Sam's News — conservation — 2026-09-15¶

Conservation¶

7 Indonesian wildfires threaten world's longest-running orangutan research site in Borneo¶

Wildfires in Indonesia are threatening Cabang Panti research station in Gunung Palung national park, Borneo, home to one of the world's longest-running orangutan studies. Fires have burned within 200 metres of Rangkong research station; orangutans are fleeing the forests as an exceptionally strong El Niño has created hot, dry conditions causing intentional land-clearing fires to escape control.

Research station: Cabang Panti, Gunung Palung national park, Borneo
Fires within 200 m of Rangkong satellite facility (~4 miles south of main camp)
Bornean orangutan population: hundreds at stations, 2,500+ in park; all three species critically endangered
Prof. Cheryl Knott (Boston University) led 32 years of research; orangutans fleeing
El Niño conditions: some West Kalimantan areas months without rainfall; fires escape annual control burns

Sources: The Guardian AI Web Searched, The Guardian — Conservation RSS

5.5 Traffic Noise Silences Gibbons' Dawn Chorus in Fragmented Forests¶

Research suggests that increasing traffic noise from road development and habitat fragmentation is altering gibbons' characteristic early-morning vocalizations.

Sources: The Guardian — Conservation RSS

Environment¶

4 Benedict Cumberbatch on his documentary about planetary healing and resource extraction¶

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch has gathered global experts for a documentary examining how to heal the planet amid what he calls 'the last grab of the extraction era.'

Sources: The Guardian — Climate Crisis RSS, The Guardian — Conservation RSS