Odisha Orangutans: No Country Has Shown Ownership Proof, Says Minister
The five baby orangutans found in Balasore stay at Nandankanan for now, while Odisha waits for Indonesia to produce evidence.
Image: Wikimedia Commons (representational)
Odisha Forest Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia said in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, 8 November that neither Indonesia nor any other country has so far given documentary proof of ownership of the five baby orangutans rescued from a forest in Balasore district on 8 September. The animals are at Nandankanan Zoological Park, and the state wants to keep them there, PTI reported.
Five Infants Doing Well in Quarantine
The orangutans were found in Bichitrapur forest and are now in a temperature-controlled quarantine room at Nandankanan, where they are adjusting to local conditions. “All five baby orangutans are doing well and growing. No one should disturb them,” Khuntia told reporters. He said Indonesia raised its claim “as a routine matter”.
Proof Required Before Any Handover
Khuntia said any country claiming the animals under international wildlife trade rules must give concrete evidence that they came from its territory. “We will seek evidence to establish that the orangutans originated from their country. If they provide the proof, the animals may be handed over to them,” he said. The state has sent details of the animals to the Centre for further action.
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Trafficking Probe Still On
Odisha Police’s Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are jointly investigating how the infants reached Balasore, and are looking at a possible international wildlife trafficking network. Orangutans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia, not India. IPB News reported in October that a baby orangutan rescued in 2024 was flown home to Indonesia from Gujarat, with the Odisha five still awaiting a decision.
No date has been set for a decision on repatriation. It depends on whether Indonesia produces documents and on what the investigation finds about the animals’ route into India. More wildlife reports are on the Odisha tag page.
Source: Based on reporting by ThePrint (PTI), OdishaTV and DT Next.
Image: Thomas Fuhrmann / Wikimedia Commons (representational; Bornean orangutan).
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