"India-Indonesia Coordinate Repatriation of Trafficked Orangutans Found in Odisha"
CITES Appendix I
The highest protection tier under CITES; bans all commercial international trade in listed species.
IUCN Red List
A global inventory of species' conservation status, ranging from Least Concern to Extinct.
Orangutans are Asia's only great apes and the world's largest tree-dwelling mammals. They live exclusively in the tropical rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. Unlike gorillas or chimpanzees, which are African species, orangutans are the only great apes found outside Africa. They are largely solitary and spend almost their entire lives in the forest canopy. One of their most distinctive traits is tool use: orangutans use sticks to scrape insects from holes in tree bark, placing them among the most cognitively advanced non-human primates. This intelligence, combined with their striking appearance, makes infant orangutans highly sought after in the illegal exotic-pet trade. Every trafficked juvenile typically represents at least one adult death in the wild, because poachers kill the mother to capture the infant.
All three recognised species, the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), and the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Habitat destruction through deforestation, palm oil expansion, and illegal logging has dramatically reduced their populations. Poaching for the pet trade compounds this crisis. India is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Orangutans are listed under CITES Appendix I, which bans all commercial international trade in the species. Domestically, India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (WPA) prohibits the possession, trade, and transport of such species. The 2022 amendment to the WPA strengthened penalties and formally aligned domestic law with CITES obligations. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), is the central enforcement agency for wildlife crime in India.
CITES operates through a system of three appendices. Appendix I covers species threatened with extinction; commercial trade is prohibited. Appendix II covers species not yet threatened but potentially so if trade is unregulated; trade requires export permits. Appendix III covers species protected in at least one country that has requested CITES assistance. Each member country designates a Management Authority and a Scientific Authority to implement the convention. In India, the Director General of Forests under MoEFCC serves as the CITES Management Authority. When a CITES Appendix I species is found in a country where it does not naturally occur, the convention's framework requires government-to-government coordination for repatriation, supported by DNA verification to establish species identity and geographic origin.
The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is India's primary domestic legislation for wildlife conservation. It schedules species into six categories based on protection level. Species in Schedule I receive the highest protection, with the most severe penalties for poaching or trade. …
Which one of the following makes a tool with a stick to scrape insects from a hole in a tree or a log of wood?
Which one of the following makes a tool with a stick to scrape insects from a hole in a tree or a log of wood?
Consider the following statements regarding orangutans:
1.They are the only great apes found outside Africa.
2.All three recognised species are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
3.They are listed under CITES Appendix II, which regulates but does not prohibit commercial trade.
4.They are known to use sticks as tools to extract insects from tree bark.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Consider the following statements regarding the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (WPA) and its 2022 amendment:
1.The 2022 amendment introduced new schedules aligned with CITES appendices.
2.The amendment expanded the definition of wildlife crime to include online and digital trade.
3.Under the WPA, the possession of a Schedule I species requires a permit from the state government.
4.The 2022 amendment increased financial penalties for wildlife offences.
How many of the above statements are correct?
With reference to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) of India, consider the following statements:
1.It is a statutory body established under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
2.It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
3.It coordinates with international agencies such as INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization.
4.It serves as India's designated CITES Management Authority.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Species : CITES Appendix
1.Orangutan : Appendix I
2.Tiger : Appendix I
3.Saltwater Crocodile : Appendix II
4.Queen Conch (marine mollusc) : Appendix III
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Which of the following correctly describes the role of DNA forensics in transnational wildlife trafficking investigations?
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