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View all search resultsTrafficked orangutan repatriated from India
Named Heera, the male orangutan is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Sumatran Rescue Alliance (SRA) in Bukit Mas district, Langkat regency.
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This handout photograph taken on Sept. 8, 2026 and released by the Odisha Forest Department shows orangutans sitting next to bananas upon their rescue by officials at the Ranakatha Protected Reserved Forest in Balasore district, in India's Odisha state. Indian officials rescued five baby orangutans in an eastern forest on Sept. 8, 2026, a state minister said, with authorities suspecting they were trafficked into the country from Southeast Asia. (AFP/Odisha Forest Department)
T
he Forestry Ministry repatriated a Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), aged some 3.5 years and illegally trafficked from Indonesia to India, through Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, on Monday.
Named Heera, the male orangutan is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Sumatran Rescue Alliance (SRA) in Bukit Mas district, Langkat regency.
Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said the repatriation of the trafficked orangutan was not only returning an individual orangutan home but also proof of the government’s commitment to protecting animals that are traded legally abroad.
Raja Juli emphasized that the orangutan’s repatriation reflected the importance of intergovernmental cooperation and various stakeholders in rescuing wildlife animals.
The minister also appreciated the Indian government and all parties who had contributed to the orangutan repatriation process.
“This proves that cross country cooperation provides opportunities for wildlife that fall victims to illegal trafficking to receive treatment and better life,” he said during the orangutan repatriation at the airport on Monday.
“Repatriating the orangutan is one thing but our responsibility doesn’t stop here. We must ensure the repatriated orangutan undergoes the rehabilitation process well.”
