The Odisha government has formed a five-member technical committee to oversee the healthcare and upkeep of five baby orangutans recently rescued from Balasore district, officials said on Sunday.
The five young primates are currently being housed at the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar.
According to an official order, the panel will evaluate all issues concerning the welfare and daily maintenance of the rescued animals while offering technical inputs to ensure their proper care.
The Director of the Nandankanan Biological Park serves as the member-convener. The remaining members include a veterinary officer from Mysuru’s Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, a representative from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun, and the project coordinator from the Centre for Wildlife Health at the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, it said.
The order further specified that the committee has the authority to consult or co-opt national and international experts and organizations whenever necessary.
Chief Wildlife Warden and PCCF (Wildlife) PK Jha stated that the state government’s immediate focus is ensuring that the five non-native animals receive best possible care at Nandankanan’s dedicated hand-rearing facility.
“Three caretakers and doctors are engaged round the clock to monitor the health condition of the babies,” he said.
Dr. Aditya Acharya, head of OUAT’s Wildlife Treatment Centre, noted that the rescued orangutans are gradually bonding with their caretakers and accepting food without resistance.
“The caretakers are like new mothers to the baby orangutans,” he said.
Acharya added that the ease with which the animals are interacting with caretakers suggested they were previously in contact with humans and received regular care.
A caretaker based at Nandankanan’s quarantine facility shared that the infants are fed milk every two hours, alongside apple and banana fluids and boiled potatoes at fixed intervals, following a strict dietary plan designed by experts.
To keep their stress levels low, officials have provided their enclosure with soft toys and swings and are playing soothing music for the animals.
As per the health updates, one baby have recovered from a fever while two others have recovered from colds. Officials added that blood sample collection for DNA profiling has been deferred for approximately 10 days to allow them to stabilize further.
The five orangutans were rescued from the Bichitrapur forest area in the Bhograi block of Balasore district on September 8.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Police’s Special Task Force (STF), alongside the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), has stepped up investigations to uncover the broader international wildlife smuggling racket tied to the case.
