Orangutans get helping hand

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: The Samboja Forest Research Center here has rescued several orangutans trapped in the Sangatta forest area in Kutai district.

The head of the research center, Adi Susilo, said yesterday that the orangutans were believed to have come from Kutai National Park in Bontang, about 50,000 hectares of which have been gutted by fire.

He did not say how many orangutans had been rescued.

"The orangutans most likely tried to escape the fires by running away until they got trapped in Sangatta, which is near the coal mining site of PT Kaltim Prima Coal," said Susilo.

He said the orangutans would be returned to Kutai National Park and released in a relatively secure area of the park.

Susilo said the forest fires that hit the national park had badly affected the orangutans.

"This year's forest fires have destroyed their food sources, making the orangutans' situation even worse," he said as quoted by Antara.