Five Lost Baby Orangutans Found in Odisha: Investigation Underway
In a surprising turn of events, five baby orangutans have been discovered in a forest area in Odisha, India, far from their natural home. This has raised questions about how they ended up there, prompting authorities to launch an investigation.
Orangutans are native only to Indonesia and Malaysia, and all recognized species – Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli – are deemed “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The discovery of these young orangutans in India, a country where they do not exist in the wild, has startled wildlife officials.
According to Odisha’s forest minister, efforts are underway to determine if these animals were part of an illegal smuggling operation. An inquiry is being conducted with the assistance of India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, local police, and forest officials.
The orangutans were found on a Tuesday in the proposed reserve forest of Ranakata, located in Bhogarai block, by villagers who spotted them near a busy state highway. The district forest officer, Pratik Prakash Indalkar, mentioned that the area is mostly made up of casuarina trees and lacks dense forest cover, making it unlikely for the orangutans to have arrived naturally.
In response to this incident, a special task force from the police is revisiting previous cases of orangutan smuggling to see if there’s a larger trafficking network involved. Deputy Inspector General of Police KV Singh stated that they are currently collecting data and conducting local inquiries related to these cases.
Forest officials believe the orangutans had only been in the area for a couple of days before they were found. A thorough search of the surrounding forests yielded no additional orangutans or evidence about their arrival.
Wildlife expert Biswajit Mohanty expressed particular concern about the animals’ young age. Baby orangutans typically rely on their mothers for years, making it unusual to find five infants without any adults nearby. The group consists of three males and two females, and they were given immediate medical attention before being transferred to the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar for further health checks and quarantine.
Pradeep Mirase, the deputy director of the zoo, shared that they are closely monitoring the orangutans, with a specialized veterinary team and constant CCTV surveillance in place. While one orangutan had a fever, authorities report that they are stable and progressing well.
Zoo officials have created a special diet plan for the young animals, working with the Mysore Zoo, which has experience caring for orangutans. The babies are being fed every two hours, including mashed potatoes, apples, and bananas.
To keep them comfortable, the zoo has also provided toys and slings, and the orangutans seem to enjoy being with each other as a group. Although international trade in orangutans is banned under CITES, and they are protected by Indian wildlife laws, the illegal trade continues, with these animals often sold as exotic pets.
The living conditions for orangutans in the wild have been severely impacted recently due to wildfires, particularly in Indonesian Kalimantan on Borneo, which have destroyed significant parts of their habitat. An environmental group reported that around 60% of Bornean orangutan habitat was affected by fires during a recent period, exacerbated by climate-related issues.
This isn’t the first time baby orangutans have been found in India. In 2022, two infants were discovered abandoned at a border checkpoint, leading officials to suspect they were smuggled from Myanmar.
The future of these five orangutans remains uncertain, but their story has sparked important conversations about wildlife protection and the dangers of illegal trafficking.
