WWF Regrets Death Of Burnt Orangutan

Jakarta, Aug 31 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian chapter of the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) has expressed its concern for an orangutan in West Kalimantan, who has succumbed to his burn injuries, a WWF official said on Thursday. "WWF is very concerned and regrets the incident. It should have not happened," WWF-Indonesia�s Conservation Coordinator Chaerul Saleh said. The condition of the 16 to 17-year-old orangutan had improved, after it was transferred to the International Rescue Rehabilitation and Conservation Center in the Ketapang district, he said. However, he died on Thursday at around 10:30 p.m. local time, most likely on account of dehydration and distress. WWF West Kalimantan coordinator Hermayani Putra also expressed sadness over the demise of the orangutan, in spite of the serious rescue efforts made to save him. "The orangutan died at around 10:30 pm local time. The joint team has decided to take his body to Pontianak for an autopsy,� Saleh noted. He added that the WWF also plans to conduct an investigation into the circumstances that forced the 70-kilogram orangutan to desert his natural habitat. It is presumed that the male orangutan belonging to the `Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus� sub-species strayed into human settlements in search of food, because of the scarcity of natural food sources resulting from habitat degradation. The Bornean orangutan was exposed to fire when local villagers tried to drive him away from the plantation area in Parit Wadongkak in the Wajok Hilir village of Pontianak, West Kalimantan on Sunday. Following a rescue operation led by the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), which lasted from August 25th to 27th, the orangutan was treated at the fire brigade station of Manggala Agni of Rasau Jaya in the Kubu Raya District for two days. Officers at the local BKSDA also tried anesthetizing the animal for evacuation but failed. Local villagers initially lit the fire to produce smoke for deterring the orangutan, but the fire soon leapt out of control and scorched the surrounding palm trees as well as the orangutan. Even though he did not sustain severe burn injuries, the orangutan was reportedly put under a lot of stress because of the incident. Orangutan populations continue to dwindle due to the damage wreaked on their natural habitats. The forests of Kalimantan currently house around 50,000 orangutans.