Stranded kitten rescued from expressway girder. But how did it get there?

Despite multiple attempts throughout Saturday, the kitten remained out of reach. In the end, it was rescued using a trap

The Dhaka North City Corporation, or DNCC, has rescued a kitten that was stuck on a cross girder of the elevated expressway in the capital's Mohakhali.

The rescue operation began on Saturday afternoon when DNCC workers attempted to reach the kitten using two hydraulic ladders. However, their initial efforts were unsuccessful and the frightened kitten kept moving away. Unable to capture it, they decided to set up a trap later that night.

By Sunday morning, the plan had worked and the kitten was caught in the trap. Around 8:30am, DNCC workers safely brought the kitten down, according to DNCC Public Health Officer (Veterinary) Md Lutfor Rahman.

Despite the successful rescue, officials remain puzzled about how the kitten ended up in such a precarious location. Some officials from the Dhaka Elevated Expressway believe that YouTubers may have deliberately placed the kitten there to create viral content -- a claim based on similar past incidents.

The situation first came to public attention on Saturday when someone posted about the stranded kitten on Facebook. The post caught the attention of DNCC administrator Mohammad Ejaz, who promptly ordered a rescue operation.

Responding to the call, DNCC workers arrived at the scene and set up a ladder on an extended beam under the expressway from above the Mohakhali Flyover. Despite their best efforts, the kitten, scared and wary, kept moving further away. Another ladder was brought in, but even after continuous efforts until 10pm, the team couldn’t catch it.

Realising a direct rescue wasn’t working, the workers set up a trap with food and left for the night, hoping it would lure the kitten in. The plan paid off.

“The kitten was wild and difficult to catch. It kept getting scared whenever we got close. That’s why we used a trap overnight. Once it was caught, our team brought it down in the morning. The kitten is now in our care,” DNCC official Lutfor said on Sunday.

He added that the kitten was about three months old. Lutfor, however, was baffled by how it got onto the cross girder in the first place.

“There is no logical way for a kitten to have reached that spot on its own. There are houses nearby, but it couldn’t have jumped from there. Cats can climb trees using their claws, but they can’t grip cement piers. Given its small size, I strongly believe someone must have placed it there.”

“Even if it somehow made its way up via the Banani or Mohakhali ramps, there is no way for it to reach that exact location.”

Hasib Hasan Khan, director of Traffic, Security, and Safety at First Dhaka Elevated Expressway Company Ltd, also ruled out the possibility of the kitten getting there on its own.

“We suspect that a YouTuber left it there,” he said. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. We’ve rescued animals before and later realised that some content creators might be staging these incidents to generate viral videos and news coverage. Otherwise, there is no logical way for a cat to end up there.”