Assam: 13 smuggled primates, including guenons and macaques, rescued in Cachar

On September 27, two baby Orangutans, suspected to be smuggled from Indonesia, were rescued in Cachar

Forest officials in Assam have rescued 13 exotic animals, some believed to be Moor macaques and guenon, from Cachar district near the Mizoram border. The animals were found caged in three boxes in a tea garden on wee hours of Tuesday.

A rescued guenon in Assam’s Cachar on Tuesday.

Cachar divisional forest officer (DFO) Tejas Mariswami said that the animals were not native to India, so they must have been smuggled from across the border.

“Our team is trying to identify the species but in the initial investigation it has been found that these are Moor macaques and Guenon species, which are not found in India,” he said.

The forest official who rescued them said that locals initially found them in the Derby tea garden and informed the forest department.

“There were four boxes but one was empty. We collected 13 primates caged in three boxes from the tea garden manager’s bungalow. We are sending them to Guwahati zoo,” an official said.

Last week, over 140 different smuggled animals were rescued in Mizoram. Assam police officials have in the past arrested several smugglers and rescued many exotic animals, including birds and reptiles.

On September 27, two baby Orangutans, suspected to be smuggled from Indonesia, were rescued in Cachar.

Cachar superintendent of police Numal Mahatta said the price of each exotic animal can go up to ₹40 crore in international markets.