Coimbatore: Coimbatore forest department and volunteers from an NGO rescued an Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) that was found in a residential area near Narasimma Naickenpalayam in Coimbatore district on Saturday.A local resident alerted the forest department after spotting the scaly animal near their house. Karthi, a member of Conservation Wildlife and Nature Trust (CWCT), retrieved the pangolin safely without causing it any harm and handed it over to forest guard Saravanakumar. The rescued pangolin was later released in a protected forest area in the Coimbatore forest range on Saturday night.Coimbatore forest ranger V Thirumurugan said, “the staff swiftly acted and rescued the pangolin, considering its importance.” He added that pangolin sightings are rare in the region.The Indian pangolin is listed as an ‘endangered’ species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of threatened species. It is protected under schedule I, part I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
