Bhubaneswar: Forest minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia on Wednesday said govt would take steps to keep the five rescued orangutans permanently at Nandankanan Zoological Park, where the critically endangered great apes are currently lodged in a quarantine facility after being brought from Balasore on Tuesday night. “All due care is being taken by expert veterinarians at the zoo. Orangutans are rare animals and we will try to keep them in Nandankanan for visitors to see them although a probe is underway by STF and WCCB,” Singhkhuntia said.The five orangutans, all less than a year old, were rescued from a casuarina forest near Badapai under Bhogarai block in Balasore district. The animals were first spotted by local residents early Tuesday morning hanging from tree branches deep inside the forest, around 40 km from the Balasore-Kolkata stretch of NH-16.Initially mistaken for an unusual species of monkeys, forest officials identified those as orangutans when they went to the spot on being informed by villagers. Officials suspect the animals were abandoned by wildlife traffickers fearing arrest. The state govt believes the orangutans may have entered Odisha through an international trans-oceanic wildlife trafficking network.On Wednesday, the wildlife wing of the forest department wrote to the director general of forests highlighting that there is no wild population of orangutans anywhere in India. The letter noted that the species is non-indigenous to the country and is protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, while also being listed in appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).“As the species is listed under Appendix I of CITES and there is no wild population anywhere in India or neighbouring countries, the possibility of involvement of an inter-state or international wildlife trafficking conglomerate is suspected,” the letter from Prem Kumar Jha, PCCF, wildlife stated while seeking assistance and guidance from WCCB and other enforcement agencies.DFO (Balasore) Prateek Indalkar said orangutans are arboreal great apes native to tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra and are dependent on humid, dense forest habitats with adequate tree cover and natural food sources, particularly fruits.