Varanus flavescens   

Yellow monitor

 

DISTRIBUTION: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh (for detailed distribution data, see Auliya & Koch 2020)

RED LIST STATUS: Endangered (EN) in 2019

CITES: Appendix I

NATIONAL PROTECTION:

India. – Listed in Schedule 1, Part II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972

Nepal. – Listed in Schedule I of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973

Pakistan. – All wildlife is protected in Pakistan, for e.g., the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1972 is relevant; it extends to the whole of the Province of Sindh; nothing hereinafter provided shall be deemed to authorize any person to hunt in the reserved or protected forests or on any person’s private property without permission.

THREATS:

India. – In Bihar, habitat loss, agriculture runoff and pollution are considered the major threats to the species.  In addition, roadkills are commonly reported from the Nalanda district (Bihar); the majority of roadkills are recorded from urban and rural areas (Kumar, pers. comm.).

The impact that illegal poaching for the species’ genital organs falsely advertised and marketed as “hatha jodi” (in fact a root found in remote regions of India and Nepal, and laymen believe the “hatha jodi” to be a good luck charm) is not not well understood but in some regions considered as a major threat.

Nepal. – Loss of wetlands; illegal killing for bushmeat (mostly) and sporadic evidences of trade

RESEARCH NEEDS:

General. – Evaluate impacts of harvest levels for domestic use; raising awareness of protected wildlife in communities

Nepal. – Population/occupancy estimates; evaluate impact of illegal killing

CURRENT PROJECTS

Nepal. – Current and future habitat suitability model for V. flavescens led by Suraj Baral; assessement of road kills of V. flavescens led by Santosh Bhattarai; assessment of poaching level and anitipoaching awareness led by Santosh Bhattarai