Bhubaneswar, Sep 16 — All five infant orangutans recently rescued from Baleshwar forest division and currently housed at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar appeared normal, healthy and active during a physical examination, said Dr Shashidhar, Assistant Director of Mysuru Zoo, on Wednesday after reviewing the health condition of the primates. However, two of them have turned out to be anaemic.
Dr Shashidhar, who is part of the technical team constituted by the Odisha Government to monitor the health condition and welfare of the baby orangutans, however, informed that two of the five primates were found to be anaemic following an examination of their blood and faecal samples that had been collected for detailed laboratory analysis.
“Upon blood investigation work, we found that one is severely anaemic, while another is moderately anaemic. We have suggested medication and are awaiting the results of several other test reports such as the biochemical test results. Once the reports are available, we will conduct a comprehensive health assessment,” he said.
The expert also noted that the baby orangutans may be under considerable stress as they were separated from their mothers at a very early age.
“Orangutans have a long dependency on their mothers. Since they have been separated too early, they are under tremendous stress, which can make them more prone to infections,” Dr Shashidhar said.
He added that further treatment would be decided after receiving and analysing the laboratory reports. Dr Shashidhar said the young orangutans would require a controlled environment for some time before they could become self-sufficient.
“Orangutans have a long infancy, from zero to three years, followed by a juvenile period from four to seven years. Therefore, they need to be kept under controlled conditions and cared for in an enclosure for a considerable period,” he said.
The Assistant Director of Mysuru Zoo also appreciated the arrangements made by the authorities at Nandankanan Zoo here, saying the facility has temperature and humidity-controlled rooms to provide a suitable environment for the animals. “They are doing well at present,” he added.
On their diet and the duration for which they would require milk or specialised feeding, Dr Shashidhar said the animals would need continued care and appropriate nutrition according to their age and health condition.
It can be recalled that the five infant orangutans were found abandoned in a forest in Odisha, prompting an investigation into how they got there.
Viral videos showed the baby apes sitting together on the forest floor and eating bananas, thousands of kilometres from their natural habitat in the tropical rainforests and without their mothers.
Orangutans are not native to India and the critically endangered primates are found in the wild in Indonesia and Malaysia.
The orangutans were rescued from Balasore district after local people spotted them and alerted forest officials.