Eight orangutans returned to Borneo forest after wildfire rescue

Eight orangutans were released into a reserve in western Borneo on Friday after wildfires destroyed their forest home earlier this year.

The group included three mothers, three daughters, and two adult males. Indonesian authorities rescued 46 orangutans in total after fires burned through the area in August and September. One mother, called Mama Nopi, had been living with her three young in a coconut and rubber plantation before her rescue in early September.

The fires were made worse by El Niño, a weather pattern caused by warming ocean temperatures. When forests burn, orangutans lose their food supply and move closer to human settlements.