Rare animals seized in Bandarban

A pair of long-tailed binturong, a critically endangered mamal species, was seized from the house of an indigenous family in Bandarban town on Tuesday morning.

The arboreal animals of civet family were kept at the local deputy commissioner's bungalow.

The binturong seizure comes weeks after a Loris was found and transferred to Meghla mini zoo in the district.

The deputy collector of Bandarban, Kazi Abed Hossain, told to The Daily Star that a indigenous man collected them from Baghmara Nachalangpara.

On Tuesday, the 18-inch long and nine-inch high animals with 18-inch long tails seemed gentle. They were eating banana and chopped meat.

Wildlife expert Anisuzzaman Khan told The Daily Star that binturongs are found largely in the bamboo forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Teknaf in Bangladesh.

He appealed to the authorities concerned to reintroduce the binturongs as well as the slow loris.

Binturongs, found mainly in the tropical and sub-tropical forests of Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Palaway Island, Burma, Indochina, Sumatra, Bangka, Java, Borneo, and in Nepal, are good swimmers and very playful.

They are known to leap five feet into the air and kill animals by leaping on them.

Although mostly nocturnal, the binturong sometimes comes out and can be seen sunning itself stretched out on a branch.

They usually eat moving prey and fruit. Carrion, rodents, eggs, birds, bananas, melon, grapes, apples, oranges, carrots and cooked sweet potatoes are their favourite food.