Rare Indian civet rescued from Bhandup

Residents of Bhandup's Pratap Nagar area were in for a scare, as well as a surprise, when they saw a strange-looking animal running helter-skelter on Monday night. However, wildlife rescuers managed to identify the animal as the rare Small Indian civet.

The rescued civet, which was found close to the Bhandup water pumping complex, was taken to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and released in its natural habitat on Tuesday evening.

"We got a phone call from the SGNP control room at around 10 pm on Monday informing us about the discovery of a strange animal. Locals said it was bigger than a mongoose. After they raised an alarm, we reached the spot in fifteen minutes. We discovered that the civet escaped the park after being chased by dogs. It was so traumatised that as soon as anyone went near it, the animal charged at them in self defense," said an official of Pawan Sharma Resquink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW), an NGO that works with the forest department in rescuing urban wildlife.

Two RAWW teams swung into action to trace the animal. While one team was responsible for tracking the animal and keeping an eye on it, the other team was tasked with the responsibility of looking for an escape route from where the civet could be allowed to re-enter the jungle.

"The second team also tried to manage the crowd that wanted to get a closer at the animal. After struggling to contain the animal for around one-and-half hours, the team managed to rescue the civet," said Utsav Maru, a RAWW volunteer. Sharma said the team was surprised to find the rare animal. "Normally, the palm civet is the commonly spotted one. We were surprised by how the animal managed to escape from the forest and enter the locality," he said.

SGNP veterinary officer Dr Shailesh Pethe said the civet is healthy despite a minor limp.