<p>Recently, a four-feet long monitor lizard was rescued from the INA market in South Delhi. According to an NGO Wildlife Save Our Species, which rescued the reptile that belonged to endangered species, the monitor lizard was being sold for its meat.<br /><br /> While in this rescue, the lizard was found in a sack, there have been several instances in the past where monitor lizards have intruded homes surrounding forests. Helpline rescue coordinator with Wildlife Save Our Species (SOS) Arshad Khan reveals that between April and October they receive around four to five calls every day from people complaining that monitor lizards have entered their homes in areas like Nizamuddin, Chhattarpur, Asola, Jasola, Malviya Nagar, Noida and Ghaziabad.<br /><br />“We don’t know as yet if the monitor lizard rescued from the INA market was from Delhi but in the last one year, we have caught so many of them from residential places in the City,” Arshad informs. He further says that monitor lizards like to eat rats and other small animals such as pigeons and they intrude homes in search of food. “Once on the occasion of Eid, we caught a monitor lizard from Jama Masjid and around three months back from a car in Sundar Nagar area,” he informs Metrolife.<br /><br />All rescued monitor lizards are released in Asola wildlife sanctuary spread over 6,800 acres near Tughlakabad fort in South-East Delhi. On the general perception that monitor lizards are poisonous, Arshad says that there is absolutely no need to be scared of it because the reptile is not aggressive or dangerous.<br /><br />“People get so scared on one sight of monitor lizard. There is a misconception that it is as poisonous as snakes but that is not true. It has long nails and can bite and scratch in rare cases but nothing more than that,” says Arshad.<br /><br />Protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, monitor lizards have a long tongue which they use to locate their food. Saurabh Gupta, a wildlife officer at People For Animals (PFA), Delhi, says trafficking of monitor lizards is also done to make oil from their skin. “To prevent trafficking of monitor lizards, there is a need to clear the misconception that oil made out of their skin can increase sexual prowess.”<br /><br />According to him, excessive hunting and loss of habitat has pushed the monitor lizards to the brink of endangered species list. The animal is also trafficked for its skin to be used for the preparation of percussion instruments like dholak or tabla and making purses and bags.</p>
<p>Recently, a four-feet long monitor lizard was rescued from the INA market in South Delhi. According to an NGO Wildlife Save Our Species, which rescued the reptile that belonged to endangered species, the monitor lizard was being sold for its meat.<br /><br /> While in this rescue, the lizard was found in a sack, there have been several instances in the past where monitor lizards have intruded homes surrounding forests. Helpline rescue coordinator with Wildlife Save Our Species (SOS) Arshad Khan reveals that between April and October they receive around four to five calls every day from people complaining that monitor lizards have entered their homes in areas like Nizamuddin, Chhattarpur, Asola, Jasola, Malviya Nagar, Noida and Ghaziabad.<br /><br />“We don’t know as yet if the monitor lizard rescued from the INA market was from Delhi but in the last one year, we have caught so many of them from residential places in the City,” Arshad informs. He further says that monitor lizards like to eat rats and other small animals such as pigeons and they intrude homes in search of food. “Once on the occasion of Eid, we caught a monitor lizard from Jama Masjid and around three months back from a car in Sundar Nagar area,” he informs Metrolife.<br /><br />All rescued monitor lizards are released in Asola wildlife sanctuary spread over 6,800 acres near Tughlakabad fort in South-East Delhi. On the general perception that monitor lizards are poisonous, Arshad says that there is absolutely no need to be scared of it because the reptile is not aggressive or dangerous.<br /><br />“People get so scared on one sight of monitor lizard. There is a misconception that it is as poisonous as snakes but that is not true. It has long nails and can bite and scratch in rare cases but nothing more than that,” says Arshad.<br /><br />Protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, monitor lizards have a long tongue which they use to locate their food. Saurabh Gupta, a wildlife officer at People For Animals (PFA), Delhi, says trafficking of monitor lizards is also done to make oil from their skin. “To prevent trafficking of monitor lizards, there is a need to clear the misconception that oil made out of their skin can increase sexual prowess.”<br /><br />According to him, excessive hunting and loss of habitat has pushed the monitor lizards to the brink of endangered species list. The animal is also trafficked for its skin to be used for the preparation of percussion instruments like dholak or tabla and making purses and bags.</p>
