YIARI’s Oct. 13 release says eight Bornean orangutans rescued from fire-affected areas of West Kalimantan were relocated to Batu Nyambu Protected Forest in Ketapang on Friday, Oct. 9. YIARI’s event-specific release names the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency, the provincial forestry department, the Ketapang Utara Forest Management Unit and YIARI as partners in the operation. The move gives the animals a protected forest destination after fires damaged habitat across two regencies.
The group included three mother-and-infant pairs and two adolescent males rescued between August and September in Ketapang and North Kayong. The Associated Press reported that fires cut habitat corridors and reduced access to food, leaving some orangutans stranded in plantations while they searched for food and shelter.
Batu Nyambu was chosen for its habitat, not simply as the nearest available forest. ANTARA reported that the protected area covers about 23,000 hectares, with primary and secondary forest canopy, food and water sources, room to roam, and links to neighboring forest corridors. YIARI operations director Argitoe Ranting told AP that the area remained largely intact despite the fires and had resources that could support the animals’ return to natural routines.
Getting the animals there required a long, carefully planned route. YIARI’s release says the team left before dawn, traveled about six hours by road, one hour by boat and about two hours on foot to the release point. Local residents helped carry the transport cages over the final stretch. Veterinary staff checked the orangutans along the way and kept food and water available.
Before relocation, the orangutans received veterinary checks, medical care when needed and observation at YIARI’s rehabilitation facility in Sungai Awan. ANTARA reported that all eight were healthy and still showing natural behavior. The release took place in turns at several points about 80 meters apart, YIARI operations director Argitoe Ranting told ANTARA, to minimize disturbance.
One pair, Mama Man and her infant, Man, had been monitored for months in a small forest patch surrounded by plantations. AP reported that fire and heavy smoke left them without a safe route to larger forest before they were evacuated in early September. ANTARA says they were monitored from mid-June and evacuated Sept. 3 as the fire approached their habitat.
The other six included two more mother-and-infant pairs and two young males. ANTARA identified one pair as Mama Nopi and Nopi, rescued with the two males, Naufal and Nopan, from Pemangkat Village in North Kayong on Sept. 4. Mama Lifa and Lifa were rescued from Pelang Village in Ketapang on Sept. 18. The cases show how the fires left animals isolated in small forest patches and plantations.
The transfer was a joint effort by wildlife authorities and conservation workers. YIARI’s release lists BKSDA West Kalimantan, the provincial environment and forestry department, the Ketapang Utara Forest Management Unit and YIARI among the partners. Those agencies and the group coordinated the move from rehabilitation care to a forest selected for the animals’ needs.
The eight are part of a wider response to the fires. BKSDA West Kalimantan and YIARI reported that they had rescued 46 orangutans affected by fires between August and Oct. 9. ANTARA attributed the figure to agency head Murlan Dameria Pane, who said finding safe habitat for displaced animals remains a challenge. The 46 is a rescue count; the reports identify these eight as the group moved to Batu Nyambu.
YIARI chief executive Karmele Llano Sanchez described relocation as a last resort after the original habitat was no longer safe, AP reported. Ranting said protected forests able to receive displaced orangutans are becoming scarce. Batu Nyambu’s food, water, nesting trees and connections to nearby forests were central to its selection, but the transfer does not remove the fire risk from the wider region.
The accounts establish that the eight were checked, moved and placed in a forest chosen for its habitat resources. They do not claim that long-term adjustment has already been measured. For these three families and two young males, the relocation is a carefully supported next step after fires made their previous surroundings unsafe, while protecting the remaining forest remains part of the larger challenge.
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