El Niño fires put Indonesia’s orangutans at risk

A mother orangutan and her eight-month-old baby were found in an oil palm estate in West Kalimantan last month, trapped by smoke from forest and land fires. The mother’s hands were peeling from walking on scorched ground, and her baby was dehydrated and thin. Rescuers named them Mama Abu and Abu, which means ash in Indonesian.

The pair were saved from wildfires that are burning through Indonesia’s forests and peatland, producing thick smog and destroying the habitat of some of the planet’s most vulnerable species. Primate specialists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature have called for urgent international help to control the fires and warned this week that thousands of orangutans could be killed, injured or displaced.

Wildfires happen every year in Indonesia, where fire is often used to clear land for palm oil or pulp plantations. This year a strong El Niño has brought unusually dry conditions, and the blazes have spread quickly across parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan. The long-term effects on the animals are still unknown.