GUWAHATI: The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) in a joint operation with the Assam forest department rescued a pangolin from Jagiroad, about 55km from here, on Thursday.
Three smugglers were arrested by the team in this connection. Reportedly, the trio had attempted to illegally sell the pangolin in the black market for Rs 2 lakh.
“Thousands of pangolins are poached every year, killed for their scales for traditional medicine and for their meat,” WCCB sources informed.
Pangolin poaching has over the years rapidly risen in Assam due to the very high demand of its scales.
The scaly anteaters, locally known as ‘Bon Rou’ in Assam, have large, protective keratin scales covering their skin.
The scales of pangolins are smuggled to international markets in Southeast Asian countries and also used as decorative items.
The Northeast is home to two different varieties of pangolin – Indian and Chinese. Both are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Biologists around the world say that India could be the next pangolin poaching hotspot because of its proximity to Southeast Asian countries.
