Five orangutans found in India face long road back home to Indonesia

ACEH, Indonesia — Five infant orangutans discovered in a forest in India's Odisha state may have been smuggled across multiple countries before ending up in India, conservationists say. Director of conservation at the Sumatran Orangutan Lestari Foundation-Orangutan Information Center (YOSL-OIC), M. Indra Kurnia, explained that the process likely began with poaching, followed by separating the infants from their mothers and transporting them through various regions before being sold or held as exotic pets.

The five young orangutans were discovered on September 8 near the Bichitrapur forest in Odisha, a coastal state on India's eastern side once part of the Kalinga region. Authorities are currently investigating the circumstances that led to the presence of these animals in India and exploring the potential involvement of an international wildlife trafficking network.

Only Indonesia and Malaysia are home to native orangutan populations, with Sumatra, an Indonesian island, situated approximately 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) away across the Indian Ocean. The Bornean species resides in both Indonesia and Malaysia, while the Sumatran and Tapanuli species are exclusively found in Indonesia. Kurnia emphasized that this case should not be viewed solely as a local issue in the state where the orangutans were found, highlighting the need to consider the broader context of the illegal wildlife trade.