” What on earth are you looking at that dog for ?!”, said an irate tourist, as his poor driver left the animal behind, and drove ahead, presumably looking for more ‘exciting’ quarry like tigers. This was in fact, the last Indian or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) seen in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in the year 2004. I (Dharmendra Khandal) managed to take one very bad photograph of it. The Indian wild dog is more commonly known by the vernacular name, dhole.
The dhole has been considered extinct in Rajasthan since 2004, and is the only mammal species to have disappeared from the state post-independence. However, even more blasphemous than the aforementioned tourist’s ignorance, has been the conduct of our ancestors. This is because the dhole was historically considered vermin, largely because it hunted deer. Fewer deer meant less food for the tiger (first prized for sport, and then as an indicator of successful conservation), and back then (until 1972), human beings. The dhole’s lot in Rajasthan did not improve even after the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, as many forest officials of the old school still viewed them negatively, and some went as far as to have them silently exterminated in the forests under their charge.
The last dhole to ever be seen in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve on May 8th 2004. This also happens to be the last concrete record of a dhole in the entire state of Rajasthan. (Photo: Dr. Dharmendra Khandal)
An old hunter from Jaipur once recalled that when he hunted in the jungles of Sheopur (Madhya Pradesh) in the 1950s, local forest officials advised him to exterminate dholes, and when he did hunt them, he was under the false impression his actions were benefiting wildlife conservation. While no one knows for certain where the dhole in Ranthambhore came from in 2004, it could only have come from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, where they have now vanished from the jungles of Sheopur as well. There was however, a time when dholes occurred in good numbers in the jungles of Ranthambhore, Sariska, Karauli, Dholpur, Baran and other districts in southern Rajasthan.
Colonel Kesri Singh, the famous tiger hunter of Rajasthan, has written many anecdotes concerning dholes in his books, notably how on one occasion he shot 5-6 of them in the Sonkachh area of Ranthambhore, as a pack pursued a sambar deer. In addition, he injured one, while the rest of the pack fled. He also penned two more anecdotes which involved dholes hunting sambar deer. He wrote of a forest guard mounted on camel back (Ranthambhore historically had a mounted camel patrol) suddenly seeing a frightened sambar fawn come before him, only to find a pair of dholes simultaneously appear behind him, tentatively seeking an opportunity to hunt the fawn down. Similarly, one morning whilst eating breakfast with another hunter friend, they looked up to suddenly see a sambar deer running straight towards them, with a pack of dholes in hot pursuit! Singh’s friend had come to Ranthambhore to hunt sambar deer, and hadn’t seen one despite having spent the entire day in the field on their first day. He was rather pleased to see the sambar sent his way courtesy the dholes. In another anecdote, a large pack of dholes even managed to dispossess a tiger of it’s kill! All of these incidents would have occurred close to Indian independence in 1947.
It is clear from these anecdotes that Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve was once a prime habitat for the dhole. In fact, one can still find old trophies of dholes hunted in Rajasthan, on the walls of the old palaces of the erstwhile royal houses of Kota, Dungarpur, Jhalawar etc.
Recently, the dhole found mention in the environment impact assessment report for the proposed construction of the Bharatmala highway. As the highway is meant to pass through many wildlife sanctuaries in Rajasthan, the report discussed how this will affect the dhole and several other wild species. The authors of such reports usually steal snippets of miscellaneous information from here and there, and then draft reports in which the truth is often left behind. Dholes have long been wiped out in Rajasthan, yet environmental impact assessors record their occurrence erroneously.
The dhole is now the most forgotten animal of Rajasthan, which even forest department officials hesitate to bring back today, only because we have tarnished its reputation to such an extent over the years.
Authors:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
Cover photo caption & credit: A Tiger Hunted by Wild Dogs, by Samuel Howitt (1765-1822), ca. 1807. From Oriental Field Sports: being a complete, detailed, and accurate description of the wild sports of the East by Captain Thomas Williamson (1758-1817). Large packs of dholes or Indian wild dogs, have been known to not only steal tiger kills, but at times, besiege and kill tigers, albeit not without taking heavy losses.
अरे कुत्ते को क्या देख रहे हो ? एक पर्यटन बोला और बेचारा टूरिस्ट गाडी वाला उसे छोड़ आगे बढ़ गया। यही था अंतिम जंगली कुत्ता जो वर्ष 2004 में रणथम्भोर में दिख रहा था। मैं इसकी एक बेहद ख़राब फोटो ले पाया। जंगली कुत्ता जिसके लिए एक सही भारतीय नाम है – ‘ढोल’ (Cuon alpinus)। ढोल वर्ष 2004 के बाद में राजस्थान से विलुप्त हो चुके है, और यह एक मात्र स्तनधारी प्राणी है, जो राज्य से आज़ादी के बाद से गायब हुआ है। परन्तु उस सामान्य पर्यटन की हिकारत भरी उपेक्षा से भी कहीं अधिक कठोर था हमारे पुरखो का बर्ताव। क्योंकि ढोल को एक हानिकारक प्राणी माना जाता था जो हिरणो को मारता है। हिरन का कम होना मतलब बाघ और इंसान के लिए खाना कम होना। यह हालात वन्य जीव अधिनियम कानून आने के बाद भी नहीं सुधरे थे, तब भी पुराने खयालो के वन अधिकारी अक्सर इनके खिलाफ रहे और कुछ तो इनको चुप चाप मारते या मरवाते भी रहे।
जयपुर के एक पुराने शिकारी कहते थे की, १९५० के दशक में वे जब श्योपुर- मध्य प्रदेश के जंगलो में शिकार करने जाते तो, अक्सर वहां के वन अधिकारी उनसे ढोल को ख़तम करने की सलाह देते थे, और वे जब ढोल मारते तो उन्हें लगता की यह एक वन्य जीव संरक्षण केलिए किया गया सही फैसला है।
रणथंभौर का अंतिम एशियाई जंगली कुत्ता 8 मई 2004
वर्ष 2004 में, रणथम्भोर में ढोल कहाँ से आये कोई नहीं जानता परन्तु मध्य प्रदेश के अलावा कही से कोई और दूसरा जगह नहीं है, आज श्योपुर में भी इनका पूरी तरह सफाया हो चूका है। एक जमाना था जब रणथम्भोर- सरिस्का – करौली , धौलपुर, बारां, दक्षिणी राजस्थान के अन्य जिलों के जंगलो में इनकी तादाद ठीक-ठाक रही थी।
राजस्थान के जाने माने शिकारी कर्नल केसरी सिंह ने अपनी पुस्तकों में इनसे जुड़े अनेक किस्से लिखे है की किस प्रकार रणथम्भोर के सोनकच्छ इलाके में उन्होंने सांभर के पीछे लगे 5 -6 शिकारी कुतो में से एक को मार गिराया,एक अन्य को घायल कर दिया और बाकि सब भाग गए। उन्होंने दो और उद्धरण लिखे है जिसमें भी ढोल सांभर हिरन का पीछा करते हुए ही बताये गए थे। उनके अनुसार जब ऊंटो पर बैठे वन रक्षक ने देखा की एक घबराया हुआ सांभर का छौना उनके बीच आगया है और उनके पीछे दो ढोल मोके की तलाश में है ताकि उसका शिकार कर सके। इसी प्रकार एक बार उनको सुबह सुबह जब वे अपने एक शिकारी दोस्त के साथ सुबह का नास्ता ले रहे थे तब भी एक सांभर तेजी से भागते हुए उनके पास आगया जिसके पीछे ढोल भाग रहे थे। उनका दोस्त जो एक सांभर के शिकार के लिए रणथम्भोर आया था और उसे पहले दिन पुरे दिन घूमने के बाद भी सांभर नहीं दिखा था। ढोल के द्वारा दिखाए सांभर से अत्यंत प्रसन्न था। एक और वाकये में तो ढोल के समूह ने बाघ से खाना तक छीन लिया था। यह सभी वाकये देश आजादी (1947) के आस पास के रहे होंगे।
इन कहानीयो से स्पष्ट है की रणथम्भोर ढोल का अच्छा पर्यावास था। खैर कोटा, डूंगरपुर, झालावाड़ आदि सभी जगह के पुराने राजवंशो के महलो में आज भी राजस्थान से मारे गए ढोल की कई ट्रॉफीज दीवारों पर टंगी हुई है।
पिछले दिनों ढोल का जिक्र भारत की एक महती परियोजना -भारत माला राज मार्ग के पर्यावरण प्रभाव आकलन की रिपोर्ट में भी हुआ था की राजस्थान के कई अभ्यारण्यो से गुजरनेवाला यह राजमार्ग किस प्रकार अन्य वन्य जीवो के साथ ढोल के जीवन को प्रभावित करेगा। पर्यावरण प्रभाव आकलन की रिपोर्ट बनाने वाले अक्सर इधर उधर का ज्ञान चोरी कर अपनी रिपोर्ट बनाते है जिसमें सच्चाई अक्सर कहीं पीछे ही छूट जाती है। ढोल राजस्थान से कब ही के समाप्त हो चुके परन्तु पर्यावरण प्रभाव आकलन करने वाले अभी भी गलती से उसे दर्ज कर ही रहे है।
ढोल राज्य का सबसे अधिक भुला दिया गया प्राणी है जिसे आज पुनः लाने से वन विभाग के अधिकारी भी कतराते है क्योंकि वर्षो से हमने इसकी छवि को इतना कलुषित जो कर दिया है।
लेखक :
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
Cover photo Caption: जंगली कुत्तों द्वारा शिकार किया गया बाघ (1807) (फोटो:सैमुअल हॉविट)
Victor Jacquemont (1801-1832), a French botanist, geologist and explorer, reached the pinnacle of success in a very short period of time, yet was always looked upon with suspicion wherever he went, and passed away at just 31 years of age. However, he explored almost half of India during the four years he spent here, and the four days he spent in Rajasthan, give him the distinction of having been the first modern botanical explorer to have traversed the state.
Almost 200 years ago, Victor Jacquemont, by all descriptions, an enthusiastic botanist, arrived in India from France at the age of 28. He was sent by the botanical gardens or Jardin des Plantes in Paris, to collect specimens of Indian fauna and flora. Jacquemont came from humble origins, and was hired by the botanical gardens for 240 pounds per annum for this mammoth undertaking.
During his voyage to India, he impressed Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire with his scholarship, yet was regarded by the latter with suspicion. Ranjit Singh initially suspected him to be a spy dispatched by his enemies. Nevertheless, recognising his aptitude as both a botanist and geologist, the Maharaja’s durbar consulted him regarding a suitable tree to plant on the banks of the river Ravi. Those trees still line the banks of the Ravi today.
Victor Jacquemont
On May 5th, 1829, Jacquemont arrived at the port of Calcutta from France. The British East India Company was on the rise in India at the time, and immediately regarded this intrepid young French researcher with suspicion and allowed him to travel the country with great reluctance, after restricting him to Calcutta for a considerable period of time. Jacquemont, unsurprisingly, passed his time at the famous Calcutta Botanical Garden, until he was finally granted permission by the British to leave the city several months later. His journey can be roughly divided into three parts-
Journey from Calcutta to Delhi and the Himalayas
Journey to Punjab and Kashmir
Journey from Delhi to Bombay via Ajmer in Rajasthan
Jacquemont faced many hardships during his travels, yet he carried on collecting specimens and documenting his observations with diligence. The proof is in the pudding so to speak- he collected 4787 specimens of trees and plants, which were representative of 1185 different species.
As mentioned earlier, Jacquemont spent 4 days in Rajasthan while en route from Delhi to Bombay. Those were a very productive 4 days indeed, for he managed to traverse the cities of Alwar, Jaipur, Ajmer, and Chittoor in that amount of time( March 1st to March 4th 1832). It is of note that he considered Jaipur to be India’s most magnificent city, and Ajmer to be the most beautiful place he had ever visited. This is despite the fact that he had already traveled to Kashmir and the Himalayas!
From Ajmer, he travelled to Beawar (a city in Ajmer district) and took stock of the social customs of the local people there. He wrote that he was quite surprised that some individuals routinely sold their daughters in that society. Soon after, he camped near the fort of Chittoor. Jacquemont was then denied access to the city of Udaipur, an experience he described akin to ‘sour grapes’, for he could not visit a city whose name he had heard of before. He also collected many plant specimens during his short visit to Rajasthan.
Jacquemont eventually reached Bombay through Madhya Pradesh, but no one anticipated what happened next. Soon after his departure from Rajasthan, he injured himself after falling off a horse and also contracted cholera. Both of which contributed to his untimely death in Bombay in December 1832 at the age of 31. After collecting and working on thousands of trees and plants for 4 years, Jacquemont’s desire to write about them remained tragically unfulfilled. His fellow botanists worked on his extensive collection of specimens, and described many new species of plants, all of which bear his name. A brave and hardworking botanist with a very short lifespan thus cemented his name in the pages of the history of this country.
His personal records of his journey, published posthumously as Voyage dans L’Inde pendant les années 1828 – 1832, are housed in the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Lenhardt Library. This work is divided into 6 broad sections, of which 4 are text, and 2 are illustrations. His correspondence with family, friends and colleagues during this time is also stored in the same library. All of these have been translated from French to English.
As we already know, many trees and plants were posthumously named after him such as – Acacia jacquemontii , Betula jacquemontii, Corylus jacquemontii, Prunus jacquemontii, Arisaema jacquemontii.
Victor Jacquemont’s life might have been short, but he will be remembered for his courageous expeditions in the name of science, and having lived his life to the fullest. The reader too should take inspiration from his life story, and endeavour to make this world a better place
Authors:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
जीवन के छोटे काल खंड में सफलता के शिखर को छूनेवाला फ्रांस से आया आधुनिक वनस्पति अन्वेषण कर्ता “विक्टर जैक्वेमों” हर समय संदेह की नज़र से देखा गया और मात्र ३१ वर्ष की छोटी आयु में इस दुनिया से अलविदा कर गया। लेकिन भारत में बिताये मात्र चार वर्षों में ,लगभग आधे देश का भ्रमण करते हुए और राजस्थान में उनके द्वारा बिताये गए मात्र चार दिन उन्हें राज्य का प्रथम आधुनिक वनस्पति अन्वेषण कर्ता बनने का गौरव प्रदान कर गये।
आज से लगभग 200 वर्ष पूर्व, राजस्थान के प्रथम वनस्पति आधुनिक अन्वेषण कर्ता विक्टर जैक्वेमों एक अतिउत्साहित वनस्पति शास्त्री था, जो अपनी 28 वर्ष की छोटी उम्र में फ्रांस से भारत आया। इन्हें फ्रांस के एक प्रसिद्ध वनस्पति उद्यान ‘जार्डिन डेस प्लांट्स’ ने भारत में पेड़ पौधो के अध्ययन के लिए भेजा था। जैक्वेमों एक साधारण परिवार से थे एवं उन्हें उद्यान द्वारा हर वर्ष २४० पोंड की तनख्वाह पर रखा गया था।
भारत में उनकी यात्रा के दौरान पंजाब के प्रसिद्ध महाराजा श्री रंजीत सिंह उनकी विद्वता से अत्यंत प्रभावित थे, परन्तु साथ ही संदेह में भी थे कि, यह कोई शत्रुओं का जासूस तो नहीं। महाराज ने रावी नदी के किनारों पर उचित पेड़ लगाने की सलाह भी इसी वनस्पति विशेषज्ञ से ली, जो पेड़ आज भी रावी के किनारे पर मौजूद है।
विक्टर जैक्वेमों
5 मई 1829 में फ्रांस से वह कोलकत्ता के बंदरगाह पर पहुंचे। भारत में उस समय ब्रिटिश हुकूमत कायम हो चुकी थी और यह शोधकर्ता एक फ्रेंच होने के कारण हुकूमत के हर समय संदेह के घेरे में रहा और उन्हें भारत में यात्रा करने की इजाजत भी आसानी से नहीं मिली। खैर यह समय उन्होंने भारत की वनस्पति अध्ययन में कोलकत्ता के प्रसिद्ध बोटैनिकल गार्डन में निकाला एवं तत्पश्च्यात कई माह बाद वह भारत में वनस्पतियों की खोज के लिए निकल पड़े। उनकी खोज यात्राओं को तीन मुख्य भागो में बांटा गया है –
कोलकत्ता से दिल्ली और हिमालय की यात्रा
पंजाब और कश्मीर की यात्रा
दिल्ली से अजमेर होते हुए बॉम्बे की यात्रा
इन यात्राओं में उन्होने अनेक प्रकार के कष्टों का सामना करना पड़ा एवं महीनो के लम्बे सफर के साथ वह गहराई से अपने अवलोकन को लिपिबद्ध करते रहे। उन्होंने इन यात्राओं के दौरान 4787 पेड़ पौधों के नमूने इकठे किये जिनमें 1185 अलग अलग प्रजातियों के नमूने थे।
दिल्ली से बॉम्बे की यात्रा के समय उन्होंने राजस्थान में 4 दिन बिताये थे। उन्होंने इन 4 दिनों (1-4 मार्च 1832) में राजस्थान के अलवर, जयपुर, अजमेर, चित्तौड़ शहरों को देखा। जयपुर को उन्होंने भारत के बेहद शानदार शहर का दर्जा दिया एवं अजमेर को उनके द्वारा देखे गये सबसे सुन्दर स्थान माना, जबकि वह उस समय तक कश्मीर और हिमालय यात्रा चुके थे।
अजमेर से वह ब्यावर की और गये एवं वहां के स्थानीय लोगों के सामाजिक व्यवस्था का जायजा लिया। वह आश्चर्यचकित थे कि, किस प्रकार कुछ समाज के लोग अपनी बेटियों को बेचते है और कुछ लोग उन्हें खरीदते हैं। इसके बाद वे चित्तौड़ के दुर्ग के पास अपना टेंट लगा के रहे। उन्होंने आगे लिखा की किस प्रकार उन्हें उदयपुर राज्य में प्रवेश की इजाजत नहीं मिली और उन्होंने लिखा की यह अंगूर खट्टे है जैसे अनुभव था, जिस शहर का नाम उन्होंने पहले से सुना था वहां जा नहीं पाये। राजस्थान भ्रमण के दौरान उन्होंने कई वनस्पतियो के नमूने एकत्रित किये।
खैर वो मध्य प्रदेश के रास्ते बॉम्बे पहुंचे और आगे वो हुआ जिसका अनुमान कोई नहीं लगा रहा था। राजस्थान से जाने के बाद वह घोड़े की पीठ से गिर गये एवं उन्हें हैजे की बीमारी भी होगयी और इन दोनों वजह से मात्र ३१ वर्ष की उम्र में बॉम्बे में विक्टर जैक्वेमों की दिसंबर १९३२ में मृत्यु होगयी। चार वर्षो में इकठे किये गये हजारो पेड़ पौधों के नमूनों पर काम कर उनके बारे में लिखने की उनकी तमन्ना अधूरी ही रह गयी। उनके साथी वनस्पति विशेषज्ञो ने उनके द्वारा एकत्रित किये गये नमूनों की जाँच की और पाया उनमें कई नए प्रजाति के पेड़ पौधे है, जिन्हे आज भी उनके नाम से जाना जाता है। एक साहसी और कर्मठ वनस्पति शास्त्री अपने जीवन के अल्प समय में इस देश के इतिहास के पन्नो में दर्ज होगया।
शिकागो के बोटैनिकल गार्डन की लेनहार्डट लाइब्रेरी में आज भी उनके द्वारा किये गए महान कार्य ;Voyage dans l’Inde pendant les années 1828 – 1832 जो उनके मरणोपरांत प्रकशित हुआ था को रखा गया है। इनके कार्य को ६ बड़े खंडो में बांटा गया है जिनमें चार मूलपाठ है एवं २ में रेखांकन है। इसके आलावा पारवारिक सदस्यों , मित्रो, सहकर्मियों को लिखे गए अनेक पत्र भी यहाँ सुरक्षित रखे है।
यह फ्रैंच के साथ इंग्लिश में भी अनुवादित किये गए है।
उनके नाम से कई पेड़ पौधों के नाम रखे गए जैसे एकेसिया जैक्वेमोंटी, बेतुला जैक्वेमोंटी, करीलुस जैक्वेमोंटी , प्रूनस जैक्वेमोंटी, अरिसीमा जैक्वेमोंटी आदि .
उनकी जीवन यात्रा भले ही छोटी रही (8 अगस्त 1801 – 7 दिसंबर 1832) परन्तु उनके द्वारा की गयी साहसी यात्राओं को जमाना सदैव याद रखेगा की उन्होंने अपना समय भरपूर जीया। आप भी उन्हें याद करे और इस दुनिया को सुन्दर बनाने के लिए कार्य करें।
लेखक:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
This is an article based on a scientific discourse between two herpetologists. In the midst of this discourse, I present some evidence which further complicates the debate. However, since I am not a herpetologist, I cannot take this debate to a logical conclusion, but I do present enough information that warrants a much closer look by experts.
Dear herpetologists,
This letter is an earnest appeal to you. I am aware that all of you are constantly discovering new reptilian species in the country. Discovering, and indeed describing new species is an addiction for biologists. There was a time when quite literally, new species of birds were discovered on dinner plates, and species of mammals at butcher shops. However, it isn’t all that easy today. The reason for my appeal is that there is a 40 year old taxonomic conundrum vexing us here in Rajasthan.
Shri RC Sharma, Reptile Scientist, Zoological Society of India
Dr. R.C. Sharma, a herpetologist from Rajasthan, discovered a unique lizard from Ajmer’s Madar mountain in 1973, and in 1980, he gave it the binomial name Cyrtodactylus madarensis. He thus named the new species after the mountain where he discovered it. Dr. Sharma also believed that this lizard shed “bright light in darkness from its body”. He also wrote that this lizard moves slowly like a chameleon, and lifts its entire body off the ground on all 4 limbs while doing so. It truly seemed like an extraordinary discovery.
However, this discovery by a veteran herpetologist of the prestigious Zoological Survey of India, was completely upended by another herpetologist with the publication of another study a little more than a decade later. The name of this herpetologist is Dr. Indraneil Das, who is currently a Professor of Herpetology at the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation at the University of Malaysia, Sarawak.
Conservation Biologist Mr. Indranil Das from Sarawak University of Malaysia (Photo: Sarawak University)
In 1992, Das contended that this ‘discovery’ was based on a single specimen, which was a juvenile male. His second, and bigger contention was that on the basis of the given description and photograph, the genus of the lizard is Eublepharis, and not Cyrtodactylus. He supported this assertion by pointing out the specimen’s thick upper eyelids, which are an attribute of the genus Eublepharis. He further argued that the specimen had multiple attributes typical of Eublepharis.
Photo of Eublepharis macularius taken by the renowned herpetologist Muhammad Sharif Khan of Pakistan
Das then compared Sharma’s description and asserted that the specimen belonged to the species Eublepharis macularius. Which in vernacular terms is known as the common leopard gecko or the spotted fat-tailed gecko.
According to scientists, 4 gecko species have been reported in India till date:
Eublepharis satpuraensis, which was discovered by Indian herpetologists in Satpura, Madhya Pradesh in 2014.
Eublepharis fuscus, which was discovered by BÖRNER, 1974 in Bombay, and is reported from the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Eublepharis hardwickii, which was discovered by GRAY, 1827 from what is now Bangladesh, but is reported from many states in India such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu etc.
Eublepharis macularius, was discovered by BLYTH, 1854 from what is now Pakistan, but it is also believed to occur in Afghanistan, Nepal, Iran and western India. chiefly- Rajasthan and Punjab. Several subspecies for this species have also been considered. For example,Eublepharis fuscus was once considered to be a subspecies of this species. Thus, Indraneil Das considered the lizard specimen discovered in Ajmer by Dr. R.C. Sharma to be Eublepharis macularius on the basis of its description and distribution area.
Distribution of Eublepharis macularius suggested by herpetologist Muhammad Sharif Khan
However, it appears to me that-
Another leopard gecko is found in Rajasthan, Delhi and the parts of Madhya Pradesh that border Rajasthan. In 2016, I photographed this Eublepharis in the district of Bundi in Rajasthan and am presenting this photograph here. Besides myself, similar Eublepharis have been photographed by Mr. Satya Prakash in New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and Dr. Satish Sharma in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Another herpetologist has also found some evidence in connection with this from Madhya Pradesh. If it is found in such a wide range of distribution, then it is not unreasonable to think that it also occurs in Ajmer. Although it has not been proven scientifically yet that the Eublepharis we photographed is a seperate species.
Photo of Eublepharis sp taken by Dharmendra Khandal from Bundi district of Rajasthan.
But why do I think that it is different?
I am not a herpetologist by training, and therefore cannot comment on scientific criteria, but the leopard gecko I photographed looks very different in comparison to the Eublepharis macularius photographed by the famous Pakistani herpetologist Muhammad Sharif Khan. You can compare the photographs, and come to your own conclusion.
Thus, it might be possible that the lizard Dr. R.C. Sharma, found in Ajmer, was in fact, the ‘new’ leopard gecko ranging from Udaipur, Rajasthan to JNU-Delhi. While I firmly agree that there are several flaws in Dr. R.C. Sharma’s research paper, I also think Dr. Indraneil Das’s assertion that the lizard is the species Eublepharis macularius might have been rather hasty.
Let’s see how long it takes you to solve this mystery, I will wait until you do so.
Best of luck!
Dharmendra Khandal
References:
Das, I. 1992. Cyrtodactylus madarensis Sharma (1980), a junior synonym of Eublepharis macularius (Blyth, 1854). Asiatic Herpetological Research 4: 55-56
Sharma, R.C. 1980. Discovery of a luminous geckonid lizard from India. Bulletin of the Zoological Survey of India 3(1&2): 111-112, 1pl
Authors:
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
Mr. Ishan Dhar (R) is a researcher of political science in a think tank. He has been associated with Tiger Watch’s conservation interventions in his capacity as a member of the board of directors.
Dr. Dharmendra Khandal (L) has worked as a conservation biologist with Tiger Watch – a non-profit organisation based in Ranthambhore, for the last 16 years. He spearheads all anti-poaching, community-based conservation and exploration interventions for the organisation.
