RARELY DOES one get a chance to serve Nature, and when destiny chooses us for her own sake, magic happens. I have been associated with a dedicated nature study camp called Prakriti Paather Pathshala here at Tamluk, East Midnapore for nearly a decade, and have conducted many sessions with the school kids to help them identify birds, butterflies and other faunal and floral diversity. This is where I first derived the sap of maxim that enables one to assess and understand the significance of animal rescue operations and their apt relocation.
It all started when I received a phone call from Aranya, one of my students stating that an Indian chameleon has been located and protected by some of the residents of a suburb area called Nimtouri. A native species, the Indian chameleon (Chamaeleo zeylanicus) is a species of chameleon, usually found in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and other parts of South Asia. Like other chameleons, this species has a long tongue, feet that are shaped into bifid claspers, a prehensile tail, independent eye movement, and the ability to change skin colour. They move slowly with a bobbing or swaying movement and are usually arboreal. Strangely, they do not choose the background colour and may not even be able to perceive colour differences. They are usually in shades of green or brown or with bands. They can change colour rapidly and the primary purpose of colour change is for communication with other chameleons and for controlling body temperature by changing to dark colours to absorb heat.
When they tried to communicate with the local Forest Department, there was not any reciprocal gest to be cherished from their end. Previously I happened to conduct a few more rescues and treatments and from time to time, there was an urgency to bridge up with the officials for the sake of better accommodation for the animal. Like every time they have done in the past, the department officials rather preferred to take an indifferent stance, letting alone the situation in a state of flux, having no promising resolution at all. One of my close acquaintances suggested that I should be choosing a preferable area for the lizard to set it free since the forest officials' response might not be trusted with ample conviction. Having a fixed direction in my mind, I went to the spot and collected the scintillating reptile in an enclosure, and subsequently set it free in one of my neighbouring areas where the biodiversity is rich enough and the chameleon is sure to be substantiated by an ample supply of his kind of prey base and sanctuary. The joy of accompanying it turned out to be a real marker of my day and as I said, these are the rare moments presented to us to convey our best to preserve the valuable eco-jewels that we are having.
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