Borivali park gets rare inmate,world’s smallest primate rescued from flyer

While three bushbabies were confiscated from the passenger,Thomas Ignatius Fernandes,two were found dead in his possession,the Air Intelligence Department at Sahar said. “We had received a tip-off that Fernandes was arriving here from Bangkok with three primates indigenous to Africa. When we screened him,we found the tiny primates stuffed in small pouches tied to his thigh,” said assistant commissioner of Air Intelligence Chinta Isacc,who arrested Fernandes and seized the animals.

Tejaswini Patil,regional director (wildlife) of the department pointed out that import of primates is in violation of the provisions of the Customs Act,1962,EXIM policy,IATA Regulations and also the Wildlife Act. “My wild estimate is that the primates would be worth more than Rs 1 lakh in the illegal market. We arrested Fernandes and sent the carcasses as well as the live primate to SGNP,” she said.

According to SGNP’s official veterinarian Dr Vinaya Jangale,the bushbaby that was brought in last night is in a state of shock,and is being handled with care. “We fed the bushbaby some pieces of apples and bananas on Wednesday night,and it ate some. We are waiting for the animal to come out of the trauma. Once it relaxes,we will pick it up to check its health and may be even try feeding it caterpillars and grasshoppers,” she said.

The bushbaby is an arboreal animal living in the thick forests of Africa and it feeds on fruits,small insects and plant gums. Jangale said since bushbabies are nocturnal,the animal may spring to action by evening.

“This is the first time we are handling this species and since it is foreign to our habitat,we are a bit anxious about its survival. However,once we nurse it to health,we plan to build a large cage with a number of branches and greenery where we’ll keep it,” Jangale said.

Bushbaby is closely related to the Indian primate species Loris.

Forest officials said the two carcasses were being preserved on their premises. “We plan to conduct an autopsy and later preserve them through taxidermy,” said Jangale.