A mother orangutan and her baby were rescued in Indonesia after forest fires threatened their habitat. The rescue was carried out earlier this week and announced by authorities in a statement on Saturday. The duo was in a plantation area near a forest in West Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo.
The vast Southeast Asian archipelago has been battling forest fires for weeks that cover parts of Borneo and Sumatra with smoke. The haze generated by the fires also contributes to air pollution in neighboring countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
The orangutans had been under observation since July, when they were first spotted in the plantation area. Authorities decided to evacuate them to a rescue center on Thursday, after the fire dangerously spread close to their habitat.
The animals were taken to a center run by the Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI) foundation, specialized in wildlife protection. The health of the mother and baby is being closely monitored by rescue teams.
