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)