5 Baby Orangutans Found In Odisha Forest, Smuggling Suspected
The discovery of five baby orangutans in a forest in Odisha’s Balasore district on Tuesday has triggered concerns over possible international wildlife trafficking, with forest officials saying the primates could not have reached the area through natural migration. Local residents spotted the five juvenile orangutans near the Badapai village forest in the Bhograi area of the coastal district at…
Five baby orangutans were rescued in a forest in Odisha's Balasore district on Tuesday, raising concerns over possible international wildlife trafficking. Local residents spotted the juvenile orangutans near Badapai village forest and alerted the forest officials, who quickly rescued the animals. Four of the five babies were reported to be healthy and eating, while the remaining one was under veterinary care.
No natural migration route exists between the orangutans' native habitat in Borneo and Sumatra and Odisha, making their presence in Balasore suspicious. The Forest Department has launched an investigation to determine how the primates arrived in the Odisha jungle and whether they were involved in an illegal trafficking operation.
The discovery of the five orangutans, all critically endangered species, has put the focus on international smuggling, as the trade in orangutans is linked to a multi-million-dollar criminal industry. The rescued primates will likely be transferred to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar for further care and study.
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