Superstition kills, Nokanalli villagers target chameleons

Chamarajanagar: They are experts at changing colour, sometimes blending with their surroundings in the process. 

While their camouflage may keep them safe from predators, it is no protection against humans, who continue to kill them either out of fear or for use in food poisoning.

So feared are these lizards in  parts of Nokanalli hobli in Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar district that people kill them immediately on sighting them in fields or on roads. 

The fear is that a person sighting chameleons could take on their physical attributes, says wildlife volunteer, Krishna Murthy, lamenting that no effort is made to conserve them despite the many killed in the region.         

“The fears of the villagers have no scientific basis but people have a blind belief in this superstition. It’s possible  that elderly people began this practice and it has caught on,” he adds ruefully. 

On sighting a chameleon, people often attack it with stones. And once the lizard  is dead, it is covered with leaves and pebbles are placed on top. 

The “grave” is then covered with thorns. Those who pass by, on seeing the  pebbles piled up, add pebbles of their own before  going on their way, says Mr Murthy. 

Also, some people kill and fry chameleons for use in food poisoning in villages like  Nokanalli, according to him. 

“The people kill chameleons on special days in a month and serve food mixed with them to their enemies,” he reveals, regretting that  no forest official or non-governmental organisation working for conservation of wildlife has paid attention to the killing of  chameleons. 

“What we need is awareness programmes to educate people about chameleons and stop them from killing them,” he stresses.