Five baby orangutans were rescued in Odisha's Balasore. Health checkups found three of them to be anaemic, and treatment has begun. The Forest Department suspects human intervention as orangutans are not native to India and were found abandoned.
Medical Evaluation Reveals Anaemia
Doctors in Odisha, along with technical committee members, on Wednesday carried out health checkups of five baby orangutans rescued from a forest in Balasore district. During the medical evaluation, doctors conducted X-rays of the chest, abdomen, and skull of the infants, while also collecting swabs of their blood, serum, and naso-pharyngeal samples for analysis.
A weight assessment of the rescued animals recorded Male 1 at 5.1 kg, Male 2 at 3.56 kg, and Male 3 at 2.94 kg. Among the females, Female 1 weighed 4.23 kg, while Female 2 was recorded at 2.14 kg.
Initial observations noted that all five infants demonstrated consistent and healthy feeding patterns at the time of examination. However, in-house haematology analysis revealed severe anaemia in one animal and mild anaemia in two others. Following the diagnosis, supportive supplementation for the orangutan babies commenced as per the directives of the Technical Committee.
Discovery and Rescue in Balasore
Earlier, five orangutans were found near Badapali village under Bhograi Block of Balasore Division in Odisha on September 9 morning, prompting the Forest Department to launch an investigation into how the animals reached the area.
According to Balasore DFO Indalkar Pratik Prakash, forest officials received information from a VSS member at around 6 AM about five animals believed to belong to the monkey species. The officials found that all five were young and were not moving around much, though they were alert and active. The animals were initially provided food at the spot.
As a crowd began gathering at the location, the forest officials rescued the orangutans and shifted them to the Udaipur Section Office for proper assessment.
Suspicion of Human Intervention
The DFO said the animals' young age and limited mobility suggested that they could not have travelled a long distance on their own. He also said that surviving overnight in the area would have been difficult due to the presence of animals such as jackals, foxes, dogs and langurs.
He added that since orangutans are not native to the area and do not naturally migrate across such habitats, the Forest Department suspects human intervention.
The five orangutans, two females and three males, are approximately one year old. Forest officials, veterinarians and biologists examined the animals, while the department also coordinated with scientists from Nandankanan and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
He said the case requires coordination with multiple agencies as orangutans are an international species that are not native to India. (ANI)
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