and has led to the closure of schools, a sharp increase in respiratory disorders in humans and animals, and restrictions on outdoor activities in several regions of the Southeast Asian archipelago.

In Indonesia, rescue operations for wildlife threatened by fires, particularly orangutans, are continuing. “From August 6 to October 10, 2026, a joint team evacuated 51 orangutans from several sites (...) in West Kalimantan, as fires increasingly affected their habitat,” the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency and the Indonesian environmental protection organization YIARI announced in a statement.

In the latest rescue on Saturday, three NGOs rescued a 20-year-old male orangutan in Hampangen, a village in Central Kalimantan province, on the island of Borneo. “The evacuation process was carried out with the utmost caution,” announced the NGO Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, the Central Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency and WWF Indonesia. “After anesthetizing the orangutan, the medical team immediately carried out a health examination before transporting the animal to the (...) rehabilitation center,” these organizations specified.