Three African lemurs have been stolen from Gazipur Safari Park, and a case has been filed with Sreepur police station.

The theft comes a few months after two macaws were stolen, and the string of thefts has raised questions about security at the safari park.

The park authorities said two young lemurs and one adult were stolen on the night of 22 March. A general diary (GD) was filed with the police, but no action or progress has been seen yet, they said.

On 6 August 2018, the Customs Intelligence department and Dhaka Custom House rescued 202 pairs of endangered birds and wild animals, including lovebirds, cockatoos, macaws, peacocks and two lemurs, while they were being smuggled through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The rescued animals were later handed to the safari park through the Wildlife Crime Control Unit. The lemur pair gave birth for the first time in the park. After one lemur died in 2022, three remained. With these three stolen, the enclosure is now completely empty.

The Forest Department says that after the theft there are no lemurs left anywhere in the country. Park officials said various kinds of mismanagement have prevailed at the park since 5 August. Some Forest Department staff are suspected of involvement in the string of thefts of valuable animals, but senior authorities have not yet held anyone to account.

Two macaws were stolen last November, and a nilgai went missing on 16 January this year.

Sharmin Akter, divisional forest officer of the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, said three lemurs had been stolen from the park, the matter is being investigated and a case has been filed with the police.

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