Jakarta: Indonesia is working with the authorities in India to expedite the repatriation of five baby orangutans who were found in an Odisha forest, suspected to be victims of transnational wildlife trafficking, according to a local media report.
The cubs, three males and two females aged between six months and one year, were rescued September 8 from Bichitrapur forest in Baleshwar district.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry Friday that the government had been coordinating with relevant authorities in India since the infants were found, state-run Antara news agency reported.
“Based on preliminary observations of their physical characteristics, the five animals are suspected to be Sumatran orangutans,” head of the ministry’s Public Relations and Foreign Cooperation Bureau Ristianto Pribadi said in a statement.
He said the identification remains preliminary and scientific authorities will conduct DNA testing to definitively determine the species and genetic origins of the animals.
The animals have since been relocated to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar for proper care.
The Odisha government has provided all facilities for the comfort of the orangutans to de-stress them, as they showed a range of emotions, from playful behaviour and brief mood swings to anxiously clinging to one another, zoo authorities said.
The animals have also been playing with soft toys, listening to music as per the advice of the animal health experts and are gradually becoming stress-free, they added.
Orangutans are native to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, so their presence in India strongly suggests that they were smuggled through an international wildlife trafficking network.
The Indonesian ministry is coordinating with India’s CITES Management Authority, diplomatic missions in Jakarta and New Delhi, Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and the Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate their return, the report said.
