A temperature-contr­olled quarantine facility, round-the-clock monitoring, bananas and apples every two hours, and plenty of toys and slings — the Nandankanan Zoo in Bhubaneswar is leaving no stone unturned to care for five unexpected guests.

On Tuesday, five baby orangutans were rescued from a forest in the state’s Balasore district, raising concerns that a global smuggling ring may be involved since the animals are not native to Odisha.

Later that evening, the five were brought to Nandankanan Zoological Park. Pradeep Mirase, the zoo’s deputy director, said the animals — three males and two females — underwent health check-ups and were taken to a quarantine centre.

“Three animal keepers and a special veterinary team have been assigned to take care of them, and we are also monitoring them through CCTV. As one of them had a fever, authorities administered medication. They are stable now. Our focus is to stabilise them, following which we would conduct some tests,” Mirase told .

Ensuring the right nourishment for the new guests is another priority for zoo authorities. A special diet chart has been prepared in consultation with Mysore Zoo, home to three orangutans and with valuable experience caring for the species.

“They are being fed every two hours as per a diet chart. As two of them are very young, the animal keepers are feeding them mashed potatoes and mashed apples. The others are eating bananas and apples. We are also feeding them milk,” said a senior zoo official.

Unusual sighting in an Odisha forest: 5 baby orangutans

“We have rescued 5 baby orangutans and brought them to the forest office. 4 of the 5 babies are healthy. Veterinary doctors are examining and treating them”: Balasore Divisional Forest Officer Pratik Prakash Indalkar told… pic.twitter.com/P2emXEKOGI

Humans and orangutans share approximately 97 per cent of their DNA, and the animals are responding well to the care being provided by the animal keepers, the official said.

To keep them engaged in the quarantine facility, zoo officials have arranged toys and slings. And since orangutans are social animals, zoo officials said they appear to enjoy staying together as a group.

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Officials are working closely with the Wildlife Institute of India to keep the animals comfortable. As per protocol, the animals will be kept in quarantine for nearly 30 days, during which their health will be monitored, and they will be assessed for any underlying diseases.

The zoo’s deputy director said they suspect the animals are from Borneo, an island in Southeast Asia. “To determine their exact species and evaluate phenotypic characters like physical and observable traits, more analysis is required,” said Mirase.

Scientists generally rely on a combination of visual dichotomous keys, morphological measurements and modern genetic analysis to determine the exact species. “If it’s required, it will be done at a later stage, after due approval from the authorities concerned,” he said.

Asked if the animals will be kept at Nandankanan after the quarantine period ends, Mirase said no decision had been taken so far. “Once they stabilise, we will seek approval from the central zoo authorities to keep them here. If allowed, we will do the enrichment for them and hope they will acclimatise to the conditions here,” he said.

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Nandankanan Zoo had an orangutan named Binny, which died in February 2019 at the age of 41 from respiratory issues. It was, at the time, the country’s only orangutan and had been brought from Pune in 2003. Prior to Pune, it was in Singapore.

Orangutans live for an average of up to 40 years in the wild, while they can reach 50 to 55 years in captivity, according to forest officials.

Meanwhile, the Special Task Force of the Odisha police is revisiting old orangutan smuggling cases as it intensifies its probe to determine whether an organised trafficking racket is involved.

“We are analysing similar cases and contacting teams that looked into them. We are currently gathering data and carrying out local inquiries,” DIG K V Singh told .