Nagpur: A Pangolin — the world’s most trafficked mammal — was saved by an alert citizen of Gumthala village near Kamptee on Tuesday night.
As per the sources, the only mammal in the world with scales, was about to be burnt by some villagers around 11.40 pm on Tuesday night. Pranjal Wagh, who is also the Sarpanch of the village heard some noise of the villagers at the outskirts of the village in the night and reached the spot to check what was happening. He found that a group of around ten persons had caught the pangolin and made arrangements to burn the wild animal.
He tried to desist them from doing so but ultimately he entered into the heated exchange of words with them and called volunteers of Wildlife Welfare Society. Immediately, the volunteers including Prashant Borkar, Aakash Daf and Pratik Dhawad reached the spot and handled the situation carefully by pacifying the villagers to rescue the pangolin.
They then carried the wild animal along with them and returned it to the concerned authorities of Transit Treatment Centre at Seminary Hills on Wednesday morning. Pangolin is on the verge of extinction because of continuous poaching cases.
Pangolins come under the category of Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act.
