East Godavari Wildlife Management authorities have rescued three small Indian civets (Viverricula indica) within a week in two separate rescue operations.
Two of them have been rescued from an abandoned house at a coconut orchard near Ravulapalem area in Konaseema region in East Godavari district.
In the Ravulapalem rescue operation, authorities had learnt that one kitten was killed by a dog while two other kittens were rescued alive from a house. Ironically, the mother of the three kittens was allegedly eaten by the local communities, according to sources associated with the rescue operation. The young kitten bitten by the dog was buried in the village itself as directed by the forest authorities.
Wildlife Management (Eluru) Divisional Forest Officer C. Selvan told The Hindu that the rescued kittens are recovering well. “Our team rescued two small Indian civet kittens a week ago from an orchard near Ravulapalem. The duo is safe and responding to medical treatment. We are preparing to release them into a safe habitat within a week. A good number of small Indian civets are being sighted in the fruit-bearing plantations in Konaseema region and we are receiving reports of its entry into the human habitations in East Godavari,” Mr. Selvan said.
The small Indian civet is a prolific consumer of fruits, mostly in the coconut orchids and banana plantations and other horticulture fields. It occupies abandoned places for breeding.
Last week, Rajamahendravaram Municipal Corporation authorities sighted a young small Indian civet which reportedly suffered an electric shock near the Kambala Cheruvu area, from where the wildlife authorities rescued it. “The young kitten has received injuries on the forelimbs. It has survived after medical treatment but requires permanent rehabilitation,” Mr. Selvan said.
“We are planning to rehabilitate it at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam where its health condition can be monitored regularly by the veterinarians. It will be mostly rehabilitated within a few days,” Mr. Selvan added.
“The small Indian civet rescued in Rajamahendravaram is out of danger but needs permanent rehabilitation. In the case of the two kittens rescued from Konaseema, they can be released into the natural habitat as they are in good health,” said Andhra Phaneendra, a veterinarian from Rajamahendravaram. Dr. Phaneendra is providing medical treatment to the rescued kittens on behalf of the Forest Department.
Poaching or hunting of the small Indian civet is prohibited under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The species is marked ‘Least Concern’, according to the conservation status of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).