Rare reptiles vanish from Assam State zoo 1 Officials claim eight Geckos have escaped from their enclosure, but two of them have been found; forest department orders probe By Our Staff Reporter Guwahati, November 16: In an embarrassment for the State forest department, six Gecko lizards have vanished from their enclosure at the Assam State Zoo, leaving the zoo officials scrambling to find the rare reptiles. Sources said eight Gecko lizards were unaccounted for since Saturday. However, as senior official posted at the zoo claimed two of the runaway reptiles have been recovered. The rare lizards were housed at an enclosure at the Reptile House of the zoo. “It is surprising as to how such animals can disappear from their enclosures in the zoo which is a protected area. I wonder what the caretakers were doing? It is a case of sheer dereliction of duty on the part of some officials,” said a visitor who got to know about the incident while visiting the zoo today. Zoo DFO Chandan Bora remained incommunicado. There are also reports that the reptiles could have been stolen. “If they have been stolen... it is really a very serious issue. The matter should be properly investigated and if any internal link is found, the personnel should be dealt with iron hands,” said Bibhav Talukdar of Aaranyak NGO. The Tokay Gecko species of the lizard is protected under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972. Reports indicate that gangs based in Indonesia and Malaysia have cast a wide and lethal net in the Northeast for the highly threatened Gecko lizard which is believed to have medicinal qualities for treatment of incurable diseases like cancer and AIDS. While the highest demand is for the Tokay Gecko, other varieties of the family like the Golden Gecko are also trapped and sold to the mafia in the South East Asian countries through a network that is extremely organised and linked even to top police officials and politicians across several states. The lizard, which has not yet been declared an endangered species, comes in different shapes and sizes and could grow up to five feet long. It is found in Assam, Manipur and Mizoram and the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh. The buyers are mostly Indonesian and Malaysian gangs that have permanent representatives in Kolkata. Citizens from the twin nations sometime even land up in Guwahati for the deal even though they would themselves never go to the spot for seeing the lizard. Sometimes, a Gecko can fetch up to Rs 2 crore in the black market. ALL ABOUT GECKO * Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates * They range from 1.6 to 60 cm. * Most geckos cannot blink, but they often lick their eyes to keep them clean and moist. * They have a fixed lens within each iris that enlarges in darkness to let in more light. * They use chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. * They are the most species–rich group of lizards, with about 1,500 different species worldwide. * Most gecko species can lose their tails in defense, a process called autotomy. * Many species are well known for their specialized toe pads that enable them to climb smooth and vertical surfaces, and even cross indoor ceilings with ease. * Unlike most lizards, geckos are usually nocturnal. sentinelassam/mainnews/story.php?sec=1&subsec=0&id=209362&dtP=2014-11-17&ppr=1#209362
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 07:52:56 +0000
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