Forest dept. in slumber as locals capture Bengal Monitor Lizard in Badarpur; “Species is in stress,” Prof. Parthankar Choudhury

Of the four species of Varanus reported from India, two are distributed within the Barak Valley, the Asian water monitor (V. Salvator) and the Bengal monitor (V. bengalensis). Thursday afternoon, locals of the Badarpur area spotted a giant lizard next to the Barak Valley Cement factory. They chased it down and tied it with a pole. Stressed by the human intervention, the reptile was in discomfort.

“Since the last century, an increasing human population and the destruction of wildlife habitats due to logging, the expansion of agricultural land, encroachment on forests, the establishment of tea gardens, and infrastructure development have resulted in severe population declines for the wildlife of the region, including varanids. This has also led to human-wildlife conflicts and retaliatory killings and the hunting of the varanids for their meat and oil. However, studies on the conservation status, ecology and threats to varanids in the region are lacking,” shares professor Parthankar Choudhury, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University Silchar.

He adds, “This species is in stress. As per the wildlife protection act of India, it is a Schedule-1 species. Capturing and killing is a punishable offence and yet it is captured or killed for various purposes. Awareness for its conservation should be strengthened.” The professor makes it clear that this reptile is not a threat to human life.

The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 has been divided into six schedules. Each schedule gives a varied form of protection. Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 provide absolute protection to the wild animals and for the violation of such provisions, the penalty charged is very high. A reptile classified under part 2 of schedule 1 was tied to a pole for hours and photographs went viral on social media, yet, the Karimganj Forest Division had little idea about all of it.

The ranger as well as the DFO were clueless. “There has been no such report of a Bengal Monitor Lizard being caught in Karimganj Forest Division,” said Ranger Sams Uddin. DFO too was unaware. Later Ranger informed that the reptile was caught in Badarpur. “The locals had tied it down. But later when they understood that officials from the forest division will visit, they simply released the reptile in the jungle,” said Ranger Sams Uddin.

Should the Forest department remain so casual about a Schedule 1 reptile. Can anybody simply tie such an important species and release it at will?

This turn of affairs exposes the lack of awareness. It remains to be seen if the Forest Division invests to generate awareness both within and in general.