IWN Daily Digest — Friday, 11 September 2026
Odisha’s police Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau have opened a joint investigation into how five orphaned orangutans ended up abandoned in a forest near Balasore, after CCTV cameras picked up a black SUV near the rescue site the night before villagers found them. Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said each animal could fetch up to ₹25 lakh on the international market.
As reported by National Herald:
“A joint investigation has been launched into the suspected international smuggling of five baby orangutans found in a forest in Odisha’s Balasore district, state Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said on Wednesday. The probe by the Odisha Police Special Task Force (STF) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) will seek to establish how the animals reached Balasore, who transported them and whether an organised trafficking network was involved. Singhkhuntia said orangutans, which are not native to India, could fetch between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh each in the international market.”
Villagers spotted the young apes clinging to trees in a casuarina forest in the Bichitrapur area of Balasore’s Bhograi block on 8 September and alerted the forest department. They were rescued and taken to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, where they remain quarantined under veterinary watch. Three are male and two female, all estimated between six months and a year old, and all now living in an air-conditioned enclosure on rehydration solution and a careful diet.
Wider Trade
Wildlife researcher Uttara Mendiratta called the case “obviously linked to wildlife trafficking,” pointing out that orangutans are critically endangered and native only to parts of Southeast Asia. Ramesh Pande, additional director general of wildlife in Uttar Pradesh, said the trade that once centred on birds, turtles and reptiles has now moved on to exotic mammals. Sumanth Bindumadhav of Humane World for Animals India said India still has no legal framework restricting private ownership of species such as great apes, animals for which captivity is inherently unsuitable.
Investigators are also examining established smuggling corridors. Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey said much of this trade passes through Mizoram’s border with Myanmar before moving on through West Bengal and Odisha. A Wildlife Trust of India review of seizures between April and December 2025 found Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur among the departure points most often used to bring exotic wildlife into the country.
Odisha’s Centre for Wildlife Health Committee, which examined the animals on Wednesday, has recommended holding off on DNA testing for at least ten days. Nandankanan director Sanath Kumar N said the orangutans need time to settle with their caretakers before blood and oral swabs are collected for screening that will help establish their species and country of origin. Singhkhuntia said the animals’ distress remains visible after their separation from their mothers, which is why officials want them settled in both body and mind first.
The state has also written to the Central Zoo Authority to assess whether Nandankanan’s climate suits the species permanently, with a decision on the orangutans’ long-term future pending that visit.
Sources: National Herald · ThePrint · National Herald
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