Injured Chinese pangolin successfully operated: CBRC manager Dr Panjit Basumatary

Itanagar: A female sub-adult Chinese pangolin was rescued from Seijosa, in Arunachal Pradesh’s Pakke Kessang district recently. Habeel Tallang, a forest staff who rescued the pangolin, brought the animal to the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) for care and treatment, said CBRC manager and head, Dr Panjit Basumatary. He said the pangolin found near the road side was unable to move.

Upon arriving at the facility, the pangolin went into comatose condition for an hour, he said, adding that after being administered supportive treatment, she started breathing intermittently but was unable to move her head.

Suspecting that she has been a victim of a road-hit, an x-ray was conducted which revealed complete fracture of the right femur bone and severe spinal injury on lumbar region.

A team led by Dr Basumatary and assistant professor of Lakhimpur Veterinary College Dr Mridu Pavan Baishya immediately conducted a major orthopaedic surgery to fix an internal plate to support the repair of the fractured bone.

“The operation took three hours and it was quite a challenging task for the team. The animal is currently under close observation and care at CBRC facility,” said Dr Basumatary. He disclosed that after initial apprehension, the animal has finally started accepting food and water on its own, showing signs of recovery.

“We hope for the fracture to heal soon and the animal is able to go back to the wild,” Dr Basumatary added. Pakke Tiger Reserve DFO Satyaprakash Singh lauded the rescue & treatment of Chinese Pangolin by the Forest department officials and the CBRC, Pakke Tiger Reserve. Singh praised the forest department staff who brought the injured animal to the centre and also the team of doctors led by Dr Basumatary, who successfully carried out the surgery. The DFO, in the meanwhile, has appealed to the public to drive carefully to avoid hitting/killing wild animals.

The CBRC is jointly run by Pakke Tiger Reserve Park Authority, Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Arunachal Pradesh and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Kirloskar Ebara Pumps Limited (KEPL).

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