Poachers now targeting lesser-known wild species: Experts

Kolkata: Lesser-known wild species like pangolins, monitor lizards, mongoose, spiny-tailed lizards, and mariner turtles are falling prey to poaching and quietly vanishing from the country, wildlife experts say. “While the threat posed by illegal wildlife trade to tiger and Indian rhinoceros are well publicised, many of India’s lesser known species are also rapidly vanishing because of poaching, yet their fate remains largely under the radar,” Shekhar Kumar Niraj, head of NGO TRAFFIC, said in a release. TRAFFIC is working globally on trade in wild animals and plants.
Every year in India, hundreds of pangolins, lizards and tortoises are poached, an estimated 700,000 birds are illegally trapped, and about 70,000 tonnes of sharks are caught, yet the levels of exploitation on these species are rarely reported, the release said.
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau’s joint director Kamal Dutta said systematic monitoring by surveys and enhanced field initiatives like identification guides for enforcement personnel and greater sensitisation efforts through the media could be the way ahead for ensuring that wildlife in India reflects beyond the tiger in all glory.
Wildlife Protection Society of India’s executive director Belinda Wright said the focus has been on mega species while the lesser-known animals valued in illegal wildlife trade are being quietly and systematically wiped out. “In some areas professional tiger poaching gangs are now focusing on the lucrative pangolin trade. This is a tragedy in the making and we must do something about it before it is too late,” she warned.
Experts said pangolins are highly threatened because they are subject to a colossal illegal trade internationally, yet their plight is hardly publicised in conservation or media circles. Others, like the monitor lizard, mongoose, star tortoises, spiny-tailed lizards, freshwater and mariner turtles also need immediate attention.
Monitor lizards, especially the Bengal Monitor, were once commonly seen across the country but appear to have declined markedly, apparently after becoming a target of unabated poaching and illegal trade. Little is known about the levels of illegal trade or its impact on species such as sea cucumbers, seahorses or Red Sand and ‘double-headed’ snake. Ravi Singh, Secretary general and CEO of WWF-India, said the burgeoning illegal trade in wildlife species can seriously impact the health and balance of our eco-systems. The burgeoning demand for birds is currently a major conservation concern in India with indigenous birds protected under the Wildlife Act of 1972 still being traded freely. (PTI)