STATE OF AFFAIRS | Baby Orangutans in India | Shankar IAS Academy | UPSC | Mains 2026

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On September 8th, the forest department of Odisha rescued five baby orangutans from the Balasore forest, an event that has sparked significant debate regarding international wildlife conservation. These infants, ranging in age from six months to one year, were successfully shifted to the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar for specialized care. The sudden presence of these animals in India is highly unusual because orangutans are endemic exclusively to the Southeast Asian region, specifically the tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. This unexpected appearance strongly points towards international wildlife trafficking, prompting an investigation by a special task force along with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau into the circumstances surrounding their arrival, including the tracking of a suspicious black SUV found in the area. Orangutans are the largest arboreal mammals and the only great apes native to Asia, distinguished from lesser apes like gibbons by the absence of tails. The term "orangutan," derived from the Malay language meaning "men of the forest," reflects their entirely tree-dependent lifestyle, which makes them highly vulnerable to habitat destruction. There are three major species currently classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List: the Tapanuli orangutan, found in northern Sumatra with a population under 800; the Sumatran orangutan, whose numbers have declined by 19% between 2011 and 2023 due to deforestation for palm oil cultivation; and the Bornean orangutan, known for its coarse reddish-orange fur and powerful climbing adaptations. Unlike gorillas or chimpanzees which live in hierarchical social groups led by an alpha male, orangutans are primarily solitary creatures where the strongest bond exists only between a mother and her dependent child, who relies on her completely for the first ten years of life. The historical range of orangutans and their distant relatives once extended across various parts of Asia, including India, but over time they became extinct in those regions while surviving only in Indonesia and Borneo. Today, their survival is critically threatened by deforestation driven by the expansion of palm oil plantations and recent wildfires that have destroyed up to 60% of their habitat in Kalimantan. As important seed dispersers, these primates play a vital role in maintaining the forest ecosystem, yet their future remains precarious without effective conservation measures. In response to the rescue operation, the Indian and Indonesian governments are currently coordinating efforts to return the rescued babies to their native homeland in Indonesia, highlighting the urgent need for stricter enforcement against wildlife trafficking and better protection of these unique primates.

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[music] >> Personally, on 8th of September, the forest department of Odisha rescued five orangutan babies in the Balasore forest of Odisha. So, the sudden appearance of five orangutan babies in the Balasore forest of Odisha sparked lot of debate about the international wildlife conservation. Hi, hello everyone. Welcome to the state of affairs brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy. Today, we are going to talk about the mysterious appearance of orangutan in the Balasore forest. So, this is the orangutan babies that we have rescued from the Balasore forest. And talking about the news, so on 8th of September, we have rescued five orangutan babies which includes three male and two female from the Balasore forest of Odisha. And the babies, they are you know, they are between the age of 6 months and 1 year. And we shifted them to the Nandankanan Zoological Park which is located in Bhubaneswar for better care. And after this, the Odisha special task force along with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, they have started investigation uh into the into the reason behind the sudden appearance of this orangutan. Because we can see that this orangutan primate, this um you know, this great ape is found only in the Southeast Asian region. They are endemic to the Southeast Asian region. But now, we have we are seeing them suddenly, you know, in the Balasore forest. So, this is pointing towards nothing but the possibility of wildlife trafficking, international wildlife trafficking. So, how an endemic species which is is thousands of kilometers away from India suddenly appeared in India. That is the question. And we are suspecting a black SUV found found in this region, and the investigation is going behind the black SUV also. And currently, the Indian government and the Indonesian government, they are coordinating the return of this orangutan babies back to Indonesia. So, talking about orangutan So, we can see that orangutan is one of the most important primates, and they are endemic to the Southeast Asian region. And they are the largest arboreal mammal and the only great ape living in the Asia, native to Asia. They are the only great ape living native to Asia. So, you know, we can see that we can divide the the you know, the apes into lesser apes and greater apes. So, greater apes includes orangutan, bonobo, chimpanzee, gorilla. All this species comes under the category of great apes because they do not have a tail. And then we have lesser apes. For example, we have the gibbon which is found in Southeast Asia. You know, they are classified as you know, lesser apes. And talking about the orangutan, so the term orangutan is taken from the Malay language, which means men of forest because they are arboreal. That means they are living in the forest. Their entire life is depending on tree. So, if the tree is gone, if the habitat is affected, then there is a high risk of losing this you know, species. And the next is the key features. So, the they are found in the tropical rainforest of Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. And we have three major species of this orangutan, and all the three species are classified as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. And they are primarily frugivores. That means they will be, you know, eating the the the fruit is the major part of their diet. And also, they occasionally they will consume leaf, bark, insect, and the honey. And talking about the social behavior, they do not have a hierarchical organized social structure like a gorilla or chimpanzee. Right? So, in the case of gorilla and chimpanzee, we can see they are they have the concept of alpha, the leader of the group. You know, the mostly these monkeys and apes, they they will have a social organization which is hierarchical, and on the top of the hierarchy, they will have a you know, they will have an alpha male, and he will be leading the team. And you know, fights the interspecies struggle, all these things will happen. But in the case of orangutan, they are mostly solitary. And the strong bond in the orangutan is found only between the mother and the dependent child. See, once the orangutan baby is born, until the age of 10, the orangutan baby will be completely depending on the mother. That means this first 10 years are very crucial. If we fail to protect this baby orangutans, then there is high risk of you know, uh losing their life. So, uh the first 10 years is very important in the life of orangutan. And the next, different species of orangutan. So, we have a Tapanuli orangutan which was recognized as a distinct species in 2017. And they are classified as critically endangered, and currently the population is less than 800 individuals. And the distribution, they are found in the north of Sumatra, and especially in the Batang Toru ecosystem of Indonesia. And their distinct features, they have a frizzy hair, so their hair is you know, uh this is how their hair is looking. It is always [clears throat] straight. And they have a flatter face, and they have a beard, and also cheek pads, especially in the male. So, these are the major features of the Tapanuli orangutan. And then we have Sumatran orangutan, scientifically known as Pongo abelii. So, the Pongo indicates the genus. See, this chimpanzee, all this uh cat uh species belongs to the Pongo family only. And we can see that they are found in the northern Sumatra, and they are critically endangered, and their population is currently around 11,000, and between 2011 and 2023, we can see that the The of the Sumatran uh orangutan got declined by 19%. And they are found in the Leuser ecosystem of northern Sumatra. So, Leuser ecosystem is a tropical forest ecosystem that we see in the Indonesia. And they are entirely arboreal. That means their entire life is depending on on the tree. And they mostly consume fruit. So, that means they are important seed dispersers in the forest of Indonesia. And the major threats, so we can see that the orangutan population is facing lot of threats like deforestation, expansion of palm oil. Especially, we know that Southeast Asian region is known for the production of palm oil. But due to the cultivation, the expansion of the palm oil cultivation, you know, we can see that the forest deforestation is happening. And therefore, uh the the life which is depending on the forest, including the life of orangutan, is you know, declining. And the next species is the Bornean orangutan, scientifically known as Pongo pygmaeus. So, we can see that they are endemic to the Borneo. And we can see that they are classified as critically endangered. And the major features, they have a coarse, dark, reddish-orange fur. So, comparing with the the previous two orangutans, they have a very dark, reddish fur. And they have a broad face and short beard. And their adaptation, they are powerful climbers. That means, you know, they their hands, they're especially adopted to adopted for power grip. So, they can easily move from one branch to another branch in the thick tropical forest. And next is the the the sexual dimorphism. So, comparing with the the female, the male are very large and they have prominent cheek pads. So, this is the cheek pad. And also, they have a you know, cheek sack. So, this cheek sack is very important for making loud sound, which is a part of the primate communication. So, these are the three major popular species of orangutans that we can see in the Southeast Asian region. And once upon a time, the orangutan species and their distant relatives lived in different parts of Asia, but over period of time they got extinct. For example, you might have heard about the Ramapithecus. Ramapithecus is considered as a distant ancestor of orangutan and we have discovered the fossil of Ramapithecus in the Shivalik region. So, and also in different parts of China we have found different species of extinct orangutan population and their distant relatives. So, orangutan population was once found across the orangutan and their distant population their distant relatives and ancestors were found across India, but now the population is endemic to the Indonesian and Bornean region. And especially this Kalimantan forest is an important habitat for the orangutan population. And before moving to the Kalimantan, so we recently we saw that you know, there was a huge wildfire in Kalimantan and which destroyed 60% of the orangutan habitat. So, before that we have to you know, we have to discuss the Nandankanan Zoological Park. So, Nandankanan Zoological Park you know, we we transported we shifted the orangutan babies to the Nandankanan Zoological Park for better care. So, it is located in Bhubaneswar in Odisha and the total area of this park is approximately 437 hectares and they are located near Chandaka Forest and Kanjia Lake. And significant they are the first Indian zoo sorry, Indian zoo to become you know, a member of the World Association for Zoo and Aquarium. And the World Aquarium World Association for Zoo and Aquarium was established in the year 1935 and it is headquartered in Spain. It is headquartered in Spain currently. And this park is known for the conservation of white tiger breeding and also the conservation of Indian pangolin. And we can see that it houses nearly 1,500 plus animals including tiger, lion, elephants, chimpanzee and many reptiles. And talking about the key role, so it's a major center for wildlife conservation, rescue, and breeding. And so, regarding the mysterious appearance of orangutan in India, we can see that currently the investigation is going on, but the only possibility behind the sudden appearance of this orangutan babies in the Indian wildlife is nothing but the trafficking. And the investigation is going on. Let's wait for the conclusion from the investigation team. So, I hope you like this video. If you have uh you know, any doubt, please comment in the comment section. We'll meet you in another episode with another interesting topic. And before that, what you think about the orangutan population? And what what is your opinion about the the fault or the loopholes in the international wildlife conservation? With this, we are coming to the conclusion for this topic. I hope you like this video. If you have any doubt, you can let us know in the comment section. And uh you can also give your opinions uh about this uh the recent mysterious appearance of orangutan babies in the Indian forest. And also, before leaving this channel, consider subscribing. And also, hit the bell icon to receive on-time updates from the academy. Thank you for listening to us. Thank you for listening to me. Have a nice day. >> [music]