Fires Force Orangutans From Their Homes as Rescue Reveals "Ash" Baby
Rescuers save a mother and baby orangutan from scorched land as fires destroy Indonesia's rainforests.
A mother orangutan and her eight-month-old baby have been rescued from an oil palm estate after wildfires tore through Indonesia's rainforests, leaving the animals dehydrated and their habitat in ruins.
The pair, named Mama Abu and Abu — "ash" in Indonesian — were found last month with the mother's hands peeling from walking on scorched ground, according to rescue accounts [2]. The baby clung to her side, thin and dehydrated [2].
A global climate event has driven severe fires across Indonesia's forests and peatlands, the homeland of the orangutan [2]. The blazes have blanketed the region in thick smog and are wiping out the habitat of some of the world's most vulnerable species [2]. The long-term impact on the animals remains unknown [2].
The fires are the latest blow to a species already under pressure from deforestation. For the orangutans that survive, rescuers say the future is uncertain.