Wildfires in Indonesia are ravaging a vital research area for Bornean orangutans and pose a significant threat to a renowned research camp that has facilitated one of the longest ongoing studies of wild ape populations across the globe.
In recent days, the fires have advanced to within 200 meters of the Rangkong research station, which is affiliated with the Cabang Panti research station located approximately four miles north in Gunung Palung National Park.
Hundreds of Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), one of the three species of orangutans, reside near these research facilities, with estimates suggesting that over 2,500 of them inhabit the park, much of which is currently ablaze. All three species of orangutans are classified as critically endangered.
“Orangutans are escaping these forested areas. It’s truly distressing,” stated Professor Cheryl Knott, a biological anthropologist from Boston University who has been conducting research on orangutans at Cabang Panti for 32 years.
Typically, the fires are set intentionally for land clearing, a common practice on the island each year. However, the severe El Niño phenomenon—characterized by elevated sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that disrupt global weather—has led to extremely dry and hot conditions throughout Indonesia, allowing fires to spread uncontrollably. In West Kalimantan province, some regions have experienced prolonged periods with little to no rainfall.
Researchers at Cabang Panti have amassed decades of data on wild orangutans and their life cycles, tracking certain individuals from birth through to grandmotherhood. The findings from this research have been pivotal in understanding the orangutan reproductive cycle, revealing that these apes give birth only once every eight years, the longest interval of any mammal. “The long-term and detailed nature of this database is unmatched,” Knott remarked.
However, these fires threaten to disrupt such extensive observations. Scientists have indicated that if the current rate of fire progression continues without intervention or significant firebreaks, the flames could reach Cabang Panti within 20 days.
“Cabang Panti protects what has, until now, been one of the last truly ecologically intact areas of lowland tropical rainforest in Borneo,” remarked Professor Andrew Marshall, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan who led an orangutan research initiative at the site from 2000 to 2020. “Without the continuous collection of long-term field data, our understanding of how tropical ecosystems are responding to global climate changes is severely compromised.”
In an urgent attempt to safeguard the Rangkong research station, a team of over 40 individuals—comprising field assistants, staff, and local residents—are tirelessly working around the clock to combat the advancing flames. Recently, they have erected a firebreak and devised a makeshift sprinkler system using a damaged hose to keep the surrounding peat saturated.
Once fire reaches a peat swamp, it can smolder underground for extended periods, even after surface flames have been extinguished. Thus, maintaining moisture in the peat is crucial for defense.
“The situation has exceeded the capacity of any local organization,” stated Caitlin O’Connell, deputy director of the Gunung Palung orangutan conservation program. “We require large-scale water bombing and skilled firefighting teams.”
Even if the research station is successfully protected, the loss of the orangutans’ habitat could render those efforts futile.
“The orangutans depend on the forest,” Knott emphasized. “If we are left with only the buildings, what is there to study if the orangutans and their food sources are gone? They cannot survive without that forest.”
As solitary creatures, orangutans need large territories and typically inhabit areas with low population densities. “You cannot simply cluster them together in the remaining forest fragments,” Knott added.
Those coordinating the firefighting efforts have already observed the impact on the orangutans. “Five individuals from our long-term study group were seen fleeing the flames, some mere meters away from the fire,” reported Wahyu Susanto, research director for Yayasan Palung, an Indonesian NGO dedicated to the protection of Bornean orangutans. “These are individuals we have tracked and studied for many years.”
Indonesian meteorologists anticipate a severe fire season extending through October, as climate forecasts indicate a strengthening El Niño pattern.
“Hotspots are emerging everywhere,” O’Connell noted. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that areas we thought were safe from fire could completely vanish if these dry conditions persist for months.”
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