One of the five baby orangutans quarantined at Odisha’s Nandankanan Zoological Park since September 8 has developed fever, prompting authorities to remain on alert over the health condition of the animals, which are not native to India, officials said on Monday.
The infant has been running a high temperature since Sunday and is being administered medicines to control the fever, they said.
Veterinarians are closely monitoring its condition and providing round-the-clock care, an official said.
“One of the orangutans has had a fever since the day it was brought here. The fever subsides after medication but reappears. It is, however, stable and under strict medical supervision,” a senior official of the zoo said.
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The other four infant orangutans are healthy and responding normally, officials said.
Niranjan Sahoo, former director of the Centre for Wildlife Health at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), said the cause of the fever will need to be established to assess the risk to the other animals.
“If it is infectious, it could potentially spread to another orangutan infant. But if it is non-infectious and related to stress, the situation could be different,” Sahoo said.
The infants were brought to Nandankanan only a few days ago after being rescued from a casuarina forest in Balasore district.
Sahoo said the stress of being transported from a distant location, particularly in an animal that was already weak or had low immunity, could also contribute to fever.
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He said veterinarians would need to assess several factors, including how high the temperature is, whether the fever remains constant or comes down intermittently after medication and the animal’s overall condition.
“Another major question is how much colostrum, the mother’s first milk, these infants received initially, or whether they received it at all as colostrum helps in building immunity,” Sahoo said.