Locals kill rare palm civet

Locals beat a rare palm civet to death when it came to the locality from the forest in Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj this afternoon. 

The incident took place in Saddam Bazar area of ​​Gazipur union under the upazila, reports our Moulvibazar correspondent.

When the animal mistakenly made its way into Saddam Bazar area from the forest, people went into a panic and beat it to death, said Mazharul Islam of Moulvibazar's wildlife management and nature conservation department.

Saddam Hossain, a local of the area said there were large forests, including Nalua Tea Garden and Damdamiya Lake, around Saddam Bazar. On Saturday morning, when an unidentified animal suddenly entered the locality, the locals panicked and beat it to death. Later it was left in a field.

"Asian palm civet's skin colour is light brown, with white stripes on neck and tail. The tail is relatively small, about 13 inches in length. They are usually three to three and a half feet in length and weigh from 5kg to 10kg. They make holes in the ground to live, and have an omnivorous diet mostly comprised of fruits," said Md Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of Sylhet under the Department of Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management.

Abdur Razzak Raju, a Chunarughat-based journalist, said the incident occurred due to a lack of awareness among locals regarding wildlife.

"This environmentally friendly animal should not have been killed and the forest department should conduct awareness campaigns in this regard."