22 greater adjutant storks found dead at Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary

A total of 22 greater adjutant storks have been found dead at Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary located 15 km away from the city of Guwahati. This species of birds is listed under Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Details of how these highly endangered birds dies are not established but the ongoing investigation had hinted at poisoning. This is because the carcasses were found at a spot close to the GMC's garbage dump. It is suspected that the birds might have consumed poisonous substances in the garbage.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 3 February 2017.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken note of the incident and has directed the state government to file an affidavit within three weeks.
The preliminary autopsy report indicated that the stomach of the birds was empty at the time of death. Efforts are on to find out if there were traces of toxic substances in the birds' muscles or if they have died from some sort of viral/bacterial infections.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Prompt action by Custom officials at Guwahati prevent smuggling of tokay geckos

Prompt action by Customs sleuths along with the officials of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau helped to save six tokay geckos that were suspected to have been brought from somewhere in south India to smuggle them to China. The lizards were found inside an unclaimed bag at the ISBT. The tokay gecko is a lizard species that is in great demand in China for its reported medicinal values.
This is as reported in telegraphindia.com dated 5 April 2016.

The officials of the Customs department has indicated that the geckos were recovered during a search that had been launched based on prior source of information. The information was that two individuals, who appear to be from south India, had brought the reptiles by train to Guwahati with the intention to smuggle them out to China via Dimapur-Moreh-Myanmar route. The duo was to have boarded a Dimapur-bound bus from the ISBT last night and accordingly a joint search was launched by a team of customs and bureau officials. The geckos were found inside an unclaimed bag but the culprits had managed to escape.
It seems gecko smuggling through this route is quite common and their have been inputs about regular smuggling of geckos from south India to China through the Northeast. The reason is that there is a high demand for tokay geckos in China as they are used in making traditional Chinese medicines rumored to cure several diseases, including HIV/AIDS. One gecko can fetch several lakhs of rupees.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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