KAZIRANGA: Just as the Barca snakehead fish appeared to be on the threshold of extinction, one from the rare species was rescued in Kaziranga, all thanks to the endeavour of a local youth who acted responsibly towards conservation of nature.
The rare fish locally known as 'Pipli Cheng' or 'Cheng Garaka' was recovered by Nitul Bauri in Kaziranga on Thursday. Bauri discovered the fish while fishing in a local water body near Kohora in Golaghat district.
Known as per the scientific nomenclature as Channa barca, the species is endemic to the Upper Brahmaputra Basin in the Northeast and neighbouring Bangladesh.
It was first described to the scientific community by Scottish physician Francis Hamilton in 1822, during his stay in India,.
The rescuer Nitul Bauri while speaking to reporters said that initially he could not recognise the fish but seeing that it was not like the others in the water body, he arrived at a conclusion that it must be a rare species. Thereafter, he shared the information with nature enthusiast Babul Sharma who recognised it and handed it over to Forest Officer of Kaziranga National Park Bibhuti Kumar Gogoi.
Meanwhile, the Forest Department has applauded the endeavour of the youth. The Department later released the fish into a safe location.
It may be mentioned here that the ornamental Barca snakehead fish which is highly priced for its great demand in national and international markets is susceptible to illegal trade. Over the years, the price of the rare fish has severely hiked for its scarcity and for the fact that it is geographically confined only to the Brahmaputra Basin.
Currently counted as one of the most expensive ornamental fishes in the world it is known to stay confined in vertical holes along the peripheral regions of wetlands that dry up consecutively during the winter season.
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