5 Baby Orangutans Rescued In Odisha To Be Repatriated To Indonesia

Chennai: Five baby orangutans native to the forests of Indonesia, which were found in Odisha a month ago, will soon be flown back to Indonesia, official sources told The Free Press Journal. Highly placed sources said that a high-level delegation of wildlife experts from Indonesia will travel to India from Nov 22 to 26 to discuss and work out the repatriation of the primates, which are believed to have been trafficked from the Southeast Asian country.

The animals are currently under the care and protection of the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, where they are receiving all necessary veterinary care. The trip by Indonesian officials is being facilitated by the Indian Embassy in Indonesia. This follows the repatriation of a baby orangutan of Sumatran origin to Indonesia on October 19, two years after it was rescued in India in November 2024, according to an official press statement by the Indian Embassy in Jakarta.

The orangutan arrived at Kualanamu Airport in Medan on Monday. The five baby orangutans (three males and two females aged between six months and a year) were found abandoned in a casuarina plantation in Balasore district of Odisha and rescued on September 8 after a patrol team found them. The incident caused a major controversy as it was an example of the thriving trafficking of exotic wildlife from Southeast Asian countries to fuel the growing pet trade in India.

The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha have launched a probe into the trafficking network. Bengaluru-based wildlife activist and filmmaker Trishala Ashok said that sending the orangutans back to Indonesia is important as they belong there. “These five orangutans are victims of wildlife trafficking.

They didn’t choose to be brought to India, and their rescue shouldn’t end with them being kept in a zoo. Repatriation is complicated, yes, but that cannot become a reason to stop trying,” she said. Ashok said that Indonesia will have suitable rescue and rehabilitation experts who understand the native species and their needs and behaviour.