Forest fires endanger rare species

Forest fires endanger rare species

JAKARTA (JP): The spreading forest fires in East Kalimantan
have wrought havoc to endangered species in the Kutai National
Park, a news report said yesterday.

Forest rangers and soldiers mobilized to put out the
conflagration that has been raging for several weeks have found a
huge number of animals' remains, Antara reported.

They have collected the charred remains of orangutans, mice
deer, snakes and porcupines. Most of them were found in the Kutai
valley.

The latest official figure shows that the national park has
lost 4,000 hectares of forest to the fire.

At least eight orangutans were caught when they sought shelter
in residential areas, the report said. Elsewhere within the park,
two orangutan mothers were found dead in booby traps.

Near their bodies, firefighters found four baby orangutans,
Antara said. This led people to speculate that at least two more
orangutan mothers are still at large because each female primate
can have only one baby.

The local government has mobilized 130 forest rangers and
soldiers to battle the fires whose smog has blanketed a wide area
in East Kalimantan, disrupting flights and causing some people
respiratory illnesses.

Neighboring Malaysia and Singapore have expressed concern that
the smog would reach them if the fires continue to rage out of
control. (pan)