A schoolboy named Amrito Biswas (11) has been injured after being bitten by a langur he tried to pet in Abhaynagar, Jashore.

The incident happened on the afternoon of Wednesday, 8 May, in Kodla village, Sreedharpur union, in the upazila.

The injured boy is the son of Samiran Biswas of Kodla village and a class four pupil at Kodla Government Primary School. He was admitted to the upazila health complex bleeding.

"Around 12 noon I heard that a black-faced langur had come to the house of our neighbour Gaffar dadu, and went to see it," Amrito said. "When I got to dadu's house, the langur sitting on the veranda ran up and grabbed my leg. When I stroked its head to pet it, the langur bit me on the chest and ran away."

His father, Samiran Biswas, said: "I was harvesting paddy in the beel. When I got the news, I rescued my son, bleeding, from the neighbour's house. Then, on the advice of the local union member, I took him to the upazila health complex."

Dr Sohana Azmir Urmi of the emergency department at Abhaynagar Upazila Health Complex said the langur bite had left a wound on the boy's chest. After first aid, the process of giving him the vaccine was under way. She added that in the morning another schoolboy, Abid Molla (12) of Purakhali village in the same union, was injured in a langur attack; he too was vaccinated after first aid.

Lablu Hossain, an assistant teacher at Kodla Government Primary School, said a class four pupil had been injured by a langur bite, and after the incident pupils were advised to stay alert around wild animals.

Abhaynagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer KM Abu Naushad said the divisional wildlife protection officer had been informed so that the attacking langur could be caught.

Khulna divisional wildlife protection officer Md Kamruzzaman said wild animals of this kind come into settlements in search of food, and it is best not to go near them. Arrangements were being made to send a representative to Abhaynagar, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.