Indian forest officials shocked to find kangaroos in West Bengal

Kangaroos were found in the Indian state of West Bengal, leaving officials in shock. The forest officials have called it a case of smuggling and have initiated a probe into the incident.

Three injured kangaroos were found in the forests bordering the state's Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, and the carcass of another was found in a nearby area.

An investigation has been initiated by the authorities to find out how these kangaroos managed to make their way to West Bengal from their native Australia. The kangaroos were also spotted by locals and several videos of these ill-looking animals made it to social media and were shared by many users.

Indian Forest Service officer (IFS) Parveen Kaswan issued a clarification and stated that the kangaroos were not part of any zoo and have now been rescued. "They are not present in any zoo in this area. They are part of smuggling. Later seized. In the zoo now for safe custody. Last month also two were arrested with a kangaroo," he said.

According to local reports, the kangaroos had serious injuries on their bodies and have been sent to Bengal Safari Park for treatment. No arrests have been made in connection with the case yet

The kangaroos were being transported in cramped up spaces and were abandoned when the smugglers saw security checks on their way, per the forest officials. .

"We have initiated further investigation for ascertaining the whereabouts of these kangaroos, by whom and how they were brought into the forest along with finding the cause behind bringing them," S Dutta, Range Officer of the forest, told news agency ANI.

This comes after a man was arrested on April 1 for trying to smuggle a kangaroo into West Bengal's Alipurduar district. Two others were arrested for smuggling kangaroos last month as well. The authorities have now increased security and have set up a special team to apprehend the smugglers involved in the illegal activity.