In brief
Local villagers in Odisha’s Ranakata forest found five infant orangutans after a brief stay, raising serious doubts that they were smuggled illegal transport. The state government and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau have launched an investigation into a possible international wildlife‑trade network. The infants were rescued, given first aid, and transferred to Nandankanan Zoo for quarantine and monitoring. The incident underscores ongoing threats to critically endangered orangutans by illicit trade.
Local villagers in Ranakata, a proposed reserve forest near the West Bengal border, spotted five infant orangutans early on Tuesday and alerted state forest officers. The apes, native only to Indonesia and Malaysia, were rescued, given basic first aid, and transported to Nandankanan Zoo in Bhubaneswar, where they are now in quarantine and monitored.
India’s forest minister said investigators are probing whether the animals were smuggled in by an international wildlife‑trade network. A special task force has been set up with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to examine the trail of evidence and potential perpetrators.
The infants, estimated to be between one and two years old, have no adult companions nearby, raising heightened concern. Wildlife authorities stress that young orangutans learn survival skills from their mothers and are exceptionally vulnerable. The sudden appearance of five infants far from their natural habitat suggests illegal transport over thousands of kilometres.
Although India prohibits the trade of orangutans under CITES and national conservation laws, such animals continue to surface as exotic pets, private collectors, and in criminal networks. The incident follows a similar 2022 case where baby orangutans were found abandoned near an Assam‑Mizoram border. The ongoing inquiry will likely shed light on the reach of illegal wildlife trafficking into India.
