In photos: Saving orangutans from Indonesia’s burning forests

Thick smog covers the forest canopy in Ketapang, West Kalimantan, dimming the sun. On the front lines, forest and land fires are not just destroying habitats; they are pushing local primates close to extinction.

In the middle of this crisis, Veterinarian Komara and the Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia team stay alert.

Between August 1 and October 21, 2026, 53 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were rescued from fires through joint emergency operations by the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency and Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia.

Fires are an increasingly deadly threat to orangutans. The flames not only kill the animals but also destroy their homes, reduce their food and cut off the paths they use to move between groups.

The scale of forest and land fires in West Kalimantan makes the impact clear: 48,536 hectares (119,935 acres) have burned in the province in 2026, an area around the size of Vienna. Ketapang district was hit hardest, with 12,443 hectares (30,747 acres) burned as of September.

Medical tragedy

Komara and his colleagues have faced a sharp increase in medical cases this season, and not all have happy endings.

As fire approaches, orangutans’ instincts push them to climb higher and farther away from the people trying to save them, Komara says. “This makes it very hard to use...

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