Bornean orangutan faces peril amid Kalimantan's forest fires

Forest and land fires raging across Indonesia's Kalimantan region pose a grave threat to wildlife, including the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). This Indonesian endemic species, with an estimated population of 57,350 individuals, has seen its numbers plummet by 80% in under five decades, a stark decline from an estimated 288,500 in 1973.

The Bornean orangutan population is divided into three subspecies: Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii, with approximately 38,200 individuals in Central and West Kalimantan; Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, numbering around 4,520 in West Kalimantan and Sarawak, Malaysia; and Pongo pygmaeus morio, with roughly 14,630 individuals in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and Sabah, Malaysia. The threat of fires to the Pongo pygmaeus morio subspecies and its habitat was already highlighted in a 2016 study.

As of August 20, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported 1,487 hotspots across Kalimantan, with Central Kalimantan having the highest concentration at 767, followed by West Kalimantan with 560. These fire hotspots are increasingly nearing orangutan habitats, which are typically found in lowland areas. "In West Kalimantan it's already happening, and in Central Kalimantan it's also starting to approach population centers like near Sebangau National Park, in the Pulang Pisau area, these are areas that also have orangutans, and quite large ones," stated Jamartin Sihite, CEO of the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation.

Beyond the immediate danger of fire, the pervasive smoke presents a significant challenge. While humans can mitigate exposure with masks, orangutans and their environment have no such recourse. Sihite explained that the smoke from these fires has a detrimental effect on orangutans and their living spaces, compounding the threats they face.

“

In West Kalimantan it's already happening, and in Central Kalimantan it's also starting to approach population centers like near Sebangau National Park, in the Pulang Pisau area, these are areas that also have orangutans, and quite large ones.