In a rare incident, a species of highly endangered Slender loris (Devangapilli) was found at a farmer’s cowshed at Chinna Boggupalle village of Kuppam mandal on Wednesday evening.
Forest officials said that it was for the first time that the animal was sighted in Kuppam region, though it is rarely spotted in Seshachalam Hill ranges and parts of Kurnool, Nellore and North western parts of Tamil Nadu.
A farmer, Munirathnam (60), was cleaning the cowshed at dusk when he suddenly felt something biting his hand. On spotting a lanky creature, he was shocked. With a bleeding hand, he lifted the animal into a gunnysack and rushed to government hospital at Kuppam.
Acting on information, forest officials too rushed there, and identified the animal as slender loris. The officials said that it would be shifted to SV Zoo Park in Tirupati. A large number of people from Kuppam and surrounding villages rushed to the hospital to have glimpse at the nocturnal animal.