Four held in Chhattisgarh's Bastar with pangolin

Jagdalpur, Sep 30 (PTI) Four persons were arrested allegedly with a pangolin, a highly protected species, in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, a forest department official said on Monday.

They were held on Sunday on the Karpavand-Kolaval route, which is near the border with Odisha, he said.

"They were heading to Bastar from Odisha to sell the pangolin. The pangolin and the two motorcycles used by the accused have been seized. A case was registered under the Wildlife Protection Act," the official said.

All eight pangolin species are protected under national and international laws. Two of these are listed as "critically endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Pangolins are scaly anteaters and are mammals of the order Pholidota. PTI COR BNM