A pangolin, an endangered species, has been rescued from a government building in Naupada district, Odisha. Wildlife traffickers had allegedly concealed the animal there while seeking a buyer. This information was confirmed by a forest official from Chhattisgarh on Monday.
“We received confidential information that a pangolin had been captured and was being kept for sale. The suspects were looking for a buyer and in the interim, were using a structure built for an irrigation project as a safe house to hide their catch. The hunters who caught the pangolin are still on the run.
Officials said the pangolin, weighing about 7kg, had been caught on August 9. A case has been registered under various provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Varun Jain, deputy director of Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve, said the rescue operation was carried out by a joint team of the tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh and Khariar forest division in Odisha. Our teams immediately coordinated with the Khariar forest division and conducted the operation,” Jain said.
