India repatriates seized orangutan, raising hopes for five more
A juvenile orangutan seized from an apartment in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2024 has been repatriated to its native Indonesia, following two years of health and procedural delays. The endangered animal was transferred to the Sumatra Rescue Alliance facility on the island of Sumatra, where experts plan to prepare it for eventual release […]
An orphaned orangutan held captive in Mumbai, India in 2024 has been returned to its native habitat in Indonesia after a protracted legal and administrative process. The young ape, listed as an endangered species under CITES, a global wildlife treaty, is now in the care of the Sumatra Rescue Alliance in Sumatra, where specialists are preparing it for a future return to the wild. CITES official Yogesh Nilkand Warkad expressed satisfaction that this marks the first successful repatriation from India under the treaty.
The Indonesian conservation partner, Yayasan Orangutan Sumatera Lestari–Orangutan Information Centre (YOSL-OIC), explained that the juvenile will spend time in a forest school to learn crucial survival skills. Once ready, the animal could be reintroduced into the wild within four years. The repatriation success has sparked renewed international attention on five infant orangutans seized from forests in Odisha state earlier this year.
These infants, aged between 1 and 1.5 years, are currently under investigation at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, to determine their origins and potential illegal trafficking. Conservation pioneer Panut Hadisiswoyo, founder of the Orangutan Information Centre, lauded the progress.
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