As the Indonesian fires rage on, the expression on a struggling orangutan's face has powerfully illustrated the human-orangutan conflict in the region.

To escape the out-of-control forest fires burning in Borneo, an orangutan with baby by her side attempted to take refuge in a village only to be attacked by frightened villagers, an animal rights organisation reported.

"The villagers threw things at the terrified mother before attempting to capture and tie her up," International Animal Rescue (IAR) said.

A team from IAR reached the struggling mother and her baby who were quickly anaesthetised.

"Fortunately our team got to her just in time," IAR said.

"They have now been translocated and released into a safe area of protected rainforest and are being monitored by a conservation team to ensure that they are recovering well from their terrible ordeal."

A photograph of the moment the mother and baby were saved shows the emaciated mother's expression of exhaustion yet relief as a rescuer tenderly reaches out to hold her head.

The baby is seen gripping tightly to mum's side after their ordeal.

The rescue team worked in the midst of a large crowd of almost 100 local people, who were told to call IAR when they next encountered an orangutan.

The mother and baby are currently recovering at the conservation area of palm oil company PT Kayung Agro Lestari where they will be monitored for the next week or two.

The company's conservation team reports they are both adapting well.

Peaceful ways to mitigate human-orangutan conflict needed

Villagers often consider orangutans a pest and can be scared their food crops will be trampled or raided, not-for-profit group Palm Oil Investigations said.

Starving orangutans often wander into the edges of villages eating fruiting trees in people's yards and scavenging in village garbage dumps due to destruction of their habitat.

A PLOS study found fear and self-defence were the most common reasons orangutans were killed by humans in Kalimantan.

Orangutans were also killed for interfering with crops, the study found.

The study indicated between 12,690 and 29,024 orangutans were killed during conflict within the villagers' hunting lifetimes.

The study recommended a greater focus on education, awareness raising and compensatory payments for conflicts.

A combination of hunting, deforestation, palm oil plantations, and the illegal pet trade have left the orangutan endangered and the current forest fires are further threatening their numbers.

Program director for IAR Indonesia Karmele Llano Sanchez said: "I fear that in terms of the orangutans, the worst is yet to come.

"And if serious action isn't taken soon to stop the fires, it will simply be too late."