An endangered slow loris has been rescued from a settlement in Patiya upazila of Chattogram. A local family had been keeping it in order to sell it. Acting on a tip, Wildlife Rescue Team Bangladesh rescued the animal with the help of the Forest Department on the morning of Wednesday, 26 August, in the Baidyapara area of Haidgaon union.

Local residents said the loris was caught by a family in Baidyapara on Tuesday night, and they kept it to sell. When word got around, Wildlife Rescue Team Bangladesh was informed. On Wednesday morning its members went to the spot with forest officials and recovered the animal.

Naim Uddin Bijoy, founder of Wildlife Rescue Team Bangladesh, said the slow loris is an endangered wild species and protecting it is everyone's responsibility. He urged people not to catch or sell any wild animal that enters a settlement but to inform the authorities.

Emdadul Haque, range officer of the Patiya range of the Chattogram South Forest Division, said the rescued loris would be given first aid and nursed back to health. Once it is fit to return to nature, it will be released in a suitable habitat.

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