BALASORE: Forest personnel on Tuesday rescued five young orangutans allegedly abandoned in the Bichitrapur casuarina forest near Badapai village under the Udaipur-Talsari marine police station area of Balasore district.
The five animals were spotted by villagers in the morning near the casuarina forest, following which they informed officials of the Udaipur forest section. A team of forest personnel rushed to the spot and found the animals in an apparently abandoned condition.
The officials safely rescued the five orangutans and brought them to the Udaipur forest section office, where they were kept under observation.
Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF)-cum-Field Director of Similipal Tiger Reserve Prakash Chand Gogineni said the age and sex of the animals were yet to be ascertained. A medical team from Udaipur had been alerted to examine their health and provide necessary treatment.
Gogineni said it was suspected that the animals could have been abandoned by poachers or suppliers after they found it difficult to transport them from the area. However, the exact circumstances under which the orangutans reached the forest would be known only after a detailed investigation.
“Some villagers spotted the five young individuals in the morning and informed the forest officials. Our personnel immediately reached the spot and rescued them,” Gogineni said.
The Bichitrapur casuarina forest is a large and relatively isolated coastal forest located close to the Bay of Bengal. Gogineni said the department would intensify surveillance in the area and conduct further searches to ascertain whether more such animals were present.
Forest personnel are also expected to inspect the interior areas of the casuarina forest for clues about how the animals reached the area and whether others could be present.
The department has not yet decided where the five animals will be housed or released. Their future course of action will be determined after their medical examination and identification of their age, sex and condition.
Orangutans are native to Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia, and are not native to Odisha. The rescue of five young orangutans in the Bhograi area has therefore raised questions about their origin and how they came to be in the coastal forest.
