RAJOURI: In a first, an Indian long-eared hedgehog was sighted here in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.

It was captured by a team headed by wildlife warden, Rajouri-Poonch, Amit Sharma of the the department of wildlife protection in Rajouri district's Nowshera belt, they said.

According to officials, the mammal species identity was confirmed by Zoological Survey of India scientist, Dr Shyamkant S Talmale.

They said samples have been taken to perform a series of other procedures like DNA analysis and morphometric studies at the Jammu Central University.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Sarvesh Rai congratulated the staff of the Rajouri-Poonch Wildlife Division for the first record of authentic presence of the Indian long-eared hedgehog in Jammu and Kashmir.

He has directed the wildlife warden to carry out a population estimation of the animal in the particular area and to survey other area for its presence in collaboration with the universities and Wildlife Institute of India.

The sighting of Indian long-eared hedgehog is indeed an addition to the long list of biodiversity of the Union Territory, he said.