Indonesia Moves to Repatriate Five Orangutans Found in India

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia is working to bring five suspected Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) infants found in India back to their natural country of origin, as authorities coordinate with Indian officials and conservation groups over their repatriation and rehabilitation.

The Ministry of Forestry said the government is coordinating with relevant Indonesian and Indian authorities after the five orangutans were discovered in a forest area in Balasore District, Odisha, India.

Head of the ministry's Public Relations and Foreign Cooperation Bureau Ristianto Pribadi said initial observations of the animals’ physical and morphological characteristics indicated that they were suspected to be orangutans from Sumatra. However, their species and genetic origin will be confirmed through DNA testing by the relevant scientific authorities.

"However, the Indonesian Government emphasizes that this identification is still preliminary, and certainty regarding their species and genetic origin will be determined through DNA testing by the authorized scientific authorities,” Ristianto said in a statement received in Jakarta on Friday, September 11, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

The five orangutans were found by the local forestry authority on Tuesday, September 8, in the Bhogarai/Udaipur forest area in Jaleswar, Balasore District, Odisha, near the border with West Bengal.

The orangutans, estimated to be around 1 to 1.5 years old, were reportedly found in healthy condition. They have since been placed at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar, India, for care and treatment.

Orangutans are not native to India. Their natural habitat is limited to Indonesia and Malaysia, particularly the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The discovery of five young orangutans in India has therefore raised strong suspicions that they may have been victims of illegal wildlife trafficking and smuggling involving cross-border networks.

Ristianto said the ministry had taken immediate steps by communicating and coordinating with several parties, including the CITES Management Authority of India, the Indian Embassy in Jakarta, the Indonesian Embassy in New Delhi, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) as the scientific authority, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

“The ministry has taken swift steps by communicating and coordinating with several parties to support the handling and accelerate the repatriation process,” he said.

The coordination is intended to ensure that the entire process complies with Indonesian national law and international mechanisms, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The ministry has also contacted conservation partners experienced in orangutan rescue, rehabilitation and release, including the Leuser Ecosystem Foundation (YEL), Jaringan Satwa Indonesia (JSI), the Center for Orangutan Protection (COP), and the Indonesian Orangutan Forum (FORINA).

The conservation partners have expressed their readiness to support the government in the repatriation process and, once the animals return to Indonesia, their subsequent care and rehabilitation. If repatriation is completed, the orangutans will undergo conservation procedures, including health examinations, quarantine, genetic identification, behavioral assessments and rehabilitation according to their individual conditions and needs.

If they meet the necessary requirements, the animals could then enter further rehabilitation stages toward eventual release into their natural habitat.

The case highlights the need for international cooperation in protecting wildlife, as trafficking and smuggling can cross national borders and cannot be addressed by a single country alone. The Indonesian Government continues to strengthen cooperation with other countries, CITES, law enforcement agencies, scientific authorities and conservation organizations to prevent illegal wildlife trafficking and repatriate Indonesian wildlife found overseas. ***