Thunderstorm in Le area - Famous specialty of white sand area

If one day you visit Hoa Thang (Lam Dong), a land of golden sand and sunburn located on the South Central Coast, ask the locals about “Dong Khu Le”. They will tell you a special story about this small animal.

The Le area's lizards once lived hidden under the white sand, then became a famous delicacy that attracts tourists. Behind the sweet aroma of "grilled lizards with salt and chili" or "lemon leaf lizard salad" is not only the flavor, but also the journey of revival.

Dong Khu Le was once hunted to near exhaustion.

Khu Le, a large sandy area in Hoa Thang commune, was once called by locals as the “storm capital” thanks to its hot, dry climate and sandy soil, ideal conditions for this reptile to thrive. Storms live in deep sand caves, eat leaves and fruits, are docile, clean and have especially delicious, nutritious meat.

Because of their rarity and deliciousness, the lizard has become a target for massive hunting. For decades, wild lizards have been exploited without control, causing their numbers to decline dramatically.

People in Le area have brought natural thunderstorms to their gardens to raise.

The main food of the monitor lizard is sweet potatoes, water spinach.... (Photo source)

Meanwhile, in 2006, a farmer named Duong Minh Cong in Hong Chinh village made a bold decision to bring the wild-caught lizards to raise in his garden for testing. Not many people believed he was successful. Because lizards are used to living in the wild, are shy and have difficulty reproducing in captivity.

But Mr. Cong was determined: "The monitor lizard must be intact, and its legs must not be broken when captured, in order to adapt and reproduce." After a period of experimenting with a barn model on an area of ​​2,000 square meters, he proved that the monitor lizard can be domesticated, grow well and have high economic value.

Not stopping there, his lizard farm was chosen by the Department of Science and Technology of the province in collaboration with the University of Agriculture and Forestry of Ho Chi Minh City as a place to research and preserve the gene source of the Le area lizard, a species with ecological characteristics of the sandy area.

Thunderstorms develop in home gardens

From a pioneer household, up to now, the whole Hoa Thang commune has nearly 40 households raising lizards, with a total barn area of ​​over 5 hectares. Raising techniques are increasingly systematic, thanks to accumulated experience and support from the government and scientists.

Traders come to the place to buy thunderstorms

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, one of the households raising them in Hong Lam village, shared: “Looking like that, monitor lizards are easy to raise. Their food is usually sweet potato leaves, water spinach, peanuts, fish eggs, dragon fruit, etc. However, taking care of monitor lizards is very laborious. Therefore, it is necessary to master the techniques as well as diligently monitor the breeding times to have a reasonable division of barns…”.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, one of the households raising lizards in Hong Lam village

Ms. Vy also said that commercial monitor lizard meat is currently priced from 650,000 - 800,000 VND/kg. Monitor lizards are sought after by restaurants, eateries, and tourist areas with a series of attractive dishes. Notable dishes include: Grilled monitor lizards with salt and chili, monitor lizard salad with lemon and chili, monitor lizard porridge with green beans, monitor lizards steamed with rice paper, and even monitor lizards stewed with Chinese herbs... Each dish has a rich, unique flavor, very popular with tourists.

Storms become a famous specialty. (Photo: Internet)

Khu Le used to be the Le Hong Phong revolutionary base, where many generations of resistance fighters left their footprints. Retaining the native lizard species is not simply an economic action, but also an effort to preserve the identity, conserve biology, and restore the unique ecological region.

Mr. Chung added that many households have now organized experiential tours such as: Visiting the lizard cages, catching lizards, and processing them on the spot. Not only the elderly but also the young people in the area participate in the lizard farming profession. For them, this is a way to have a stable income and preserve a part of the soul of their homeland.

From the brink of extinction, the Le area’s thunderstorm has embarked on a journey of revival thanks to the hands and love of the Hoa Thang people. Now, the thunderstorm is not only a famous specialty, but also a miniature image of an economic approach associated with conservation by farmers who refuse to give up in the harsh sun and sand.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/dong-khu-le-dac-san-tru-danh-vung-cat-trang-390780.html