An endangered masked palm civet, also called the Himalayan civet, has been beaten to death in Kamalchhari union of Khagrachhari Sadar upazila. After a video of the dead animal spread on social media, Forest Department officials visited the Kamalchhari Natun Para area on Sunday morning.
Md Anwar Hossain, range officer of the Bijitala range, said the animal was killed last Thursday and that his team learnt of it from the video. They questioned several local people to identify those responsible but did not find anyone directly involved in the killing, and talked to residents about preventing it happening again.
The range officer said the masked palm civet is a rare animal and a protected species under Bangladesh's wildlife law.
Wildlife researchers quoted in the report say the species is known locally as gandhagokul, baghdash or khatash, and is called the masked civet for the mask-like markings on its face. Nocturnal and shy, it lives in the branches at night, eating fruit and hunting rats and birds.
It is found in the evergreen forests of Bhutan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and other countries, and researchers say it plays a large part in keeping forest ecosystems and biodiversity healthy.
The report was filed by Prothom Alo's Khagrachhari correspondent.
Photo: Rejaul karim.rk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Prothom Alo
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