CHENNAI: A day after a jackal was rescued from a vegetable store in Velachery, Forest Department officials had to go after an Indian Pangolin (ant-eater) in the same locality on Tuesday. The officials said that they received a phone call from J Ranganathan, who claimed that an Indian Pangolin entered his house. Soon, a team of officials rushed to his house and rescued the large Pangolin. The Indian Pangolin or Manis Crassicaudata is protected under Schedule One of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the officials said. According to Velachery Forest Range Officer S Davidraj, the animal might have strayed from the nearby Nanmangalam forest. It is 75 cm in length, is two years old and weighs more than five kg, he added. The animal would be released into the wild later, officials at the Range Office informed.The Indian Pangolin has yellow and brown coloured scales all over its body and rolls up into a ball as a defence mechanism, the official said, adding that it could be anywhere between 18 to 29 inches in length, while its tail alone could be 13 to 17 inches long.
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