A strange sight.
Imagine you’re walking down the road and come face to face with exotic wild animals that you’ve never heard of before. That’s what happened with people in a West Bengal village who stumbled onto kangaroos, animals native to Australia.
Puzzled, they notified the West Bengal forest officials.
What was the reaction of the forest officials?
The forest officials knew that something was wrong. They said that the kangaroos didn’t hop from Australia to India, but were brought in by humans in vehicles.
The officials named the kangaroos - Alex, Xavier, and Lucas. They took them to a nearby wildlife park to get them medical care and food. Sadly, Lucas died soon after.
Why were kangaroos roaming the streets in India?
Many people like to keep wild animals as pets. Others like to collect parts of wild animals, like tiger paws, ivory, etc. To meet their demands, people have started operating illegal animal farms all over Asia.
Exotic wild animals are raised on these farms. Smugglers then deliver these animals to people around the world, where they are either raised as pets or killed for their body parts.
Chances are that the kangaroos were being taken to meet such a fate. When the smugglers thought they were about to be caught by India’s wildlife officers, they left the animals by the side of the road and ran for their lives.
How bad is the exotic animal trade in India?
Many Indians like keeping wild animals as pets. In 2021, the government of India discovered many Indians had pets like lemurs, iguanas, macaws, and kangaroos.
Authorities have caught smugglers carrying exotic snakes, birds, monkeys, and even big cats like tigers, lions, etc.
What’s next for these two kangaroos?
Fortunately, Alex and Xavier are not going to end up smuggled. They are currently busy recovering from their horrible road trip by relaxing and eating lots of watermelons, bananas, and wild grass. Soon, they will be taken to a zoo in Kolkata where there are other kangaroos. So, they’ll get to make new friends and spend their days chilling together.
