Five young orangutans have been rescued from a forest in Odisha’s Balasore district, triggering a major investigation into how the non-native animals reached India. The five baby orangutans were found in the Bichitrapur/Ranakatha forest area and have now been shifted to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar. They are being kept in quarantine and are under veterinary observation as officials assess their health and determine their origin.Orangutans are not native to India and are naturally found in Southeast Asia, particularly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their discovery in an Odisha forest has therefore raised serious questions about how they were transported into the country and eventually abandoned in the area.The Odisha Police Special Task Force and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are investigating the case. Authorities are examining documents, CCTV footage and possible transportation routes while probing whether illegal wildlife trafficking was involved. Officials have also cautioned that the investigation is still at an early stage, and there is currently no conclusive evidence identifying an international smuggling network or those responsible. n18oc_plain-speakN18oc_indiaNews18 Mobile App – https://onelink.to/desc-youtube