232
J. Purkayastha et al.
4 Discussion
For most of Tripura, no organised data exists regarding its herpetofauna nor do we
have assessment data on conservation status of its herpetofauna. Till date people of the
state are oblivious of the provisions in Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for protecting
the fauna of the state. The capital city of Agartala still has a big market for turtle meat.
In fish market of Gol Bazar and Battala bazar, turtle meat is sold in open without
any restriction (Fig. 5). The prime turtle species involved are Nilssonia hurum (Gray,
1831) and Lissemys punctata andersoni (Webb 1980). It was informed that these
turtles make their way to Tripura from Bangladesh. Manu, a village in Dhalai district
of Tripura was also seen to have a market for turtle flesh. Local people were seen to be
very much superstitious about snake and lots of myths still exists about snakes which
makes conservation and conflict mitigation measures difficult to implement. During
this short study period we recorded 11 individuals of snakes being killed by local
people-five Xenochrophis piscator (Schneider 1799), three Dendrelaphis proarchos,
two Rhabdophis subminiatus (Schlegel 1837) and a Boiga ochracea (Theobald 1868).
The state still harbours a good forest cover, hence more research effort is needed in
terms of its herpetofauna added upon by community awareness to secure the near
future of herpetofauna of the state.
Fig. 5 Turtle meat being sold in Gol Bazar in Agartala, Tripura
J. Purkayastha et al.
4 Discussion
For most of Tripura, no organised data exists regarding its herpetofauna nor do we
have assessment data on conservation status of its herpetofauna. Till date people of the
state are oblivious of the provisions in Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for protecting
the fauna of the state. The capital city of Agartala still has a big market for turtle meat.
In fish market of Gol Bazar and Battala bazar, turtle meat is sold in open without
any restriction (Fig. 5). The prime turtle species involved are Nilssonia hurum (Gray,
1831) and Lissemys punctata andersoni (Webb 1980). It was informed that these
turtles make their way to Tripura from Bangladesh. Manu, a village in Dhalai district
of Tripura was also seen to have a market for turtle flesh. Local people were seen to be
very much superstitious about snake and lots of myths still exists about snakes which
makes conservation and conflict mitigation measures difficult to implement. During
this short study period we recorded 11 individuals of snakes being killed by local
people-five Xenochrophis piscator (Schneider 1799), three Dendrelaphis proarchos,
two Rhabdophis subminiatus (Schlegel 1837) and a Boiga ochracea (Theobald 1868).
The state still harbours a good forest cover, hence more research effort is needed in
terms of its herpetofauna added upon by community awareness to secure the near
future of herpetofauna of the state.
Fig. 5 Turtle meat being sold in Gol Bazar in Agartala, Tripura