Heartbreaking: Charred bodies of mother orangutan and her babies killed in forest fire
THE harrowing sight of three charred orangutans killed by an illegal forest fire has stunned animal protection campaigners.
The three orangutans died in a forest fire
Fists clenched in agony as the fierce flames scorched her body, the mother orangutan and her two daughters, one a small baby, died in a blaze started illegally to clear land for farming.
Borneo's endangered orangutans have suffered a heavy toll over the last year after illegal land clearance fires were sent out of control by the drought effects of the El Nino weather pattern.
The dead orangutans were a family with a mother and two daughters
They were left among the fire-blackened trees, grimaces on their faces, limbs outstretched from the agony of an unspeakable death.
We went to the scene about one kilometre outside the national park and we found the orangutans lying on the ground, badly burnt
The orangutans were found at Bontang in the Indonesian part of Borneo island, close to Kutai National Park, after pictures of the apes began circulating on social media.
Park staff member Dede Hidayat said: "We went to the scene about one kilometre outside the national park and we found the orangutans lying on the ground, badly burnt."
Borneo's orangutan population has been hit badly by the forest fires
Starting forest fires carries a five year sentence
An investigation has been launched by wildlife officials and police, although no one has been arrested for starting an illegal fire, which carries a five year jail sentence under conservation laws.
Environmental group, the Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP), which is helping authorities investigate the case, believes the fire was illegally started to clear a small area of land for cultivation.