India, Sept. 9 -- Five juvenile orangutans rescued from Odisha's Balasore district are likely to have spent time around humans, forest officials said.

The animals, three males and two females aged about six to eight months, were found abandoned in a casuarina plantation near the Udayapur-Talsari border on September 9.

Officials suspect the critically endangered apes may have been part of a wildlife-smuggling operation and are checking CCTV footage and possible transit routes.

The orangutans have been sent to Nandankanan Zoological Park for quarantine and rehabilitation, while officials examine steps for repatriation under CITES.

The behaviour of five orangutans rescued from Badapai village in Odisha's Balasore district suggests they h...