Why Indonesia Wants to Send Experts To Odisha To Examine Rescued Orangutans

The Indonesian government has proposed sending a seven-member team of officials and experts to Odisha’s Nandankanan Zoological Park to check the health and welfare of five baby orangutans rescued from Bichitrapur forest in Balasore on September 8.

According to an Indian Express report, Indian authorities have reportedly given their approval to the proposal in principle. The visit is proposed amid the ongoing investigation by Odisha’s forest department to find where the orangutans came from.

Indonesian officials said the delegation would help verify the animals’ species and origins, among other objectives.

“Indonesia’s CITES Management Authority has formally communicated a proposal for a technical delegation to visit Odisha through diplomatic and technical channels.

The Indian side has conveyed its agreement in principle, and both sides are coordinating the timing and practical arrangements,” Director of Public Relations and International Cooperation Bureau, Ristianto Pribadi, Indonesia, replied to the Indian Express.

Pribadi said Indonesia plans to send a team including a representative from its CITES management authority, veterinarians and experts in orangutan biology, identification, health, welfare and conservation.

The delegation would examine the animals in person, assess their living conditions and care, and help establish their species and place of origin, he added.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international treaty that controls trade in wild animals and plants across borders.

Under its rules, orangutan trade is strictly limited and permitted only for research purposes. Each member country has a designated CITES management authority responsible for enforcing the treaty and issuing permits for international trade.

What Is The Case?

The Odisha Forest Department rescued five infant orangutans from Bichitrapur forest in Balasore district on September 8. Orangutans are critically endangered and are native only to Indonesia and Malaysia.

Sumatra, an Indonesian island, lies about 2,000 kilometres across the Indian Ocean from Odisha. While Bornean orangutans are found in both Indonesia and Malaysia, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans are native exclusively to Indonesia.

This Was Not The First Incident

India has reported similar cases of orangutans being illegally brought into the country in the past.

In 2022, authorities rescued two young Sumatran orangutans in northern Mizoram. A forest official suspected they had been brought from neighbouring Myanmar, adding that both animals were probably less than a year old.

In October 2023, officials found another Sumatran orangutan inside a car in Seling village, Mizoram, about 55 km from the Myanmar border.