CWRC, Kaziranga National Park, February 27, 2018: Two adult hog badgers, a male and a female, were rescued in separate incidents and admitted to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) — IFAW-WTI and the Assam Forest Department’s wildlife rescue, treatment and rehabilitation facility near Kaziranga National Park — earlier this month.
The male hog badger was rescued on February 16 by frontline forest staff with assistance from members of the local community near Barbheti, a village in the Sonitpur district of Assam. First noticed near a village pond, the “unusual animal”, never seen in the area before, was injured due to human-wildlife conflict. Wildlife lover and former journalist Uttam Nath informed local veterinarian Dr Deepak Sharma about the animal in crisis, whereupon Dr Sharma contacted the forest department and, following a preliminary examination, suggested that it be taken to CWRC for further care.
The hog badger was shifted via the river route from the northern edge of Kaziranga to a boundary camp in the south and thence to CWRC the same evening. “It was in a comatose state when it was brought to us, with external injuries to its right eye and testicular area”, said Dr Panjit Basumatary, lead veterinarian at CWRC. It was provided preliminary treatment and kept under overnight observation, and an X-Ray of its skull was taken the next morning. “The X-Ray revealed a complete fracture of the right zygomatic arch bone and the nasal bone of the frontal bone. The animal was stabilised after the confirmatory diagnosis and recovered from its comatose state 72 hours later. The requisite surgical procedure will be performed once it is in a suitable condition to be operated upon.”
The hog badger has been placed under observation in a suitable enclosure for the last 10 days. It is slowly responding to medication and feed, and is now trying to prepare its own hideout within the enclosure. It has already been ear-tagged so that it can be monitored once released into the wild.
In the second incident on February 21, the female hog badger created a panic after it was discovered in a drain at Koroiati village in Assam’s Golaghat district. The Kaziranga Forest Authority informed CWRC and a Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) team led by Dr Basumatary rescued the animal using a capture net and chemical immobilisation. The animal was provided first-aid and brought to the centre for observation. It is in stable condition according to the clinical examination reports, and has been kept in the same enclosure as the male hog badger. It has also been ear-tagged and will be released after a course of medication and routine observation, Dr Basumatary says.
