3 kangaroos rescued in Bengal, 1 found dead; probe on

The animals were rescued from two separate locations in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Friday, forest department officials have said.

Three kangaroos were rescued from two separate locations in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Friday, forest department officials said on Saturday. Authorities are investigating how the animals were brought into the country.

3 kangaroos rescued in Bengal, 1 found dead; probe on

While two kangaroos were rescued from Gajoldoba, a tourist destination near Siliguri, the third was found in Farabari, around 40km away, said a forest official familiar with the matter. The carcass of a fourth kangaroo was found by residents near Farabari on Saturday.

“All three are subadults and are in very poor health. They were rescued and sent to the state-run North Bengal Wild Animal Park for treatment,” said Debal Roy, the state’s chief wildlife warden. “Earlier this month, we had rescued one kangaroo from Alipurduar district in north Bengal.”

“We had information that kangaroos would be trafficked. Later, the kangaroos were found on the road. They were probably dumped by the traffickers. An investigation has started. None have been arrested so far,” said a forest official asking not to be named.

“We have initiated further investigation for ascertaining the whereabouts of these kangaroos, how and by whom they were brought into the forest, along with finding the cause behind bringing them,” said forest ranger Sanjay Dutta of the Belacoba range, under Baikunthupur forest division.

Speaking about last month’s rescue of a kangaroo in Alipurduar, an official who did not want to be named said police had stopped a truck at the Barobisha police outpost on the Assam-Bengal border and found the animal in a small cage in the truck. The driver and one more person travelling in the truck were arrested.

Documents seized by the forest department from the accused showed two animals were being taken to a zoo in Indore.

“We, however, found one animal. It may have been that another animal had died on its way and the traffickers had dumped its body somewhere. The animal was later sent to Alipore Zoo in Kolkata. The case is still going on,” said the forest official.