Rescued: Oz kangaroo, hyancinth macaws

SILCHAR: Cachar forest division personnel on Tuesday evening seized a consignment of exotic wildlife that are native to various continents.
They catch includes a baby kangaroo from Australia, a pair of Capuchin monkeys and six hyacinth macaws from South America, species of parrot native to South America and three Aldabra tortoises, native to Aldabra island, on Outer Islands of Seychelles.
Divisional forest officer (Cachar) Sunnydeo Choudhary on Wednesday said forest department personnel intercepted a vehicle at Lailapur forest sub beat near Assam-Mizoram border carrying a consignment of exotic wildlife.
"A truck coming from the Mizoram side was intercepted by forest personnel around 11.30 pm on Tuesday and a kangaroo, six macaw parrots, three tortoises and two monkeys were rescued," DFO Chaudhary told TOI.
Two persons identified as Narsimha Reddy, a resident of Hyderabad, and Navnath Tukaram Daigude, who hails from Maharashtra, have been detained. During questioning, they said the consignment was headed for Guwahati, Chaudhary added.
He said the forest personnel were on a routine check of trucks passing through Lailapur to detect carrying of any illegal timber. However, one of the forest personnel detected obnoxious odours emanating from a truck. On being questioned, the driver replied that it was nothing but foul smell from some rotten fruits.
Not convinced with the reply, the personnel searched the vehicle and found the animals packed in plastic and carton boxes.
Forest range officer of Hawaithang Range, Dholai, D Deori has taken up the matter for investigating into the matter. The DFO has directed the investigating forest official to ascertain the health of wildlife by local veterinary doctors.
"We have taken the custody of these animals and they are in Silchar. Our vets are monitoring their health and their condition is good, but the hyacinth macaws are very delicate. The animals will be transported to Assam State Zoo in Guwahati on Wednesday," the Cachar DFO said.
Once the rescued animals reach Assam state zoo in Guwahati, wildlife authorities will take the inventory of the animals at the zoo veterinary hospital, after which they would be shifted to specially arranged enclosures, he added.
The DFO also said the two drivers of seized truck are being questioned and will be the would be produced in Silchar court.
"This is just the tip of a greater iceberg of a very organised and big trade of trafficked animals. The consignment was either going to Kolkata or Mumbai, presumably from Myanmar. We are investigating," Chaudhary said.
"It is high time we put an end to such practices of keeping these exotic species as pets and refrain from illegal wildlife trade. Let them live in their natural habitat," said forest range officer, (Hawaithang Range, Dholai), D Deori.