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JAKARTA, Indonesia – Weeks of forest fires in Indonesia have prompted the cancellation of flights and warnings for people to stay indoors, suspension of classes, and worsened air quality in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.
Now it has also destroyed the habitat of orangutans. (WATCH: Aerial footage shows devastating damage of forest fires)
Vast tracts of land are cleared on both islands for plantations using illegal slash-and-burn methods, causing fierce fires every year during Indonesia’s dry season that choke the region with acrid smog. This year’s forest fires are on track to being the worst ever on record.
Below are photos of how the fires have forced orangutans from their homes. All photos are from AFP and the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation:
This photo above taken on September 25, 2015 and released on October 9, by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation shows fires continuing to rage late at night at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Reintroduction Program site in Samboja, in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan.
Indonesia on October 8 finally agreed to accept international help to combat forest and agricultural fires cloaking Southeast Asia in haze, after weeks of failed attempts to douse the blazes that have infuriated its neighbors.
This photo above shows babysitter Rusdiani holding baby orangutan Sali in the remaining area once called “the Arboretum,” a 159-hectare bit of land planted with various species of trees for the purpose of research and preservation at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Reintroduction Program in Samboja, in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan. The area has been affected by the fires.
This photo above shows orangutan babies from a nursery group playing with the sky filled with haze, at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue Center, in Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan, where a medical team is now taking care of 16 individuals who have begun to suffer respiratory problems due to the thick haze caused by forest fires.
This photo above shows babysitter Naomi holding baby orangutan George in the remaining area after a fire engulfed an area of 300 hectares at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Reintroduction Program in Samboja, in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan. – Rappler.com
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