Villagers from Binuwapur Tinali under Kumarikata forest range office in Assam’s Baksa district near the Indo-Bhutan border rescued a rare species of Chinese pangolin on Saturday night.
The pangolin was caught with fishing net by a villager when he saw it on the bank of his pond.
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In the morning on Sunday, the villager informed the forest officials of the Kumarikata forest range office in the district about the catch.
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A large number of villagers thronged in the morning on Sunday to have a glimpse of the pangolin which weighed 12-13 kg.
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Many of the villagers had photographs of the pangolin and also touched it.
According to information, after being intimated, a team from the Kumarikata forest range office reached the village at around 8.30 am and took the animal into their custody.
Also read: Pangolin poaching for scales rampant in Assam
The pangolin underwent a check-up by the veterinarian of the forest department.
The forest team later safely released the rescued pangolin in the Dihira Reserved Forest in presence of forest officials and locals.
The Manas Sousi Khongkhor Ecotourism Society on its official Facebook page on June 17, 2017 posted that a Chinese pangolin (Manis Pentadactyla) was seen in Dihira Reserve Forest.
“The IUCN reports that the number of Chinese pangolins has declined greatly over the past 15 years,” it stated.
“Despite being listed critically endangered by the IUCN and being protected by CITES, poaching continues to be the main cause of their decline in numbers. Deforestation has also contributed to their depletion,” the Society said on its post.
However, the rescue of the rare animal by the villagers and its safe release in the forest has encouraged the environmentalists at a time when the animal falls prey to poachers for its costly skin.