Critically endangered Pangolin rescued

harkhand forest officials have rescued a critically endangered Pangolin, protected under schedule-1 of wildlife protection Act, 1972, from a Ranchi village

Jharkhand forest officials have rescued a critically endangered Pangolin, protected under schedule-1 of wildlife protection Act, 1972, from a Ranchi village.

Rescued Pangolin at Ranchi zoo (HT Photo)

The fully-grown Pangolin, known as Bajrakit in local language, was sent to Ranchi zoo for its care.

This is the second incident of a Pangolin rescue from Ranchi. The first one had been rescued in 2013 but the species could not survive due to heavy injury.

“We rescued the species from Lapra village in Ranchi’s McCluskieganj area. People from Birhor community caught it at the periphery of Burmu forest,” said forest ranger Biswanath Prasad, adding, “Pangolin is considered to be one of the rarest animals in the world.”

Once found in abundance, the population of Pangolin has dwindled fast across India due to its large scale poaching.

“The species is poached mainly for its meat, scales and skins. Several communities in Jharkhand eat the meat of Pangolin and they sell its scales in lthe ocal market. The scales are used to make rings and charms, while the skin is used for manufacture of leather goods,” said DS Srivastava, state wildlife board member. He said the pangolins are also valued as source of medicine in international market.

Kumar said, the central zoo authority has a special focus on increasing the population of Pangolin in India.

“A government sponsored breeding centre has been set up at Nandan Kanan zoo in Odisha to conserve Pangolin.