In the Indian state of West Bengal, when a few passers-by saw three frightened, weak and hungry animals on the edge of a forested village, they could not believe their eyes what they were seeing.
They had never seen such animals before. He immediately informed the State Forest Department officials who told them that these animals are kangaroos which are common in Australia but not in India.
These weak and hungry animals were sent to the wildlife park for treatment and care. One of them later died.
One of the two surviving kangaroos is named Alex and the other Xavier.
The villagers were still amazed at what kind of animal they had seen. Videos of these kangaroos spread on the internet as soon as they were seen.
A Twitter user wrote, "What are these kangaroos doing in West Bengal?"
West Bengal's chief wildlife warden Debel Ray told
"It looks like the smugglers left the animals and fled during the raids by our team."
Debel was informed that an attempt was being made to smuggle foreign animals to West Bengal.
He alerted his team and taking immediate action, the officials started searching for vehicles coming from the main highway entering the state.
"Maybe the smugglers found out and left the animals on the highway and fled," said Mr Debel Ray.
"We think the kangaroos were brought here from private animal husbandry farms in Southeast Asia," Agni Mitra, deputy director of the West Bengal Wildlife Control Bureau,
He also said that most smugglers bring such diverse and exotic animals to India through Myanmar border.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), India's anti-trafficking agency, says demand for exotic and diverse animals has increased in India in recent times.
The animals are smuggled to India from popular tourist destinations in Bangkok, Malaysia and Southeast Asia and then sold in various cities.
Agni Mitra, deputy director of the West Bengal Wildlife Control Bureau, said: That includes endangered animals, such as lemurs.
In India, forest officials are often unable to take action against these smugglers and traders because animal and wildlife laws in India do not protect foreign animals.
Customs officials must have the power to restrict the movement of wild animals if they do not have a formal permit. But it is difficult for these officials to track down the illegal wildlife trade, especially in areas where the border can be easily crossed.
The DRI says that due to the ban on trade in local breeds of animals, smugglers have started operating foreign species, which is also having a devastating effect on the environment globally.
According to wildlife conservationists, keeping non-native pets has become a sign of social status and this trend has become popular in recent years.
"Not long ago, a few zebras were caught in Bangladesh and were to be transferred to a private zoo in India," said Shobhubroto Ghosh, an activist with World Animal Protection, an organization working to protect animals.
"People are doing weird things these days," he said.
Various species of animals have been popular in India for a long time.
In June 2020, the Indian Department of the Environment introduced a scheme that asked people to voluntarily provide information on non-native pets.
The scheme offered that no legal action would be taken against anyone who provided a non-native pet without formal documentation.
The Indian government wanted to keep a record of non-native pets in the country and to streamline the process of importing wild animals into the country.
According to IndiaSpend website, 32,645 applications were received under the scheme in 2021, including endangered animals such as endangered lemurs, iguanas, macaws and kangaroos.
Experts say that despite the increase in the number of exotic animals, there is no effective law to monitor their trade.
In 1976, India signed an agreement on the international trade and protection of exotic animals, which included 183 other countries, but the agreement was not implemented under Indian law.
Indian lawmakers are considering a proposed amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act that would regulate the trade and protection of exotic animals under the Indian Forest Department. But Mr Ghosh is not sure if the amendment will work.
"Suppose I am a forest warden and your friend," he says. If you have rare Brazilian animals that you want to keep in a private zoo, you can easily get a permit through a bribe.
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| India's anti-trafficking agency says demand for exotic animals has increased in recent days. |
"Unfortunately, many zoos are becoming part of a network in which traders and breeders work together to buy and sell exotic animals," he said.
In April, two men were arrested during a routine police check on a highway near the West Bengal state border with Assam when two red kangaroos were found in their truck.
The detainees told police that the kangaroos were handed over to them on a farm in Mizoram state and were to be transferred to a zoo in Madhya Pradesh state.
Agni Mitra, deputy director of the West Bengal Wildlife Control Bureau, that the detainees also showed the zoo supply order to the police, which was confirmed.
The zoo told a news website that the kangaroos were being given to them as a gift.
Mr Ghosh said: "This is clearly a case of smuggling because the supply order was in the name of a farm in Mizoram which does not exist.
He said that under the International Convention on the Protection of Animals, India should publish a list of rare animals on the government website.
He added that no farm in Mizoram had provided any information about the Kangaroos in government records.
Meanwhile, the condition of Alex and Xavier, who met in a village in West Bengal, is gradually improving.
According to West Bengal Chief Wildlife Warden Debel Ray, the kangaroos' muscles weakened due to the tight space during the smuggling.
But now these kangaroos will not be able to breathe in the open air. At least as long as they are in India.
According to Debel Ray, "We can't leave them in the wild because they are not used to the forests here and the climate here is not conducive to them."
"If they feel better, we might as well keep them in the zoo for the general public," he said.
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