Eight orangutans have been returned to the wild in Borneo after being taken into captivity when their habitat was threatened by bushfires over the summer. Three mothers, their three daughters and two adult males were released into a reserve in the west of the island on Friday, International Animal Rescue Indonesia (Yiari) and the Ministry of Forests said. Indonesian authorities rescued 46 orangutans from fires in August and September. Forest fires in the region are common during the country’s dry season, but they intensified this year. Apes are critically endangered. About 104,000 orangutans remain in Borneo and Sumatra, compared with more than 230,000 a century ago, according to conservation group WWF. While Indonesia is one of many countries that faces forest fires each summer, this year’s were more intense due to the El Niño ocean warming phenomenon, which makes weather patterns more volatile and intense. Karmele Llano Sánchez, executive director of Yiari, said relocating the eight orangutans to the reserve was a “necessary step” when their habitats became unsafe. Among them was Mama Nopi and her children Nopi, Naufal and Nopan, who had been surviving on a coconut and rubber plantation before their rescue in early September, Yiari said. The fires had incinerated the surrounding forests, restricting their access to food and bringing them closer to humans.
