Seven critically endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were recovered through August 2026 in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, after they were affected by wildfires and found in orchards and oil palm plantations. YIARI rescuers and government conservation officials evacuated the animals as a strengthening El Nino threatened to fuel fires across Indonesia's peatlands and mineral soils, although one male later died from smoke exposure.
Sampurna was found weak near an oil palm plantation in Laman Satong village on Aug. 30. YIARI veterinarian Komara said rescuers took him to the organization's Sungai Awan Kiri rehabilitation center, where he died several hours later with symptoms linked to smoke.
Families Cut Off by Fire
Three days before Sampurna's rescue, teams from YIARI, the provincial conservation agency BKSDA and Gunung Palung National Park recovered Mama Yayuk and her infant, Yayuk, from another oil palm plantation. Rescuers released the pair into Gunung Palung National Park, where food was plentiful.
Mama Yuni and her offspring, Pura and Yuni, were evacuated from a community orchard on Aug. 21 after fire severed their route back to habitat. Earlier that month, rescuers recovered a male named Wak from an orchard in Kuala Tolak village.
Smoke can injure an orangutan without leaving burns. Komara said prolonged, dense exposure may cause breathing distress and oxygen deficiency, while YIARI operational lead Argitoe Ranting urged residents to report displaced animals rather than approach them.
Fire Risk Through October
By Aug. 9, fires had burned 28,680 hectares across West Kalimantan, more than half the 48,889 hectares recorded in Indonesia's 6 worst-hit provinces. Ketapang logged 3,715 of West Kalimantan's 17,236 moderate-to-high-confidence hotspots between Jan. 1 and July 27, though satellite hotspots do not always represent separate fires.
Deep peat covers much of Ketapang's low coastal plains and river deltas. Drained for plantations and dried by drought, that carbon-rich soil can ignite, while Indonesian meteorologists expect elevated fire risk through October. How many more orangutans may be stranded remains unknown.
BKSDA head Murlan Dameria Pane said officials respond to every public report. Officials and rescuers remain on alert and ask residents to report animals needing help.
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