OCELOT SHOT IN GRANVILLE

CCNTV6

An ocelot, one of T&T’s Environmentally Sensitive Species, was shot and dying in the Granville area sometime over the weekend.  It was reported to the reptile conservation centre of Trinidad and Tobago who retrieved the animal and handed it over to the Forestry division’s wildlife section.  As reporter Cindy Raghubar-Teekersingh tells us, the injured ocelot was then rushed to a La Romaine Veterinary Clinic on Sunday where it has since undergone surgery and is recovering.

Transcript

00:00It's a call the Reptile Conservation Centre of TNT says no one ever wants to receive.

00:07But on Sunday morning, they did.

00:09An ocelot had been shot and left alone to suffer in Granville Village, Cedrus.

00:14On its Facebook page, the centre called its member Mason Ramdawa

00:19and Forestry Division Game Warden 2 Steve Cepesad silent heroes

00:24for swiftly recovering and transporting the animal

00:27to the Laramane Veterinary Clinic where Dr. Kriyan Singh operated on it on Sunday.

00:33According to posts by Dr. Singh,

00:35the male ocelot had a large neck wound and several porcupine quills

00:40and said, quote,

00:41It is proposed that the ocelot was shot by a hunter for its own porcupine meal.

00:46This is the fourth shot ocelot I have seen for the year, end quote.

00:51He says while the animal was stabilised,

00:54there was some spinal injury and more tests will be done later in the week to assess his damage.

01:00Meanwhile, the Conservation Centre condemned those responsible for the shooting,

01:05saying,

01:05The ocelot is not just another wild animal.

01:09It is an apex predator, one of the forest's silent protectors, keeping nature in balance.

01:15In Trinidad and Tobago, it reminds,

01:18The ocelot is legally recognised as an environmentally sensitive species,

01:23a reminder that its life is precious and its survival matters.

01:29The group says the incident shows a lack of patriotism

01:32by harming the very wildlife that makes our nation unique.

01:36It also reflects a level of recklessness and cruelty, they add,

01:40which we cannot normalise and says we must do better.

01:45Cindy Raghubatika Singh, TV6 News.

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