Samarinda, E Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Three orangutans were reportedly killed in a land fire near protected forest in Bontang city, East Kalimantan, on Saturday.
Head of the Kutai National Park Office Erly Sukrismanto confirmed on Sunday the death of three orangutans near the fertilizer producer PT Pupuk Kaltim.
"The land fire occurred yesterday (Saturday). We know the death of the three orangutans in the land fire only after a resident uploaded it on the social media this morning. When I checked the scene of the land fire on Sunday afternoon I found three orangutans killed in the fire," he said.
After investigating the death of the orangutans, a joint team of officers from the Kutai National Park, the Bontang city police and a number of relevant agencies buried the three orangutans, he said.
"The bodies of the orangutans have decayed so we buried the orangutans soon after investigating them to prevent them from spreading disease," he said.
He said he had reported the death of the three orangutans to the head of the East Kalimantan Provincial Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and the director of biodiversity conservation at the Forestry and Environment Ministry.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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