Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry had handled 290 wild animals affected by forest and land fires as of October 8, 2026, with 272 of them were located in four provinces in Kalimantan.
“Regarding wildlife, based on the ministry’s recap up to October 8, 2026, about 290 wild animals were recorded nationwide as being handled in connection with the disaster,” Head of Public Relations and Foreign Cooperation Bureau at the ministry Ristianto Pribadi said in a statement here on Tuesday.
Two hundred and seventy two of those animals were handled by the Natural Resources Conservation Agencies (BKSDA) in four provinces in Borneo Islands.
Pribadi explained the figure also included the handling of 96 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), with 25 of them handled in Central Kalimantan.
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That figure represents overall handling data in Central Kalimantan, not the number of orangutans directly affected in Tanjung Puting National Park, where fire suppression operations are currently underway.
“Animal handling ranges from evacuation or rescue, herding to safer habitats, translocation, to care and rehabilitation,” Pribadi said.
He assured the government continues to strengthen fire suppression efforts at affected locations. Specifically in Tanjung Puting, additional officers will be mobilized, including from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police.
Previously, Indonesia’s Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said the government deployed more than 60,000 joint personnel to carry out ground fire suppression operations in several regions, especially Central Kalimantan and South Sumatra.
Wijaya explained reports on personnel numbers and the latest forest and land fire response situation were received by President Prabowo Subianto at a limited meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday (Oct 12).
The reports submitted to the President included that suppression is still ongoing on land totaling 639 hectares in six provinces, especially in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
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Translator: Prisca, Kenzu
Editor: Fransiska Ninditya
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