A gondhogokul (palm civet) has been released into bushes beside the Forest Department office in the Bhadoi area on the outskirts of Habiganj town.

The nearly extinct animal was released on Monday 28 August. Children and people of all ages gathered to see it. Earlier, Forest Department staff had rescued the civet from the house of Mowdud Ahmed Thakur in Digantapara in the town.

The rescue and release were led by Tofayel Ahmed Chowdhury, acting range officer of the Habiganj Sadar wildlife management and nature conservation division. Ziaul Haque Raju was also present.

Acting range officer Tofayel Ahmed Chowdhury said the animal actually lives in forests and is not a creature of the plains. It is also now close to extinction and is rarely seen anywhere. Yet it was found in a house in the town, and how it got there could not be established. "We rescued the animal after getting the news," he said.

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