Sampit, C Kalimantan (Antara Bali)- An orangutan (pongo pygmaeus morio) lost its way and entered a village as the endangered animal was trying to escape the forest fires in Sampit, East Kotawaringin District, Central Kalimantan.
"It has been several days since this orangutan has been seen roaming around in the forest here. It has been spotted eating leaves on the trees as there is nothing else to eat. But, in the evening, it might come down to the settlement area in search of food. Therefore, we are afraid that it might attack us," Jitu, an inhabitant of Sampit, said here, Sunday.
The orangutan, believed to be 11 years of age, is lost in a forest near the construction site of a water boom recreational park in Baamang sub-district.
The fires razing the forests of Central Kalimantan have forced the animals to flee to the remaining small forest areas located near the villages.
Head of the Sampit natural resources conservation post Muriansyah stated that the Pangkalan Bun office will soon send a team to Sampit to help save the orangutan.
The WWF reported that orangutan numbers and distribution have declined rapidly since the middle of the 20th century due to human activities including hunting, unsustainable and often illegal logging, mining, and conversion of forests to agricultural areas.
One particular catastrophic event was the 1997-98 forest fires in Kalimantan, which claimed the lives of up to eight thousand orangutans. (WDY)
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Bali 2015
"It has been several days since this orangutan has been seen roaming around in the forest here. It has been spotted eating leaves on the trees as there is nothing else to eat. But, in the evening, it might come down to the settlement area in search of food. Therefore, we are afraid that it might attack us," Jitu, an inhabitant of Sampit, said here, Sunday.
The orangutan, believed to be 11 years of age, is lost in a forest near the construction site of a water boom recreational park in Baamang sub-district.
The fires razing the forests of Central Kalimantan have forced the animals to flee to the remaining small forest areas located near the villages.
Head of the Sampit natural resources conservation post Muriansyah stated that the Pangkalan Bun office will soon send a team to Sampit to help save the orangutan.
The WWF reported that orangutan numbers and distribution have declined rapidly since the middle of the 20th century due to human activities including hunting, unsustainable and often illegal logging, mining, and conversion of forests to agricultural areas.
One particular catastrophic event was the 1997-98 forest fires in Kalimantan, which claimed the lives of up to eight thousand orangutans. (WDY)
Editor : I Gusti Bagus Widyantara
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Bali 2015