On Tuesday, five orangutans, a critically endangered species from the Indonesian and Malaysian rainforests, were discovered in a forested area of Ranakotha Badapahi, located in coastal Odisha’s Balasore. The state forest and wildlife department is now looking into the possibility of an international wildlife trafficking network being involved in the smuggling of these animals.
Orangutans are smuggled for high-end exotic pet trade, tourism entertainment, and private animal collections. He added that an assistant chief conservator of forests will investigate. An orangutan could fetch around ₹ 25 lakh.
Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha said the orangutans, estimated to be between one and two years old, were found inside Ranakatha Protected Reserved Forest during routine patrolling around 6am. Jha said orangutans are found only in two to three places abroad. “The wildlife wing of the forest department is investigating how they came to Odisha,” he said. Odisha forest minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia said the discovery raised suspicions of wildlife trafficking. “An international mafia may be involved in trafficking them,” Khuntia said.
Jha added that police have been informed and a team from Nandankanan Zoological Park will take them. “Once the animals are brought to Nandankanan in Bhubaneswar , they will remain in quarantine before further decisions are taken about their care. Orangutans are great apes and are not found in India. They have reddish-brown hair and are largely arboreal. Their name derives from Malay and Indonesian words meaning person of the forest.
