A live Monitor lizard would fetch over Rs 25,000 in Kambam. Inter-state trafficking suspected: Photo | ManoramaNedumkandam, Idukki: The people of Nedumkandam on Sunday caught a man, suspected to be part of a gang from Tamil Nadu, for setting up a snare to trap Monitor lizards.
The gang had set up the trap on a barren patch of marshland behind SDA School, near Nedumkandam east junction.
Local people who grew suspicious of the group carried out a search during which they located the traps. They caught hold of a man. He was let off with a warning but the Forest department has launched an inquiry.
Residents said rag-pickers in the town were the ones who caught the lizards known for their powerful grip on rocky surfaces. The lore is that the lizards were used as hinges and props by men to scale high walls. The gang targeted mongoose and rabbits too.
Forest sources said a gang operating in Kambam bought these animals. A live Monitor lizard would fetch over Rs 25,000 in Kambam. The meat is consumed and also used by mendicants and healers. The actual medicinal value is but questionable.
There were reports that the poachers were chasing and killing animals which ventured out of the woods in search of water in the summer heat.
Forests said apart from such small-time gangs, larger and more organized gangs were on the prowl in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border areas.
They mostly targeted wild boar and barking deer. They operated by camping inside forests. They killed animals and smuggled it out on the sly for users.
