Holy civet cat spotted in Nellore forest

Most endangered species civet cat popularly known as ‘punugu pilli’ was tracked in the forests of Bhogulu in Bitragunta mandal of Nellore district on Wednesday.

A practice was in vogue in Tirumala temple of Lord Venkateswara that oil extracted from the sweat of civet cat will be anointed to the main deity in the sanctum sanctorum on every Thursday before Abhishekam to the Lord. Three civet cats were identified in the forest by M Nageswara Rao and Subba Rao of Viswanatharaopeta and informed about their presence to the forest officials.

Bitragunta veterinary officer Suresh Kumar confirmed that they were civet cat after observing them. The forest officials recovered three cats. Previously, Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) board used to nurture a good number of civet cat for extracting oil for Lord’s purpose. There was also a special seva called “punugu ginne seva”. As the animal comes under the purview of Wild Life Act, TTD handed over the civet cat to the forest department. 

-Sakshipost