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Rescued Male Orangutan Returns From Maharashtra To Indonesia
- •A male orangutan rescued from the illegal wildlife trade in Thane district was repatriated to Indonesia on Monday.
- •This marks the first time a rescued wild animal in India has been successfully returned to its native habitat.
- •The primate had been housed at the Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre since March under Supreme Court committee directives.
- •The orangutan was flown to Jakarta in a private plane from Ahmedabad, accompanied by Indian and Indonesian officials.
- •Authorities previously discovered the animal locked in a bathroom cage in Dombivli before its transfer to Vantara.
Key Questions Answered
The male orangutan was found by authorities inside a locked cage kept in a bathroom at the Palava City housing complex in Dombivli, within Maharashtra's Thane district, during a raid by the Thane Forest Division.
The primate was housed at the Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (GZRRC), which is a Vantara entity, starting in March 2025 following instructions from a Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee.
The five baby orangutans discovered in Odisha's Balasore district were relocated to the Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar for specialized care. The Odisha government constituted a five-member technical committee to oversee their welfare, while Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry coordinated with Indian authorities to verify their origins and arrange repatriation.
