Five Baby Orangutans Rescued from Odisha Forest, Smuggling Suspected
Five baby orangutans found in an Odisha forest were rescued; officials suspect wildlife smuggling.
Forest officials in Odisha's Balasore district rescued five baby orangutans on Tuesday after locals spotted the animals near Badapai village forest in Bhograi area around 6 am. The unusual sighting drew thousands of onlookers within an hour, prompting the forest department to intervene and secure the primates.
Balasore Divisional Forest Officer Pratik Prakash Indalkar said the babies have been brought to the forest office, where four are healthy and eating food and drinking ORS. Veterinary doctors are examining them, and they remain under official care. Based on their height of 1 to 1.5 feet, officials believe the orangutans are juveniles, though their exact age is unknown.
Orangutans are native only to the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra and are not found naturally in Odisha. Senior officials suspect the apes may have been brought into the state as part of an international wildlife-smuggling racket. DFO Indalkar noted that natural migration is unlikely due to the lack of a corridor link, calling it a "human-induced act." An investigation has been launched, and a formal complaint has been lodged under wildlife laws. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) will also probe the matter, as the state government suspects involvement of an international smuggling network, said Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia.
A combing operation is underway in nearby forest areas to check for other animals or evidence of smuggling. Officials noted that orangutan trafficking is part of a multi-million-dollar criminal industry.
The rescued orangutans will likely be moved to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar after necessary procedures. A zoo team has already left for Balasore to coordinate the transfer, and the animals will be quarantined upon arrival, said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) PK Jha. Nandankanan previously housed an orangutan named Binny, which died in 2019 at age 41.
All three orangutan species are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, facing severe survival threats in the wild.