The WSPA believes thousands of orangutans died in fires in East Kalimantan and elsewhere in Borneo and Sumatra. The East Kalimantan population is now put at about 2,000. The Wanariset Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in East Kalimantan has taken in about 200 of the giant apes since the fires began. Some were saved from burning forests earlier this year, while others needed treatment for injuries suffered when they entered villages and were attacked by residents. About 30 are to be released into the wild later this month in the hope they can start again.
Gibbons are also endangered.
With the size of their habitat drastically reduced, they may engage in territorial battles, further reducing their numbers. It is not just the large beasts of the forest that have suffered. Countless smaller animals, unable to outrun the flames leaping through the tree tops, are thought to have perished. The index measures the total number of insects of a given species in a stipulated area. Gone, too, perhaps, are some of the 60 types of plants that are unique to the rainforests of East Kalimantan and Borneo.