5 Baby Orangutans Found in Indian Forest: What It Means for Indonesia

4 hours ago 3

September 11, 2026 | 12:02 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto has been urged to take firm diplomatic action against the Indian government after five baby orangutans were found abandoned in the Bichitrapur Casuarina Forest, Balasore District, Odisha, on September 8, 2026. This discovery demonstrates the real threat of cross-border orangutan trafficking and smuggling.

"These five baby orangutans never chose to leave Indonesia. The Indonesian government must ensure their immediate repatriation to Indonesia," said Annisa Rahmawati, Senior Wildlife Campaigner at Geopix, in a text message on Thursday, September 10, 2026.

Prior to the recent discovery, Geopix had urged the Indian government to repatriate 15 orangutans who were smuggled between 2021 and 2024, said Annisa. To support this demand, Geopix also launched a petition to garner public support both at domestic and international levels.

The incident of these five baby orangutans, she said, adds to the long list of transnational crimes against the primates, which deserves serious attention from both the Indonesian and Indian governments.

Beyond the immediate rescue of the neglected orangutans, Annisa urged stronger law enforcement against cross-border crimes, particularly the smuggling of wild animals.

"We must ensure that joint legal proceedings are conducted to dismantle the transnational network that captures, smuggles, and trades these baby orangutans," she said.

Indra Kurnia, Director of the Sumatran Orangutan Lestari Foundation - Orangutan Information Center (YOSL-OIC), said that orangutans are wild animals naturally found only in Southeast Asia, specifically in Indonesia and Malaysia. Their presence in a country without a natural population should raise fundamental questions about how these orangutans got there.

"This question is far more important than simply how to save the five individual orangutans that have been found," Indra said in a separate written statement on Thursday.

Indra emphasized a layered process must have been taken to transfer the orangutans thousands of kilometers away from their habitats. This includes being captured from the wild, separated from its mother, smuggled, moved through various transportation routes, and then sold or kept as an exotic pet.

In the Odisha case, according to Indra, the suspicion that the orangutans could have entered through international transportation routes demonstrates the importance of investigating the entire trade chain, not just the parties found carrying or possessing the animals.

Indra appreciated the swift response of Indian authorities in rescuing the five orangutans and conducting health checks. Media reports stated that the animals were then transferred to the Nandankanan Zoological Park for further care and observation.

However, rescue is only the first step. The next question is far more important: Where did the orangutan come from? Indra said identifying its geographic and genetic origins should be a crucial part of the investigation.

"This information can help determine whether the orangutan originated in Indonesia or Malaysia, and, if possible, help narrow down its area or population of origin."

In the context of Indonesia, he said, this information is crucial because every individual orangutan taken from the wild is potentially linked to the loss of individuals from wild populations already facing serious pressure from habitat loss, forest fragmentation, human-orangutan conflict, and illegal trafficking.

He said that collaboration must be established throughout the supply chain. The approach to orangutan trafficking must be comprehensive and integrated, starting with protecting orangutan habitats and populations in the wild, followed by preventing the removal of individuals from their habitat, and monitoring wildlife trafficking routes and activities.

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