UNB, Dhaka :
The existence of Tokay Gecko, locally known as Takkhak, is at stake in the country due to its rampant illegal
hunting as a notion is there that its illicit business can make one a millionaire overnight.
Wildlife conservationists said poachers are largely involved in hunting Tokay Gecko across the country because of its high demand as there is a mistaken belief that the derivatives of the species can cure AIDS and cancer and it could be sold in the international market at an unusual price.
“Although there’s no scientific evidence of such claim that traditional medicine prepared from Tokay Gecko is curable of AIDS or cancer, its widespread hunting continues,” IUCN country representative Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad told UNB.
Tokay Gecko is the second largest gecko species attaining lengths of about 11-20 inches.
Its habitats range from India, Nepal and Bangladesh to Indonesia, and to the Philippines and New Guinea.
Illegal trade of Tokay is very common in Bangladesh. On November 19, members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in a drive seized a Gecko from city’s Moghbazar area and arrested four wildlife traffickers in this regard.
On November 3, police seized four Geckos from Humayun Rashid Square in Sylhet City and arrested three alleged wildlife traffickers in connection with the incident.
Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, a conservator of forests, said there is a high demand for Tokay Geckos in Far East countries like China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and the reptile species is being smuggled to these countries.
Tokay Geckos have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years to treat cancer, asthma, diabetes, skin disorders and other ailments. Tokay Geckos wine or whiskey is consumed as an aphrodisiac or as an energy drink in many Asian countries, he said.
According to officials at the Wildlife Circle of the Forest Department, hundreds of Bangladeshi trappers are selling Tokay Geckos to international wildlife traffickers, who smuggle them to centers of Chinese medicine across Asia.
They, however, could not confirm how many Tokay Geckos are being smuggled each year. Zoologists says although the Tokay Geckos are still available in Bangladesh forests, it will be disappeared in the coming decade if the illegal poaching and destruction of forests continue.
The existence of Tokay Gecko, locally known as Takkhak, is at stake in the country due to its rampant illegal
hunting as a notion is there that its illicit business can make one a millionaire overnight.
Wildlife conservationists said poachers are largely involved in hunting Tokay Gecko across the country because of its high demand as there is a mistaken belief that the derivatives of the species can cure AIDS and cancer and it could be sold in the international market at an unusual price.
“Although there’s no scientific evidence of such claim that traditional medicine prepared from Tokay Gecko is curable of AIDS or cancer, its widespread hunting continues,” IUCN country representative Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad told UNB.
Tokay Gecko is the second largest gecko species attaining lengths of about 11-20 inches.
Its habitats range from India, Nepal and Bangladesh to Indonesia, and to the Philippines and New Guinea.
Illegal trade of Tokay is very common in Bangladesh. On November 19, members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in a drive seized a Gecko from city’s Moghbazar area and arrested four wildlife traffickers in this regard.
On November 3, police seized four Geckos from Humayun Rashid Square in Sylhet City and arrested three alleged wildlife traffickers in connection with the incident.
Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, a conservator of forests, said there is a high demand for Tokay Geckos in Far East countries like China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and the reptile species is being smuggled to these countries.
Tokay Geckos have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years to treat cancer, asthma, diabetes, skin disorders and other ailments. Tokay Geckos wine or whiskey is consumed as an aphrodisiac or as an energy drink in many Asian countries, he said.
According to officials at the Wildlife Circle of the Forest Department, hundreds of Bangladeshi trappers are selling Tokay Geckos to international wildlife traffickers, who smuggle them to centers of Chinese medicine across Asia.
They, however, could not confirm how many Tokay Geckos are being smuggled each year. Zoologists says although the Tokay Geckos are still available in Bangladesh forests, it will be disappeared in the coming decade if the illegal poaching and destruction of forests continue.
