# Two Stolen Lemurs From Bangladesh Traced to India

> Two endangered ring-tailed lemurs stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in March 2025 have been traced to Gujarat, India. CID investigators believe they were smuggled across the Darshana border and sold to an organisation lin…

Published: 2026-09-17 · Desk: Latest · Source: The Daily Star

Two endangered ring tailed lemurs stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in March 2025 have been traced to Gujarat, India, more than a year after they disappeared. According to Bangladesh’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) the two animals are now at a wildlife conservation project linked to Vantara which is a large animal rescue and conservation centre managed by Anant Ambani. 

The story began on the night of 23rd March 2025, when three ring tailed lemurs were stolen from Gazipur Safari Park. The thieves reportedly cut through the enclosure and took the animals away. One of the three was later recovered in Dhaka but the other two had already been moved out of Bangladesh. Earlier investigations found that people connected to an international wildlife trafficking network were involved in the theft.

According to the latest CID investigation, the two lemurs were smuggled into India through the Darshana border in Chuadanga. Investigators say they were passed between several people before eventually reaching Gujarat. They were then allegedly sold to an organisation connected to Vantara for around 4.8 million Indian rupees. The discovery reportedly came after photographs of the lemurs at the facility appeared on social media and investigators noticed similarities with the animals stolen from Gazipur.

However, getting the lemurs back may not be as simple as finding them. One of the biggest problems is that the animals were never given microchips and individual identification numbers or DNA profiles while they were at the safari park. This means Bangladesh has to scientifically prove that the two animals in Gujarat are actually the same ones stolen from Gazipur. 

Authorities are now testing the DNA of the young lemur that remains in Bangladesh. Since the stolen animals are believed to be related to it, scientists hope the genetic information can help establish a connection. Bangladesh has also requested assistance from Interpol as it tries to recover the animals. 

The case has also raised serious questions about security at Gazipur Safari Park. The park has faced several thefts in recent years including the disappearance of rare birds and the three lemurs. Earlier officials admitted that the park had problems with CCTV and other security systems. There are currently eight accused in the lemur theft case with six reportedly giving confessional statements in court according to the latest CID findings. 

The lemur theft is also not an isolated incident at Gazipur Safari Park. According to a recent report by The Daily Star, at least 37 animals have died or gone missing from the park over the past five years amid concerns about mismanagement, negligence and theft. Two green winged macaws were reportedly stolen in November 2024 while several other animals have escaped from the park in recent years. The repeated disappearances have raised wider concerns about whether Bangladesh’s wildlife facilities have enough security to protect the animals kept there.

Park officials have since taken steps to improve security, including installing additional CCTV cameras and increasing staff numbers. However, the theft of the lemurs shows how serious the consequences can be when animals are able to leave a protected facility and enter international wildlife trafficking networks.

Ring tailed lemurs are native to Madagascar and are critically endangered. Their international trade is heavily restricted under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Their journey from a safari park in Bangladesh across a border and through several middlemen shows just how complicated wildlife trafficking can become.

Bangladesh's main challenge is not only finding the two lemurs but proving that they are the same animals that were stolen and until that proof is established, two animals that should never have left Bangladesh remain thousands of kilometres away from where their story began.

Original reporting: https://www.thedailystar.net/top-news/news/delay-legal-action-makes-stolen-lemurs-recovery-challenging-rizwana-3867291
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