Orangutan in Indonesia dies after exposure to haze fires, abnormalities in lungs
An adult male orangutan named Sampurna died in Indonesia after being rescued from a palm oil plantation affected by wildfires. Postmortem results suggest his death was caused by smoke inhalation and acute hypoxia.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the severe impact of forest fires on endangered species and the loss of natural habitats in Borneo.
An adult male orangutan found struggling to breathe in a palm oil plantation on Indonesia’s Borneo died hours after being rescued, authorities said on Thursday.
The orangutan, named Sampurna and believed to be around 20 years old, was found by residents on Sunday morning in Ketapang district, West Kalimantan, an area affected by wildfires.
He was unable to stand and was struggling to breathe when a joint team from the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency and the Indonesian Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Forest and Wildlife (YIARI) arrived, the Forestry Ministry said.
Video footage showed veterinarians giving Sampurna oxygen and intravenous fluids before taking him to a YIARI rehabilitation centre.
His condition deteriorated, however, and he died later that day, the ministry said in a statement.
“We deeply regret that Sampurna could not be saved,” said West Kalimantan natural conservation chief Murlan Dameria Pane in the statement.
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