Guwahati, Sept. 9 -- Five young orangutans have been rescued from a casuarina plantation in Odisha's Balasore district, prompting a probe into how the endangered animals, which are not native to India, reached the area.

The orangutans were found in the Udayapur section of the Jaleswar Range in the Udayapur-Talsari forest area during routine patrolling on September 8. The Odisha Forest Department subsequently shifted them to Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar for medical examination and quarantine.

Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) Prakash Chand Gogineni said all five animals had been rescued, comprising three males and two females. They are aged between six months and one year and did not appear to have suffered injur...