At least five orangutans, which are not indigenous to India, were rescued in a forest in Odisha’s Balasore district, prompting the authorities to suspect that wildlife smugglers might be behind the animals’ sudden appearance there, a minister said on Tuesday.
We suspect that they might have been released in the Balasore district forest which borders West Bengal by an international wildlife smuggling racket,” the minister said. Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said the five orangutans were rescued by the forest patrolling team on Tuesday morning. The state government urged the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) to inquire into how the critically endangered great apes reached Bichitrapur forest area under Bhograi block. “These animals are not found in India and are mostly seen in rainforests of Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia.
He said the price of each of these orangutans is Rs 20-Rs 25 lakh in the international market.
“We have urged the WCCB to probe into the incident and asked the airport, railway stations and ports to verify their CCTV cameras as the animals might have been brought through their transportation facilities,” the minister said. “After observation, the animals will be kept in Nandan Kanan Zoo in Bhubaneswar,” the minister said.
