Locals of the Jot Bazar area, under Manda upazila in Naogaon, have rescued a nilgai—an endangered animal of the Indian subcontinent—on Tuesday morning.
Nilgais were found in the north of Bangladesh until 1940s. They were last seen in Tetulia and were declared extinct since then.
Confirming the matter to the Dhaka Tribune Manda police station Officer-in-Charge Muzaffar Hossain said: "The endangered animal was running aimlessly in Jot Bazar when hundreds of locals gathered to rescue it.
"Later, the locals informed the Manda police station and livestock officer concerned after they tied the animal in a safe place. We went there as soon as we were notified."
"The animal will be handed over to the Department of Livestock Services very soon," he added.
Locals claim that they have never seen this largest species of the Asian antelope, ever in Borendro area.
Another recent sighting
On September 5, 2018 a female nilgai was spotted in the Jaduzar area of the Ranisankail upazila in the Thakurgaon district.
A villager, Abu Zahid, spotted it as he was fishing in the river and informed other villagers.
Together, they managed to catch the animal and informed the Thakurgaon deputy commissioner, said Ziaur Rahman, a local journalist.
Older villagers identified the animal as a female nilgai, largely seen in the Dinajpur, Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts of Bangladesh a few decades ago.
The females are reddish-brown while the males bluish-grey. Nilgai goes out in a herd on moonlit nights looking for grass or other types of food.
Thakurgaon Deputy Commissioner Md Akhtaruzzaman said the nilgai was taken to the Dinajpur Ramsagor National Park.
The animal was being treated there since it was slightly injured while being caught.
Forest Officer Mostafizur Rahman said the animal may have come from west Dinajpur of India.
“The rescued nilgai stands about 3.5 feet in height and 5 feet in length and it is pregnant,” said Mostafizur.
On Tuesday, Forest Officer Mostafizur Rahman updated the Dhaka Tribune on the condition of the rescued nilgai.
He said: “The nigla gave birth to a stillborn because of the trauma she had gone through while being rescued.”
“However, she is doing well and has fully recovered from the ordeal,” he added.
Endemic to South Asia
With their quite unique appearance, the nilgai is very different from the African antelopes.
Considered the largest of all Indian antelope species, an adult nilgai bull reaches a length of up to 210 cm standing at 130 to 150 cm at the shoulder, weighing up to 288 kg.
This antelope is specific to the Indian subcontinent. Major populations occur in India, Nepal and Pakistan but has since gone extinct in Bangladesh.
Significant numbers occur in the Terai lowlands in the foothills of the Himalayas. The antelope is abundant across northern India. The Indian population was estimated at one million in 2001.
The nilgai is categorized as of Least Concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural resources (IUCN).
The major reasons behind its extinction in Bangladesh are rampant hunting, deforestation and habitat degradation in the 20th century.
