A four-day lizard identification workshop and field survey at Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary has led to the documentation of 16 species of lizards across varied habitats stretching from Valyanchal base camp to Sooryamudi peak and into Kottiyoor Wildlife Sanctuary.
The programme, organised by the Malabar Awareness and Rescue Center for Wildlife (MARC), was aimed at training Forest department staff to identify lesser-known fauna. S.R. Ganesh, a herpetologist, led the sessions that combined classroom instructions with extensive fieldwork.
A key focus of the survey was the critically endangered Kottiyoor Day Gecko (Cnemaspis Kotiyoorensis), described only in 2014. The species was recorded during the survey at Sooryamudi camp, reaffirming its restricted distribution.
In total, teams documented lizard species that belonged to four different family. Besides the Indian Monitor, the team documented six species of Agamidae lizards which is Indian flying lizard, oriental garden lizard, common green forest lizard, endagered Nilgiri forest lizard, Eliiot’s forest lizard and Roux’s forest lizard.
The survey also found lizard from Scincidae family, which included keeled Indian mabuya and endangered species including short grass skink, Dawson’s grass skink and Beddome’s cat skink.
Five gecko species, including the endangered Wayanad day gecko, coastal day gecko, Kottiyoor day gecko, common house gecko, and spotted house gecko species were also recorded.
MARC members assisted forest officials during the survey. The workshop and field survey were conducted under the guidance of V. Ratheeshan, Wildlife Warden of Aralam sanctuary, assistant warden Remya Raghavan, and Roshnath Ramesh, Secretary of MARC.
Published – September 25, 2025 05:09 pm IST
