Severe anaemia in one baby orangutan, mild in two as rescued apes undergo tests

More than a week after they were rescued from a casuarina forest in Odisha’s Balasore district, three of the five baby orangutans were found to be anaemic during medical tests at the Nandankanan Zoological Park on Wednesday.

A health bulletin issued by Nandankanan said one suffered from severe anaemia and two from mild anaemia. A team of veterinary doctors from Mysore Zoo and an expert from Odisha University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT), part of the technical committee managing the health of the apes, carried out the tests.

Their urine and stool were also examined as part of the health assessment. “The animals are very young, which could be why they have been sluggish. We found them alert, active and feeding well,” said Dr Madan, a representative from the Mysore Zoo.

“They appear to look well, but we are waiting on test results.” Supportive supplementation for the orangutan babies, as advised by the Technical Committee, has already been started. Officials said DNA tests to determine their species and geographical origin will be conducted once the test results come back normal.

The orangutans remain in a temperature-controlled quarantine room, with authorities now considering whether to take them to an open enclosure to allow them to adjust to a bigger space. Asked if the orangutans are trafficked from any breeding centre, Nandankanan Zoo Director Sanath Kumar N said it could not be said yet.

“All our focus now is to ensure their better healthcare,” he added. Native only to the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia, the five baby orangutans were rescued from a forest in the state’s Balasore district on September 8, raising concerns of smuggling.

All three species of orangutans are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Meanwhile, a special task force (STF) of Odisha Police investigating the case said it was yet to get a breakthrough on how the apes reached the state, with investigators saying they had questioned several people and checked CCTV images.

Two teams from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau’s (WCCB) Kolkata and Bhopal units are also coordinating with the STF on the case to investigate potential smuggling. Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha.

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