Forest officials and police rescued three kangaroos from Jalpaiguri in northern Bengal on Friday before being smuggled by wildlife traffickers. On Saturday locals found the body of a single kangaroo near Siliguri.
“All three were elderly and in poor health. They were rescued and taken to a government facility in North Bengal province itself to Wild Animal Park for treatment. Earlier this month we saved one kangaroo in the Alipurduar region north of Bengal, ”said wildlife manager Debal Roy serving in West Bengal.
On Friday, two kangaroos were rescued from Gajoldoba, a tourist area in Jalpaiguri district, near Siliguri, and another rescued from Farabari, 25 miles [40 km] away, and from Jalpaiguri district near Siliguri. On Saturday morning the locals saw the body of another kangaroo and reported it to the forest department.
“We knew that kangaroos would be smuggled. Naka’s tests were performed correctly. Later kangaroos were found on the road. Traders are probably lost. Investigation has begun. No arrests have been made yet, ”said a forest official.
Earlier this month a kangaroo was rescued in the Alipurduar region. A challan taken from the forest department by the suspects showed that the two animals were being taken to a zoo in Indore.
Police stationed a truck at the Barobisha police station on the Assam-Bengal border and found the animal in a small cage on the truck. A truck driver and one passenger were arrested.
“However we found one animal. Another animal may have died along the way, and merchants would have thrown its body somewhere. The animal was later sent to Alipore Zoo in Kolkata. The case is still ongoing, ”said a forester.