Forest fires in Borneo and Sumatra driven by palm oil expansion leave orangutans injured, orphaned, and homeless, requiring years of rehabilitation before release.
Orangutans surviving forest fires face immediate burns smoke inhalation and loss of food trees. Orphans who lose their mothers in fires face a welfare crisis that is both physical and psychological: orangutans require the longest maternal dependency of any non-human primate. Rehabilitation requires years of intensive human care as a substitute for the skills normally taught by mothers over a decade.