One baby orangutan develops fever at Odisha's Nandankanan Zoo

The brief

Context

Five baby orangutans — a species not native to India — were rescued on September 8 from Bichitrapur forest in Bhograi block of Balasore district, Odisha, and moved the same night to the quarantine facility of Nandankanan Zoological Park near Bhubaneswar. One of them has been running a fever that subsides with medicine and returns, keeping zoo veterinarians on alert. The Odisha government has set up a five-member technical committee to guide their welfare, while the Odisha Police Special Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau probe alleged international wildlife smuggling linked to the case.

Key facts

• Five baby orangutans were rescued from Bichitrapur forest in Bhograi block, Balasore district, on September 8 and housed at Nandankanan Zoo's quarantine facility the same night.
• One of the five has shown high body temperature since Sunday, September 13, 2026; a senior official said the fever subsides with medicine but reappears, and the animal is now stable.
• The other four orangutans are healthy and responding normally, officials said.
• The zoo's quarantine enclosure has become relatively crowded after the arrival of 58 new animals; separate arrangements and special mosquito nets in a temperature-controlled room were made for the orangutans.
• The Odisha government has formed a five-member technical committee to oversee the care and upkeep of the rescued orangutans, with power to co-opt national and international experts.
• Chief Wildlife Warden and PCCF (Wildlife) P.K. Jha said three caretakers and doctors are engaged round-the-clock; he said he had no information about one baby suffering from fever.
• As per an expert dietary chart, the babies are fed milk every two hours, plus apple and banana fluids and boiled potatoes at regular intervals.
• Aditya Acharya, head of the Centre for Wildlife Health at OUAT, said orangutans with high temperature are given paracetamol-based medication, as in humans, and less food than normal.

Timeline

1. September 8Five baby orangutans rescued from Bichitrapur forest, Bhograi block, Balasore district; shifted to Nandankanan Zoo quarantine the same night.
2. Sunday, September 13, 2026One of the five babies begins showing high body temperature and is put on medication under round-the-clock veterinary watch.
3. Before/around this periodQuarantine enclosure becomes crowded with 58 new animals; separate arrangements and mosquito nets set up for the orangutans.
4. September 14, 2026 (report date)Odisha forms a five-member technical committee; STF and WCCB intensify probe into alleged international wildlife smuggling.

Who has a stake

• Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar — Custodian of the five rescued orangutans; must manage quarantine, veterinary care and a crowded enclosure holding 58 newly arrived animals.
• The five baby orangutans — Survival and acclimatisation; one is battling recurring fever, and the species normally lives in a rainforest environment.
• Odisha Forest Department / Chief Wildlife Warden P.K. Jha — Responsible for round-the-clock caretakers, doctors and welfare compliance for a non-native species.
• Five-member technical committee — Must assess welfare and upkeep issues and provide technical inputs, consulting national and international experts as needed.
• OUAT Centre for Wildlife Health (Aditya Acharya) — Provides expert guidance on monitoring high body temperature and medication protocols for orangutans.
• Odisha Police STF and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau — Investigating the alleged international wildlife smuggling network behind the presence of orangutans in Odisha.

Why it matters

The presence of five baby orangutans — a species not native to India — in a coastal Odisha forest points to an international wildlife smuggling route, now under STF and WCCB investigation. Their survival in captivity tests India's capacity for specialised veterinary care of exotic rescued primates, from temperature-controlled quarantine to expert dietary charts and stress management.