Patanjali Civil Services Academy

Orangutans Spotted in Odisha

Tags: Prelims Current events of national and international importance

Source: The Indian Express

Context: Five juvenile orangutans were rescued from a forest in Balasore, Odisha, raising suspicion of an international wildlife-smuggling network because orangutans are not native to India.
Orangutans: Asia’s only great apes and among the largest arboreal (tree-dwelling) mammals.
Natural distribution: Rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia.
Species:3 species—Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans.
IUCN status: All three species are Critically Endangered (CR).
Habitat: Tropical rainforests; predominantly arboreal.
Odisha incident: Five juveniles found in Balasore district; authorities suspect human-induced transport/smuggling, as there is no natural habitat/corridor connecting Odisha with orangutan populations.
Investigation: Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) is expected to investigate the suspected trafficking.
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau: A statutory multi-disciplinary body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, established under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Tapanuli orangutan is the most recently recognised orangutan species and is found only in North Sumatra, Indonesia.
India has no naturally occurring orangutan population; its native great ape is the hoolock gibbon, India’s only ape species.

Q1. With reference to orangutans and their occurrence in India, consider the following statements:

All currently recognised species of orangutans are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Orangutans are naturally distributed across both mainland Southeast Asia and the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
The Tapanuli orangutan has a more restricted natural distribution than the Bornean and Sumatran orangutans.
India does not have a naturally occurring population of orangutans.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

A. 1 only
B. 1, 3 and 4 only
C. 2 and 3 only
D. 1 and 4 only

Answer: B

Explanation:

1 is correct: Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans are all Critically Endangered.
2 is incorrect: Orangutans are naturally restricted to Borneo and Sumatra, rather than mainland Southeast Asia.
3 is correct: The Tapanuli orangutan occurs only in a restricted area of North Sumatra, Indonesia.
4 is correct: India has no natural orangutan population.