Rare apes seized near Kolkata

Hoolock Gibbons are extremely rare primates, listed as endangered as per the red list of IUCN.

Two Hoolock Gibbons, the only apes to be found in India, were seized by officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence , Kolkata Zonal Unit, near the India-Bangladesh border on Thursday.

Hoolock Gibbons are extremely rare primates, listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and as an endangered as per the red list of IUCN.

NEW DELHI, 18/08/2010: A pair of Hoolock Gibbon on a warm afternoon at Delhi Zoo, in New Delhi on August 18, 2010. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

 

The primates, along with two palm civets listed in Part II of the Schedule II of The Wildlife Protection Act, and about 40 parakeets were recovered from a vehicle near Bhojerhat on the Basanti Highway near Kolkata. The animals were crammed into three cages inside a vehicle and were smuggled into India from Bangladesh.

Hoolock Gibbons are found in certain specific habitats of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and also in Eastern Bangladesh. It is not clear from whether the animals were sourced from India or Bangladesh. Officials of the agency said that these rare animals fetch huge price from people who want to keep them as pets.

The animals have been shifted to Kolkata’s Alipore Zoo.