Jahangirnagar University (JU) teachers and students rescued a sickly Asian palm civet from the Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall area late on Monday.
After the rescue, the civet was placed in the university's Wildlife Rescue Centre (WRC), Ripon Rayhan, one of the rescuers and a zoology student, told Dhaka Tribune.
Students saw the civet wandering around the campus and shared videos on social media.
Another zoology student, Rabiul Islam Robi, wrote on social media: "Since Sunday night, this civet has been roaming unusually around the campus, drooling and appearing very tired. Normally, a civet does not behave this way. It might behave like this due to illness or destruction of its habitat on the campus."
JU students protest tree felling on campus without master planEyewitnesses reported that students noticed the civet and informed the zoology department. Zoology Department Prof Dr Kamrul Hasan and students, including Ripon Rayhan, from the 46th batch, rescued the civet and placed it in the WRC.
The professor said the Asian palm civet is very shy. “They primarily come out at night for food but are rarely seen near humans.”
“We learned this was the first time it had been spotted on campus on Sunday. The way the civet was wandering erratically on campus, drooling from its mouth, it seemed to be suffering from rabies. The animal's condition is very concerning, so it has been isolated to prevent the virus from spreading to other animals and to arrange its treatment,” he added.
Recently, the university administration cut down trees and filled water bodies to construct new buildings on the campus, harming the campus's biodiversity and animal habitats.
Footage of the civet roaming around the campus sparked various comments and allegations of various development activities of the university administration destroying wildlife habitats.
