A study found that poachers consistently targeted “charismatic,” and high-value species, such as macaws at unsustainable rates.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
Some 2,000 km away from their natural habitat in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra, five listless baby orangutans were found, bafflingly, in a forest in the middle of Odisha on Tuesday. Videos that were shared widely, showed the critically endangered apes, each around a year old, with limited mobility, huddled together, chomping on bananas from a container. And then more videos emerged of the group being bottle-fed in a Bhubaneswar Zoo where they are now being monitored.
Jose Louies, CEO of the Wildlife Trust of India, said that it is clear that these animals had been kept in captivity for while, because of their complete lack of fear of humans. CITES prohibits the commercial trade in orangutans but these animals are routinely sold as exotic pets, and can cost upto Rs. 20 lakh.
Published – September 11, 2026 08:00 am IST
