Orangutan killed after fleeing fires

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: Forest fires in the province have forced at least 16 orangutans to flee their habitat, but one of the apes died at the hands of villagers, Antara reported yesterday.

The orangutans had wandered into human settlements in East Kalimantan after forest fires in October, the manager of the Semboja Wana Riset Orangutan Rehabilitation Center near Samarinda, Arsyad, said.

Villagers attacked two orangutans that were destroying a plantation, killing one and seriously wounding another, Arsyad said.

He said the group of apes had been rescued, including the wounded one, and they had spent the past 10 days at the rehabilitation center.

The orangutans are believed to have fled fires in the 200,000- hectare Kutai National Park, in the district of Kutai.

Widespread forest fires in Indonesia during the drought have resulted in a thick haze which has covered a large part of Southeast Asia and caused serious transportation problems and health concerns.

The Semboja center is one of the country's three orangutan rehabilitation centers. (swe)