Baby orangutans found in Indian forest spark trafficking inquiry

Five baby orangutans discovered in an Indian forest have sparked an investigation into potential trafficking, according to authorities in the eastern state of Odisha.

Photographs and videos circulating online depict the young apes playing together on the forest floor, seemingly far removed from their natural habitat. Orangutans, however, are not native to India; they are native to just Indonesia and Malaysia and are classified as critically endangered in their natural habitats.

Odisha’s forest minister revealed that investigators are probing whether the animals were smuggled into the country by an international trafficking ring and subsequently abandoned near a highway. The infant orangutans were rescued on Tuesday morning in the Balasore district after locals spotted them and alerted forest officials. They received emergency medical care before being transported to the Nandankanan Zoological Park in the state capital, Bhubaneswar, for observation and quarantine.

Balasore District Forest Officer Pratik Prakash Indalkar stated that the orangutans could not have reached Odisha naturally and were likely transported there via road. The Odisha government has also reportedly requested assistance from India’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to investigate the matter.