A pangolin, locally known as ‘banarui’, and also a critically endangered species of mammal animals, was caught in a fisherman’s net in Tanguar Haor at Tahirpur upazila in Sunamganj on Wednesday evening.
Local residents said that a fisherman of Kalagaon village under the Tahirpur upazila went fishing in Tanguar Haor, a designated Ramsar Site of the country, and caught a critically endangered species of pangolin by his net.
Believing it to be a rare species of fish, the fisherman took it to Kalagaon Bazar, a marketplace in the area, in the evening, they said.
But, immediately after reaching the bazar, a huge crowd of local people started gathering around the fisherman to see the animal and some people also took its pictures and shared them on a social media website, the locals said.
Tahirpur upazila nirbahi officer Abul Hashem said that he went to the spot immediately after receiving the news of catching the pangolin.
‘The Pangolin was rescued from there and handed it over to the authorities of the forest department for releasing it into a place congenial for its living,’ he said.