Located in the southwest of the Southeast region, Tay Ninh is not only the land of culture and religion with many destinations bearing unique religious imprints but also possessing diverse ecosystems providing rich flora and fauna species. One of them is the mountain lizard.
They are currently only found in the Ba Den mountain area in Thanh Tan commune – about 8km from the center of Tay Ninh city.
According to local people, The reason why only Ba Den Mountain has mountain lizards is because this area has ideal terrain and climate conditions that are favorable for the growth and development of this creature.
Currently, people have not Mountain lizards have been discovered elsewhere and it has not been possible to breed them to other regions or to raise and care for them using industrial methods.
They mainly live in mountain hollows. climbing at an altitude of about 100-500m.
Mr. N.T – owner of a restaurant specializing in serving specialties in Tay Ninh said that if he wants to catch mountain lizards, he must watch for sunny days and good weather because if it rains Slippery mountain slopes make it difficult to “hunt” them and can easily lead to danger.
In the past, mountain lizards were better known to gourmets for their delicious taste, so there were always customers looking for them. . The price of mountain lizards is quite high, about 1 million VND/kg. At peak times, it can be up to 15 million VND.
However, in recent years, mountain lizards have been recommended not to be hunted or processed. Because the number of individuals is very small in Ba Den Mountain, many places no longer serve this specialty,” Mr. T. emphasized.
According to Mr. T. mountain lizards only eat ripe figs, bananas or herbal plants in nature, not insects.
Talk with Dan Tri reporter Mr. Tran Van Trach – Head of the Legal Inspection Department of the Forest Protection Department Tay Ninh province said that mountain lizards are not on the list of animals banned from hunting in Vietnam. However, people and tourists are advised not to hunt mountain lizards to maintain a relatively small number of individuals on Ba Den Mountain.
Currently, the government and functional agencies of Tay Ninh province are also making efforts to protect this type of animal as well as propagate and encourage people and tourists not to hunt or hunt it. buy, sell or eat mountain lizard meat.
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