Biraj Barman, a range officer in the Doomdooma forest division, posted at Kakopathar in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam, said on Wednesday that an injured Bengal slow loris has been kept under his surveillance and will be released in a protected forest as soon as it recovers fully.

A slow loris was rescued on Tuesday evening around 6pm by members of the Abhiruchi Club, an NGO from Lajum village here from the house of Nipenjyoti Handique, the agricultural secretary of the NGO, while a gang of hunters was trying to catch the animal.

Debashish Bhorali, the president of the NGO, told The Telegraph, “We, the members of the NGO, rescued the lajuki bandor from the hunters and directly took it to the Kakopathar state veterinary dispensary. We provided food and kept it with us. Today at 10am, we handed over the animal to the forest officer.”

Barman said, “I appreciate the good gesture of the club members who rescued the rare species of animal. At present, he is out of danger but still under treatment and have been kept here at our office. As soon as he fully regains his health, after a final check-up, he will be released in the nearby protected forest.”

“Soon we will initiate forest environmental education programmes and wild animals safety measures to create awareness. We can also save them by driving slowly on National Highways 37, 51 and 52 at night . There are many slow loris within the Bherajan fragment of the Bherajan-Borajan-Podumani wildlife sanctuary in Tinsukia,” he added.