In brief
In eastern India’s Odisha state, five baby orangutans were found in a forest far from their homeland in Indonesia and Malaysia. The animals, captured on social media eating bananas, were rescued and sent to quarantine at the Nandankanan Zoo. Local officials suspect illegal trafficking and abortive abandonment near a highway, prompting a joint inquiry by state authorities and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau. The case underscores the ongoing plight of critically endangered orangutans and the illicit trade that threatens them.
Five infant orangutans were found together in a forest in India’s Odisha state, hundreds of kilometres from their native habitat in Borneo and Sumatra.
The photos and videos that have gone viral depict the young apes sitting on a green mat and eating bananas. They have been rescued by local villagers and are now in quarantine at the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar.
The Odisha forest minister said investigators are looking into whether the animals were trafficked through an international smuggling network and abandoned by a private collector.
Forest officials confirmed the five animals had been in the area for only a couple of days. No other orangutans or clues were found during the search.
The youngsters were initially described as infants, although some local reports suggest they are between one and two years old – a significant age given that orangutans usually stay with their mothers for several years.
Wildlife expert Biswajit Mohanty notes that female orangutans reproduce slowly, usually giving birth only once every eight years, making their recent discovery especially concerning.
Authorities have also asked India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to investigate. Police, forest officials and a special task force are now probing how the apes arrived in Odisha.
Previous incidents include two baby orangutans found abandoned near the Assam-Mizoram border in 2022, suspected to have come from Myanmar.
