Pangolin rescued in Kishoreganj
A pangolin was rescued from Bhairab upazila of Kishoreganj on Thursday afternoon.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of police from Bhairab Police Station raided Natal intersection area and rescued it from the possession of Babla Sarker and Ripon Mia, said Mohammad Shahin, officer-in-charge of the police station.
Babla and Ripon caught the animal from Lawachhara Reserve Forest in Moulvibazar and were planning to take it to the capital for selling, he added. During the drive, the police team, led by Sub-inspector Masudur Rahman, also arrested the duo, said the OC.
On information, Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Bhairab Lubna Farzana rushed to the spot and took the pangolin and the detainees to her office. Farzana, also an executive magistrate, conducted a mobile court there and fined the duo Tk 20,000.
The pangolin was handed over to the officials of Wildlife Crime Control Unit of Bangladesh Forest Department yesterday morning.
‘BON RUI’
Although at first glance, a pangolin may look like a reptile, it is actually a mammal. These mammals are covered in large, hardened overlapping scales with ridges. The keratin scales make up a hard shell of sorts, making the animal resemble a rui fish. Because of this resemblance, many locals call Pangolins, Bon Rui.
They are nocturnal creatures, preferring to sleep the day away.
According to experts, these animals do not harm people. They live deep in the forests of Sylhet, the Sundarbans and Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Pangolins have been declared protected under the Wildlife Act of 1974.
However, the mammal is being caught and killed indiscriminately as parts of it are used for making traditional medicine or totka, said experts.
Dr M Monirul H Khan of Zoology Department at Jahangirnagar University, said the traditional medicines they are used for are not backed by any scientific fact. These are actually a technique to prey on people who may not know the facts, he added.
Pangolin is currently listed as vulnerable by the International Nature and Natural Resources Conservation Association.
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