Five newborn orangutans were spotted together in the forests of Odisha, India – a place far from their native tropical habitats in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Photographs shared online show the infants sitting on the forest floor and eating bananas, raising suspicions that they may have been smuggled and abandoned near a state highway.
Forest officials, the state Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and a special task force are now probing how the critically endangered apes arrived in Odisha.
The babies were rescued by local villagers, given first‑aid treatment and are now quarantined at Nandankanan Zoo in the state capital, where they are being monitored for health and behaviour.
Forest officer Pratik Prakash Indalkar told reporters that the animals could not have reached the area naturally. The five were found in Ranakata reserve forest, near the West Bengal border, in an area dominated by casuarina trees and close to a highway, hinting at possible road transport.
A search of the forest found no other orangutans or clues as to how the animals got there. Officials suspect a smuggling route that brought the infants inside India and abandoned them in the forest.
Officials describe the youngsters as infants, though some local reports suggest they are between one and two years old – a critical age at which they normally remain with their mothers to learn essential survival skills.
Orangutans are classified as critically endangered. The Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli species are protected under international agreements such as CITES and under Indian wildlife laws, yet they continue to be trafficked as exotic pets and for private collectors.
The discovery in Odisha follows a 2022 incident where two baby orangutans were found abandoned at a checkpoint near the Assam‑Mizoram border, which authorities suspected had been smuggled through Myanmar.
The investigation is looking for evidence of a broader trafficking network, with police, forest officials and a special task force working together while the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau examines any illegal trade links.
