(Left) Five rescued orangutan at the Nandankanan Zoo (Right) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has ordered a detailed investigation into the rescue of five baby orangutans from Bichitrapur forest in Baleshwar district, raising concerns over the possible illegal trafficking of the rare primates into the State.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said Majhi, who is currently in Dubai on official engagements, directed the authorities to establish how the orangutans reached Odisha, trace the route through which they entered the State, identify the persons involved in their transportation and ascertain the purpose for which they were being brought here.
The Chief Minister made it clear that Odisha would not be allowed to become a transit route for the illegal transportation of exotic wildlife. He directed that strict legal action be taken against those responsible if the involvement of an organised trafficking cartel or international wildlife crime network is established.
The Odisha Police Special Task Force (STF) has intensified its investigation into the suspected trafficking of the orangutans, with two teams conducting searches in the Baleshwar-Digha area.
Investigators suspect that the animals may have entered Odisha through the land route via Bhograi in Baleshwar district. The probe is focusing on the circumstances surrounding their arrival, the route used for their transportation and the individuals who may have facilitated their movement.
Officials are also examining possible links between the Baleshwar incident and two earlier cases involving orangutans reported in Manipur and Maharashtra. In one case in Manipur, a wildlife trafficker was arrested after investigators found that an orangutan had allegedly been brought into India from Myanmar.
The possibility of an international wildlife trafficking network is therefore being examined as part of the ongoing investigation.
Chief Minister Majhi has directed the State authorities to coordinate closely with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Central agencies and other enforcement authorities to trace the origin and movement of the animals.
A joint investigation involving the STF, the Baleshwar Forest Department and the WCCB is underway to determine where the orangutans came from, who brought them to Odisha and how they were transported into the State.
Officials have pointed out that orangutans are not native to Odisha or India, adding to concerns that the five cubs may have been illegally brought into the country from abroad.
The investigation is expected to establish whether the animals were intended for illegal sale, private possession, further transportation or any other purpose.
Meanwhile, the five rescued orangutans have been shifted to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, where they are being provided medical care and protection.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Managing Director of the Odisha Forest Development Corporation Prem Kumar Jha said the five cubs were in good health and receiving comprehensive medical treatment.
“The first priority in such cases is always to save the animal’s life. Once that is ensured, we simultaneously investigate where the animal came from and how it reached here,” Jha said.
He added that the orangutans were gradually being helped to adapt to their new surroundings. A decision on whether they would eventually be repatriated to their country of origin or allowed to remain at Nandankanan would be taken later, depending on the outcome of the investigation and the decision of the competent authorities.
The Odisha government has approached the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) seeking permission to keep the five orangutans at Nandankanan Zoological Park.
Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said the State government had written to the CZA seeking approval to retain the animals at the zoo. The permission is awaited.
The five cubs were rescued from Bichitrapur forest in Baleshwar district on the morning of September 8 and subsequently brought to Nandankanan.
The animals—three males and two females—are estimated to be between six months and one year old and are approximately one to one-and-a-half feet tall.
Following their arrival at Nandankanan, the cubs were placed in quarantine in a temperature-controlled room to protect them from infections and help them gradually acclimatise to the local environment.
Zoo authorities said they were being provided food and oral rehydration solutions. Special arrangements have also been made to reduce their stress after the rescue and transportation.
Nandankanan Zoological Park Deputy Director Pradeep Mirase said the cubs had displayed different behavioural responses after their arrival, including playful activity, brief mood swings and anxious attempts to cling to one another.
According to zoo officials, the animals have been provided soft toys and have also been exposed to music on the advice of animal health experts to help them remain calm and gradually become comfortable in their new surroundings.
The State government has made arrangements to provide suitable climatic conditions for the animals. Officials said environmental conditions resembling those of the orangutans’ natural habitat have been created inside the enclosure.
Minister Singhkhuntia said orangutans, which are primarily found in the rainforests of Indonesia, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian regions, could adapt to Odisha’s climatic conditions if appropriate arrangements were made.
Nandankanan already has a dedicated enclosure for orangutans. The enclosure, however, has remained vacant since the death of a 41-year-old female orangutan in 2019. The animal had been brought to the zoo from Pune in 2003.
The Minister said it would be good news for animal lovers if the CZA permitted Nandankanan to retain the rescued cubs, adding that their presence could also attract more visitors to the zoological park.
