Key facts
- Wildfires in Indonesia are threatening a research site for Bornean orangutans in Gunung Palung National Park.
- The fires have burned within 200 meters of Rangkong research station, a satellite of Cabang Panti research station.
- Hundreds of Bornean orangutans inhabit the park, with more than 2,500 thought to live there.
- All three orangutan species are considered critically endangered.
- An intense El Niño has fueled exceptionally hot and dry conditions, making fires difficult to control.
- Scientists have collected decades of data at Cabang Panti, studying orangutan reproduction cycles.
- A team of over 40 people is fighting to save Rangkong research station, constructing a firebreak and sprinkler system.
- Peat swamp fires can smolder underground for months after surface flames are extinguished.
- Rescue workers have observed orangutans fleeing the fires, some only meters from the flames.
Wildfires in Indonesia are threatening a critical research site for Bornean orangutans in Gunung Palung National Park, with flames burning within 200 meters of the Rangkong research station. The fires, exacerbated by an intense El Niño and dry conditions, are intentionally set for land clearing.
Scientists have collected decades of data at the Cabang Panti research station, which is about four miles north of Rangkong. This research has been crucial in understanding the orangutan reproduction cycle, revealing they give birth only once every eight years, the longest cycle of any mammal. Prof Cheryl Knott, a biological anthropologist at Boston University who has led research at Cabang Panti for 32 years, described the situation as "horrible" and noted that orangutans are fleeing the forests.
Prof Andrew Marshall, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan, warned that Cabang Panti protects one of the only truly ecologically intact tracts of lowland tropical rainforest in Borneo. He stated that without continuous field data, understanding how tropical ecosystems adapt to climate shifts is impossible.
A team of over 40 field assistants, staff, and local villagers are working to save Rangkong research station, constructing a firebreak and using an improvised sprinkler system. However, Caitlin O’Connell, deputy director of the Gunung Palung orangutan conservation programme, stated that the issue surpasses local capacity and requires large-scale water bombing and skilled firefighters.
Even if the research station is saved, the orangutans' habitat is at risk. Knott emphasized that orangutans require large forest ranges and cannot survive without their habitat and food sources. Wahyu Susanto, research director for Yayasan Palung, reported that five orangutans from the long-term study population were observed fleeing the fires.
Indonesian meteorologists predict the intense fire season will persist through October due to the strengthening El Niño. O’Connell expressed concern that areas previously thought unburnable could disappear under the current dry conditions.