Indonesia Seeks Repatriation Of Rescued Baby Orangutans Found In Odisha

Indonesia is working to bring back five baby orangutans found in Odisha after forest department officers spotted them during a patrol in Balasore district on September 8. Indian agencies are also examining a suspected international wildlife trafficking network. The animals were found in the Jaleswar range and later moved to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, where they are in quarantine, the Times of India reported, citing PTI and Indonesian officials. Zoo authorities later described them as six months to one year old, though the earlier report said they were believed to be between one and 1.5 years old.

The case has drawn attention because orangutans are native only to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Their presence in Odisha has raised questions over how the apes travelled thousands of kilometres into India and whether they were part of a wider cross-border wildlife smuggling chain.

Indonesia’s ministry of forestry has begun coordinating with Indian authorities to speed up repatriation. Odisha environment minister Ram Singh Khuntia had earlier said investigators suspected an international racket could be involved, while a joint probe by the Odisha Police Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is examining how the animals reached Balasore.

Zoo Quarantine Details

The Odisha government is waiting for clearance from the Central Zoo Authority. State Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia told PTI on Friday that the state had written to the authority two days earlier seeking permission to keep the five rescued orangutan cubs at Nandankanan.

The cubs were rescued from Bichitrapur forest in Balasore district on the morning of September 8, PTI reported in the brief carried by Times of India. The Central Zoo Authority has not yet responded to the state government’s request.

The five cubs are three males and two females. They are aged between six months and one year and stand at one to one-and-a-half feet tall. After the rescue, they were shifted to Nandankanan, where they have been quarantined in a temperature-controlled room and are gradually acclimatising to the local environment, an official said.

Odisha is familiar territory for orangutans. The species has previously adapted well to the coastal weather, officials said. Nandankanan Zoo maintains a dedicated ape enclosure that fell vacant in 2019 following the death of a 41-year-old female brought from Pune in 2003.

The zoo has tried to mirror their natural setting. “Climatic conditions replicating those in Indonesia have been created in the zoo for the stay of the rescued animals,” Singhkhuntia told PTI.

Zoo staff are working to calm the infants. Keepers have put the five cubs on a routine of regular meals and oral rehydration fluids. The young apes are also clutching plush toys and listening to soothing music recommended by animal health specialists, Nandankanan Zoological Park deputy director Pradeep Mirase said.

Singhkhuntia also told PTI, “It will be very good news for animal lovers in Odisha if the CZA allows Nandankanan to retain the five Orangutans. The tourist footfall would certainly increase.”

Indonesia's Repatriation Push

Indonesia has started formal coordination. Its ministry of forestry stated that preliminary observations suggested the five animals could be Sumatran orangutans, though final confirmation will depend on DNA testing.

“Based on preliminary observations of their physical characteristics, the five animals are suspected to be Sumatran orangutans,” Ristianto Pribadi, the ministry’s head of public relations and foreign cooperation, told PTI in a statement quoted by Antara news agency.

The ministry stated that it was coordinating with India’s CITES Management Authority, diplomatic missions in Jakarta and New Delhi, Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency and its agriculture ministry to expedite the animals’ return. Indonesian conservation groups, including the Leuser Ecosystem Foundation, Indonesian Wildlife Network, Center for Orangutan Protection and Indonesian Orangutan Forum, have also offered assistance.

Trade rules make the case more serious. International commercial trade in orangutans is prohibited under CITES, the global agreement that regulates trade in endangered wildlife. Once returned to Indonesia, the orangutans are expected to undergo health checks, quarantine and behavioural assessments before possible rehabilitation and release.

Trafficking Probe Widens

The trafficking angle remains central. Khuntia had earlier said investigators suspected an international racket could be involved, and that suspicion has sharpened because the animals were found far outside their natural range.

The Odisha Police Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are conducting a joint investigation. Officials are examining how the orangutans reached Balasore and whether they were victims of a wider international trafficking operation. The discovery has also prompted authorities in India and Indonesia to investigate how the animals entered India.

The wider conservation picture is grim. The World Wildlife Fund estimates about 104,000 orangutans remain in Borneo and Sumatra, down from more than 230,000 a century ago.

A third species is under even greater pressure. The Tapanuli orangutan is critically endangered, with fewer than 800 believed to survive in the wild. Its entire known population lives in the Batang Toru forest in North Sumatra, which is threatened by mining, palm oil plantations and a large hydropower project.

That backdrop adds weight to the case. If the five rescued animals are repatriated, they are expected to go through health checks, quarantine and behavioural assessments in Indonesia before any decision on rehabilitation and possible return to the wild.