Rescued nilgai finds mate
A rescued male nilgai is getting a companion and a new home at Ramsagar National Park in Dinajpur on Friday.
A team of forest department officials from the park reached Rajshahi yesterday to take the male antelope to Dinajpur where its female counterpart has been living alone since last September, said forest department officials.
The animal was believed to be extinct in Bangladesh, but the male Nilgai was rescued by local administration in Naogaon on January 22 while the female one was rescued from Thakurgaon in September 5 last year.
Since its rescue, the male nilgai has been undergoing treatment under veterinary experts of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) at the wildlife rescue centre of the forest department in Rajshahi.
After three weeks of successful treatment, RCC Mayor AHM Khairuzzman Liton formally handed over the nilgai to forest department officials.
Mayor Liton visited the nilgai and awarded Tk 1000 each to eight forest department employees who looked after the rare species.
Talking to journalists, the mayor called upon the people to show some love toward the wild animals.
“I want people to never injure any wild animal, wherever it is found,” he said, adding that local people in Naogaon had injured the nilgai while trying to catch it.
He said he himself looked after the nilgai by visiting the rescue centre almost daily.
The mayor also called upon forest officials to initiate an in-depth investigation against wildlife smuggling. He said the incidents of rescuing both animals might have been related to smuggling.
“These animals fear humans. It is hard to believe these two nilgais came to our country from India by accident, unless somebody brought them with ulterior motive.”
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