From Our Correspondent
TURA: An incident of capture, slaughter and consumption of an endangered monitor lizard in Garo Hills region by a local resident has gone viral on social media, with the person reportedly uploading photographs of the incident himself.
It has drawn sharp reactions from animal lovers on social media while the state Wildlife department has swung into action to nab the accused.
The accused, believed to be from one of the villages in the Garo Hills region, had reportedly captured the lizard and later killed it.
After taking pictures of it, he posted it on Facebook, leading to widespread condemnation on social media.
As the pictures began circulating, the Wildlife teams launched an investigation into the incident.
The department has also taken the help of police for assistance in nabbing the accused.
The monitor lizard is a highly endangered species and only a few dozen are known to be in existence in the Garo Hills region.
Decades earlier it was found in abundance in many parts of the region, including Tura town.
Of late, there has been reports of rise in poaching of endangered species of animals and birds in the Garo Hills region.
A few years ago, an auto showroom owner from Tura was apprehended for allegedly killing endangered clouded leopards.
Two months ago, two villagers were apprehended for killing an adult male deer near the Nokrek National Park, and recently, an elected MDC from the GHADC, Wenison Ch Marak, had to surrender before authorities after he put up pictures in social media of hunting endangered species of wild birds.
