Odisha Puts Orangutan Survival First as Indonesia Seeks Return of Rescued Apes
Odisha says its priority is the survival of five rescued baby orangutans, even as Indonesia signals it may seek their return.
The Odisha government has said it is not yet considering the repatriation of five baby orangutans rescued from a forest in Balasore district, with officials stressing that the immediate priority is the animals' survival.
Senior state forest officials said the question of sending the apes back to their country of origin, or placing them on public display in India, would be decided at a later stage. The five are currently housed at a hand-rearing centre in Nandankanan Zoological Park. According to the state's principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), PK Jha, the animals were initially in shock but are now doing well.
Reports have suggested that Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry wrote to the Indian CITES Management Authority, which regulates the entry of exotic wildlife, offering assistance in securing the orangutans' return if genetic testing establishes their origin in Indonesia. Odisha government sources said no such communication had officially reached the state, though officials were aware of the reports.
Orangutans are found exclusively in the tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, across Indonesia and Malaysia.
Blood samples for DNA profiling will be collected only after the animals have acclimatised to their new surroundings, which officials said could take about ten days from their arrival at the zoo.
The five were rescued on Tuesday morning from a forest in Balasore, a case that has raised concerns about an international smuggling ring. A joint team of the Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is investigating how the animals reached Odisha.
The STF has detained at least three people, and its teams are conducting raids at multiple locations in West Bengal, which shares a border with Odisha. The rescue site lies close to that border, and some evidence points to smugglers using interior road networks across the two states to avoid checks. Investigators are also examining a black SUV seen passing through the area, with more than 50 CCTV images under review.
On Friday, Odisha Director General of Police Vinaytosh Mishra directed the STF to formally register an FIR and intensify the investigation, assuring action in the case soon.