Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is awaiting permission from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to keep five rescued orangutan cubs at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar.
State Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia on Friday said the state government had written a letter to the CZA two days ago seeking permission to keep the five orangutan cubs, rescued from Bichitrapur forest in Balasore district on the morning of September 8, at Nandankanan Zoo. The CZA is yet to respond to the state government's request.
Meanwhile, there were reports that Indonesia had approached the Indian government seeking the repatriation of the rescued orangutans.
After their rescue, the five orangutan cubs were shifted to the zoo, where they have been quarantined in a temperature-controlled room and are gradually getting acclimatised to the local environment, an official said.
The minister said that although orangutans are mostly found in the rainforests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and some other countries, they can easily adapt to the climate of Odisha.
"Climatic conditions replicating those in Indonesia have been created in the zoo for the stay of the rescued animals," the minister said.
According to officials, orangutans are not new to Odisha's climate and have survived in the coastal state before.
Nandankanan Zoo already has a special enclosure for orangutans, but it remained empty following the death of a 41-year-old female orangutan in 2019. It was brought from a zoo in Pune in 2003.
The minister added, "It will be very good news for animal lovers in Odisha if the CZA allows Nandankanan to retain the five orangutans. The tourist footfall would certainly increase."
Meanwhile, the authorities at Nandankanan Zoo said the five cubs were receiving food and oral rehydration solutions.
The cubs, three males and two females, are aged between six months and one year and stand at one to one-and-a-half feet tall.
The state government has provided all facilities for the comfort of the orangutans to help de-stress them, as they showed a range of emotions, from playful behaviour and brief mood swings to anxiously clinging to one another, they said.
The animals have also been playing with soft toys and listening to music on the advice of animal health experts and are gradually becoming stress-free, Nandankanan Zoological Park Deputy Director Pradeep Mirase said.
A joint probe by the Odisha Police's Special Task Force (STF) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) is underway to ascertain how the orangutans reached Balasore. Officials are also probing the possible involvement of an international wildlife trafficking network.
