Liton Mia, a battery-run autorickshaw driver from Kushariya village in Sandhanpur union of Tangail's Ghatail upazila, has set a rare example of love between people and animals. Responding to his affection, a porcupine, a wild animal now close to extinction, has become tame. It wanders freely around the neighbourhood day and night and runs about the house. Whenever Liton calls "Pagla", it comes running to him.

About 11 months ago, during Ramadan, Liton found the baby porcupine on the Ghatail–Sagardighi road and brought it home to Kushariya. He has raised it with great care ever since, and the animal now lives like a member of his family.

At Liton's home the porcupine was seen running from one end of the yard to the other. If anyone blocks its way, it raises the quills all over its body; it enjoys being stroked. Every day at noon and in the afternoon it comes out of its burrow and roams around the house. Liton has named the wild porcupine he found "Pagla".

Manik and many others in the village said it is remarkable that a porcupine has become tame. The animal is not supposed to become tame among people; it usually hides in holes in the hills. They said they were charmed that it had become a pet in Liton's family.

Liton said that when he calls "Pagla", the porcupine runs over for food, and when told to follow him, it does so like any other pet. It likes bananas, potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, bread, rice, milk and biscuits best.

He said that about 11 months ago, on the fifth night of Ramadan, he found the porcupine lying wet in a banana garden in the Kushariya area beside the Ghatail–Sagardighi road. It was probably two to four days old. He rescued it and brought it home, and the whole family nursed the sick baby back to health. Since then it has lived with them as one of the family. He made it a straw bed indoors, but instead of sleeping there it dug its own tunnel under the ground at a spot outside the house and lives there comfortably.

Liton said the porcupine became tame because it was with him from a very young age, and he too has grown fond of it. Every day at noon it comes out of its burrow, eats from his hand and goes back. In the afternoon it comes out again and wanders freely around the house and nearby shops. It plays, runs about and feeds in the neighbourhood until late at night, and everyone treats it as a beloved pet.

Wildlife experts said porcupines were once fairly common in Bangladesh but are now endangered. They are brown, grey, white or mixed in colour, carry quills of 14 to 28 centimetres and can weigh 10 to 18 kg. Under the Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act 2012, the porcupine is a protected species and hunting or killing it is a punishable offence.

Tangail district livestock officer Dr Md Mostafizur Rahman said the porcupine is at once a fierce and a fearful animal, very afraid of people and other forest animals. Because it was cared for from a very young age, it may have become tame.

Tangail forest officer Dr Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain said the porcupine is an animal close to extinction. He said he would send people to the autorickshaw driver's home to take the porcupine and arrange for it to be released into the forest. Liton cannot in any way raise the animal or keep it under his control as a pet, he said.

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