Baby orangutans in India expose ‘frightening’ scale of trafficking

Experts warn of a growing multimillion-dollar trade in endangered animals to feed demand among wealthy Indians seeking exotic status symbols to flaunt on social media. | REUTERS

AFP-Jiji

Sep 20, 2026

New Delhi – Five baby orangutans abandoned in an Indian forest have exposed a “massive” exotic wildlife trade, with traffickers smuggling increasingly rare species into the country, experts say.

They warn of a growing multimillion-dollar trade in endangered animals, including apes smuggled through war-torn Myanmar to feed demand among wealthy Indians seeking exotic status symbols to flaunt on social media.

“There have been several instances of exotic wild animals being found or seized across the country, said Sumanth Bindumadhav of Humane World for Animals India. “The scale is massive.”

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