SAVED FROM THE CAN: The tortoises back in India

They must be tired tortoises. Smuggled from the Anantapur and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh to Chennai, onwards to Singapore and then back again to Andhra Pradesh. They didn't go walking, of course, but the 1,830 star-shelled tortoises confiscated by officials in Singapore have had quite a long journey. And the largest ever seizure of tortoises smuggled from India once again brought into focus the flourishing trade in exotic species.

Star tortoises-Geocheleone elegans to zoologists-are land-dwelling creatures that eat succulents. They grow to 18 inches, with an adult weighing up to 3 kg. A star tortoise lives for about 35 years, and lays eight to 10 eggs twice a year.

Star tortoises are commonly found in the semi-arid zones of the country in the south and north-western parts of India. Lately, though, they are becoming relatively rare because of the numbers that become victim to the illegal trade. More than 18 of the 27 species of star tortoises found in India are smuggled abroad. A single specimen fetches about Rs 2,500 in China, where it is served as a soup that is believed to be an aphrodisiac. But the price tag for a pet is higher-more than Rs 10,000.

And there are takers for both. "These tortoises are in demand as a delicacy in China and several Asian countries and as a pet in Europe and the US," says Dr B.C. Choudhary, joint director, Wild Life Institute of India.

The Singapore authorities have already convicted Zafrullah Hussain, one of those involved in the smuggling attempt. He has been sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment and payment of a fine of $(S)5,000 (Rs 1.38 lakh) Hussain will have to pay another $(S)10,500 for the upkeep and repatriation of the tortoises, failing which he will be in jail for six more months. If officials back home acted half as efficiently, the star tortoise would have a far brighter future.

Amarnath K. Menon

OBITUARY

FRANK SIMOES 1934-2002

Author and ad guru Frank Simoes, 68, who passed away in Mumbai last week after a long battle with cancer, once attributed much of his success to the lack of a formal education.

The rolling stone in him had little time for it anyway. Leaving home at 17 as a deck hand on a Japanese freighter, he worked as a waiter and stenographer before setting up Frank Simoes Associates in 1967. The agency, which churned out brand building and award-winning ad lines-like the Only Vimal slogan which launched Reliance in the late 1970s-and memorable campaigns for Taj hotels, Glaxo and Raymonds, bore the Simoes hallmark of simple and direct but highly effective communication.

A few years ago, the silver-haired adman shut down his agency and turned writer. He authored books like the delightful Glad Seasons in Goa, a travelogue on his native land.

-Sandeep Unnithan

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