The Odisha Forest Department on Tuesday (September 8, 2026) rescued five young orangutans after they were found abandoned in a casuarina plantation in the Udayapur-Talsari forest area of Balasore district.
The orangutans, which are not native to India, were found in the Udayapur section of the Jaleswar Range during routine patrolling, said Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) Prakash Chand Gogineni. “We have rescued all of them. Of the five, three are male, and two are female,” Mr. Gogineni said.
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The orangutans, aged between six months and one year, have been shifted to Nandankanan Zoological Park for medical examination. “They do not appear to have sustained any injuries, but we have sent them to Nandankanan for further medical examination,” he said.
Orangutans are naturally found in the forests of Indonesia and Malaysia and are not native to India. “It appears to be a botched-up transit operation. The orangutans were apparently brought here and subsequently abandoned in the casuarina forest in Balasore,” Mr. Gogineni said.
The Forest Department is yet to ascertain where the animals were brought from. “We have no idea from which part of the Odisha coast these orangutans were offloaded. We will register a case under the Wildlife Protection Act, and the investigation will proceed accordingly,” he said.
The orangutans were found abandoned in a casuarina plantation in the Udayapur-Talsari forest area of Odisha’s Balasore district.
“A separate team has been deployed in the Badapai–Ranakatha area to gather detailed information on how the orangutans reached the location and identify any persons who may have been involved. The matter is under active investigation,” Odisha Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said.
Meanwhile, the Forest and Wildlife Department has alerted its coastal divisions and directed them to search for any other orangutans that may have been abandoned in the area.
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The rescue drew considerable public attention, with hundreds of local residents gathering in the morning to catch a glimpse of the young animals.
Nandankanan Zoological Park has previously housed an orangutan. In 2019, its 41-year-old female orangutan, Bini, died of age-related and associated ailments. An endangered great ape species, Bini had been brought to Nandankanan from Pune Zoo on November 20, 2003.
Forest Department sources said that while finding orangutans outside their natural habitat was certainly a matter of concern, their arrival could potentially be significant for Nandankanan. “The decision on whether the orangutans will be kept in captivity for public viewing will be taken by the authorities at the Centre and in the State,” an official said.