As fires spread in Indonesia, Bornean orangutans run out of forest to flee

JAKARTA — As fires continue to engulf large swaths of forest in Indonesian Borneo, orangutans have increasingly fewer places to flee, with fires either surrounding them or eliminating the forest on which they depend.

Fires are spreading across a connected but heavily fragmented forest landscape and the habitat of critically endangered Bornean orangutans ( Pongo pygmaeus ) in West Kalimantan, including Gunung Palung National Park and the Mendawak Biodiversity Corridor .

Gunung Palung National Park is one of the most important remaining strongholds for the Central Bornean orangutan, supporting a population historically estimated at around 2,500 animals and hosting one of the world’s longest-running studies of wild orangutans. Its importance derives from both its population size and its unusually diverse forest habitats, which support long-term ecological research and a range of other species.