BORNEO FIRES: Race to Save Orangutans From Smog, Flames...

In 2026, Indonesian Borneo's fires have torched nearly 50,000 hectares in West Kalimantan province alone—an area the size of Vienna—and rescue teams have pulled 53 Bornean orangutans from burning forests in just three months. The animals face a double threat: flames destroy both their habitat and the food sources they depend on, while terrified orangutans fleeing the fires climb higher into trees, making dangerous tranquilizer rescues harder for veterinarians like Komara. Many survivors arrive at clinics severely malnourished and burned, their recovery uncertain in a landscape where fires now burn faster than they can be contained.