Civet rescued from Ignou in southwest Delhi

NEW DELHI: An Asian palm civet was rescued from the school of sciences at Ignou in southwest Delhi's Maidan Garhi after the animal was found hidden under a computer table in one of the staff offices.
Officials in the campus immediately informed the animal NGO wildlife SOS, which sent a two-member team to extract the animal. It took the team nearly 30 minutes to rescue the scared animal.
It was subsequently released in the nearby Asola Bhatti wildlife sanctuary after it was found to be healthy.
"The civet was initially stressed and agitated but eventually calmed down once it was safe inside the transport carrier. Often the plight of urban wildlife is dismissed because city dwellers consider them to be a nuisance and they are often met with hostility," Wasim Akram, deputy director, special projects at Wildlife SOS.
Experts say civets can be rarely seen in urban environments, as they tend to be shy and wary of humans. The animals are important for controlling the rodent population and are prime contributors to the dispersal of seeds.