3 Hog Badger cubs rescued in Tripura:

June 15: Three very rare species of Hog Badger cubs have been rescued by forest department officials from Salema village in Tripura’s Dhalai district.

Found possibly for the first time in the state, villagers took the animals to be pigs. Later, on identifying differences in their physical attributes the locals informed forest officials who rescued the wild badgers.

Hog badgers(Arctonyx Collaris) are the largest surviving badgers in the world and are classified as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is believed to be endangered due to poaching.

The badger cubs were found wandering at a villager’s house in Salema.

After being rescued the badgers were taken to the Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary is about 25 km away from Agartala.

Such species are native to Central and South-East Asia. In India, Hog Badgers are found mostly in the Terai grasslands of Northeastern India.