A langur (hanuman) has travelled from Jashore to Mongla on a tourist bus. At about 6.15am on Saturday 8 October, the langur climbed down from the roof of the bus and began wandering around the Picnic Corner at Mongla port. Visitors, people from nearby shops and passers-by crowded around to see it.

The Forest Department has informed the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division in Khulna so that the langur can be rescued and sent back to Jashore.

Ahsan Habib Hasan, a local journalist, said he went to the Picnic Corner in the port area early on Saturday on business. "I saw a tourist bus from Jashore stop at the Picnic Corner. Then a langur jumped down from the roof of the bus. I bought a few bananas and fed it. The tourists, driver and helper of the bus, which had come for a Sundarbans trip, did not know there was a langur on the roof," he said.

He said he had informed the Forest Department so the langur could be returned to its habitat, and they would rescue it and take the necessary steps.

Azad Kabir, officer in charge of the Karamjal tourism and wildlife breeding centre of the Sundarbans East Forest Division, told Jagonews24 that on hearing a langur had come to Mongla from Jashore, the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division in Khulna had been informed. It will be rescued by their skilled staff and sent back where it belongs, because it is at risk of harm if it stays here, he said.

Mihir Kumar, conservator of forests for the Khulna region, said that for now everyone must make sure people do not disturb the langur in any way. "We are arranging to rescue it and send it to its habitat," he said.

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