Odisha Police's STF and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are investigating the rescue of five baby orangutans in Balasore, suspecting an international wildlife trafficking network. The probe focuses on a black SUV seen near the rescue site and potential routes from West Bengal, with officials believing the animals were trafficked from Southeast Asia. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has called for stringent action against those involved.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has conducted a nationwide crackdown on wildlife trafficking, seizing over 440 endangered animals and 15 kg of ivory, and arresting 33 individuals involved in organised crime syndicates.
Four rhinoceros have been brutally killed by poachers in flood-hit Kaziranga National Park (KNP) since Tuesday, including one on Thursday, prompting an alarmed Assam government to ask for a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into it and post army in the fringe areas.
'With just 2.4 per cent of global landmass, India houses six to eight per cent of planetary biodiversity and hence is a prime target of wildlife criminals.'
