On Sunday morning, Jais, a farmer in Ketapang, West Kalimantan on Borneo island – the province hardest-hit by raging forest fires – was en route to his farm when he found an orangutan writhing on the ground in a weak state on a palm-oil plantation near the fire site.
“It was very weak, then I gave it water,” said Jais, who only goes by one name.
Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain haze from forest and land fires across six provinces in Borneo and Sumatra islands after smoke triggered respiratory illnesses and forced thousands of schools to move classes online, including in neighbouring Malaysia.
Wildfires burned at least 202,010 hectares of land from January to July, according to Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry, increasing from 107,465 burned hectares from January to June.
After finding the orangutan, Jais and other residents immediately called for help.
Some two hours later, a wildlife foundation – Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia – arrived with a veterinarian to provide the animal with treatment. It had fainted by then.
The orangutan was then named Sampurna, after the village where it was found.