A mother orangutan and her baby are evacuated after they were trapped by smoke from forest and land fires in a palm oil plantation area in Pelang village, Ketapang, West Kalimantan. (YIARI/AFP pic)

PALANGKARAYA: The orangutan clings to the top of a mostly leafless tree in Indonesia's Borneo, as waves of thick smoke from the forest fires burning below waft over her.

Nicknamed Novita, the ape shown in footage released by a conservation group is among dozens that have been rescued from wildfires burning across parts of Sumatra and Borneo in recent months.

The fires have piled pressure on the already endangered species and forced local groups to carry out high-stakes rescues of animals suffering smoke inhalation and burns.