Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is in danger. The species of animal he immortalised in the story, is under threat from poachers in India, due to the increasing demand for its hair/fur. In raids at 13 locations simultaneously by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), state Forest Departments and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), over 3,500 mongoose hair brushes – used mostly for painting - were seized on December 10.

A hairy tale
The members of NGO WTI, which has been consistently highlighting the illegal sale of wildlife, had gathered information from its network of volunteers across the country about the illegal sale of these hair brushes. The NGO shared the information with WCCB and Forest Departments (FD) of different states. The places where the raids were held include Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.