Kolkata: Hours after two injured kangaroos were rescued from near Gajoldoba in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district Friday night, two more were spotted at the Farabari Nepali area in the Dabgram forest range Saturday, sending forest officials into a tizzy.
While one kangaroo was severely injured, the other was found dead, forest officials confirmed. This comes nearly three weeks after two men were arrested trying to smuggle a kangaroo into West Bengal’s Alipurduar district.
Hari Krishnan, divisional forest officer, Baikunthapur, told ThePrint that this was the first time kangaroos had been spotted in this area and that it was “unusual”. A probe has now been initiated to investigate how the animals reached the forests, and from where.
“We got a tip-off and found the kangaroos in an abandoned state on the road leading to the forest. I’ve never seen kangaroos in North Bengal, not even in the zoo or the safari park. The kangaroos were found injured and were taken for treatment,” he said.
The marsupials, native to Australia, are not found in the wild in India.
Both Gajoldoba and Dabdram forest come under the Baikunthapur Forest Division in West Bengal. The injured kangaroos have been taken to the Bengal Safari Park in Siliguri for treatment, officials said.
Located in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri District, Baikunthapur is a lowland forest region on the southern foothills of the Himalayas. This area is popular for the wild elephants and the Gajoldoba reservoir formed by the Teesta River barrage, and is home to several migratory birds. Situated in Jalpaiguri district, it is surrounded by Bangladesh in the south, Nepal in the east, and Bhutan in the north.
‘No eyewitnesses, had prior inputs’
Declining to reveal details of the probe, Hari Krishnan said that the forest department is trying to find out who got these animals to the area. “Unfortunately, there are no eyewitnesses, but we had prior information. We are investigating it closely,” he said.
Meanwhile, the forest division has set up a special team to investigate the matter and find out how the kangaroos reached Jalpaiguri.
Nearly two weeks ago ago, two people were arrested along National Highway 31, close to the West Bengal-Assam border, while trying to smuggle a kangaroo into West Bengal’s Alipurduar district. This was the first incident reported by the state.
Acting on a tip-off, the Kumargram police station inspector in-charge had found a kangaroo in a cage and arrested the two people, who were identified as Zayed Shaikh and Imran Shaikh. Both are residents of Hyderabad and are suspected to have links with animal trafficking.
(Edited by Manoj Ramachandran)
Also read: Online trade in endangered wildlife rises to 74 pc in Myanmar since military coup