Archive · 10 Sep 2026
Rescued Baby Orangutans Receive Care Amid Smuggling Probe
Five young orangutans were rescued from a forest in Odisha and taken to a zoo.
They are between about six months and one year old.
The animals sometimes play, but they also cling to one another because they may feel worried after losing their mothers.
Zoo workers give them milk, fruit, water, sunlight, toys, and a swing.
A doctor and three keepers watch them all day and night.
Some had fever, cold symptoms, or worms, but their health is now stable.
The quarantine area is cleaned often to help stop infections.
Experts will let the orangutans adjust before collecting samples for more tests.
Police are also checking whether the animals were brought into India illegally.
Five orangutans rescued from Balasore district are quarantined at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar.
The six-month-to-one-year-old animals have shown playful behavior, mood changes, and anxious clinging after separation from their mothers.
Zoo staff provide veterinary treatment, infant formula, fruit, oral rehydration, sunlight, soft toys, and a swing.
Initial examinations found fever, cold symptoms, and worms in some animals, but all five are now reported to be stable.
Authorities plan blood and oral-swab screening while police and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau investigate their possible origin.
- Who
- Five rescued baby orangutans, Nandankanan Zoological Park staff, veterinary experts, forest officials, police, and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
- What
- The orangutans are receiving quarantine care and treatment while authorities investigate how they arrived in Odisha.
- When
- They were rescued on September 8, brought to the zoo on Tuesday night, and taken outside for sunlight on Thursday; the reports are dated September 10.
- Where
- They were rescued from a forest in Odisha’s Balasore district and are quarantined at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar.
- Why
- The zoo is treating health problems, reducing stress, and helping the animals adjust, while authorities investigate their presence in India.
- Animals
- Five orangutans; reports describe them as approximately one year old or between six months and one year old
- Rescue date
- September 8
- Rescue location
- A forest in Balasore district, Odisha
- Current location
- Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar
- Care measures
- Veterinary treatment, infant milk formula, apples, bananas, oral rehydration solution, sunlight, soft toys, a swing, and planned classical music
- Initial health findings
- One animal had fever, two showed common-cold symptoms, and another had worms; all five were later reported stable after medication
- Planned testing
- Blood and oral-swab samples will be collected after acclimatisation for screening at the Centre for Wildlife Health
- Investigation
- Odisha police and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are conducting a joint probe over possible international smuggling