COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore forest range staff are trying to capture a porcupine that has taken shelter in a burrow amid the bushes at Sripathy Nagar near Ramanathapuram in the city on Monday morning.
After being informed by residents, range officer Thirumurugan V and his team tried to catch the animal using a net but it went into a burrow. Residents said the animal, which is listed in the IUCN Red list, was spotted in the last couple of days.
A forest dept official said, “It is a nocturnal animal and lives in burrows, It is rare to spot the animal in a residential area. It may have strayed here and consuming the leftover food in the bushes. “We are scared to capture it since the sharp quills can harm us. We will release the animal at Madukkarai forest once it is captured,” said the official.
Osai founder K. Kalidass told TNIE that the porcupine plays a vital role in forest conservation as it chews deer antlers whenever the antler falls off from the animal in the forest areas as it fulfils the calcium deficiencies in the body.