<i>Gecko freed, poacher punished</i>
A mobile court fined a man for trading gecko, locally known as takkhak, in Dighinala upazila of Khagrchhari district on Wednesday evening.
Tipped off, a police team from Dighinala police station arrested Md Nur Nabi, 40, a resident of Bazaar area of Matiranga upazila under Khagrachhari district, with two geckoes from Bhangabuilding area of Dighinala upazila at about 1:30am of Wednesday as he was trying to sell those, said officer in charge Abdul Kadar.
Informed, a mobile team led by Dighinala Upazila Nirbahi Officer Enamul Karim fined him Tk 1000 and freed the geckoes, he added.
Nur Nabi said he collected the geckos from Kabakhali area of Dighinala upazila on Wednesday morning.
Buyers from different districts including Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi come to the area to buy the creature and a 300g gecko sells for Tk 3 lakh to Tk 4 lakh as it is used for medicines, he added.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (Khagrachhari Sadar Circle) Al Asad Mohammad Mahfuzul Islam said a gang is engaged in the illegal job in the area and police are trying to arrest them.
Gecko is turning into a threatened species due to hunting and so, people should be made conscious to protect it, Divisional Forest Officer Md Jahurul Islam said.
"Scientific name of the seized creature is tokay gecko and it is the second largest of gecko species. They are well known for distinctive mating call, a loud croak, often described as gekk gekk or poo-kay. Males attain about 11-15 inches and females 7-11 inches in length and weights 150-300grams," he said.
"They have bluish or greyish body with spots ranging from light yellow to bright red. They have large brown, greenish brown, orange or yellow eyes with vertical slit pupils. Females lay clutches of hard shelled eggs that are guarded until they hatch. Tokay geckos feed on insects and small vertebrates," he added.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments