What is that saying again about never having smoke without fire? That played out in a little village in Madagascar until locals were forced to act on the obvious clues.
It turned out that a house everyone had always believed to be an abandoned property started emitting strange and incredibly strong smells. When it became unbearable, neighbors had to involve the authorities.
The Source was Initially an Enigma
When the smell first arrived in the Madagascan neighborhood, no one could pinpoint where it was coming from. They initially brushed it off as an August visitor that came with the winds and would soon have no choice but to leave.
But unfortunately, the repulsive smell kept getting worse until people in the area started gossiping about it. Soon, everyone started trying to identify the exact source of the smell.
A Halt to Prevent Misjudgement
Eventually, everyone agreed the smell was coming from the abandoned house. So, neighbors talked about how to investigate the terrible smell and eliminate it as soon as possible.
First, they considered breaking into the house, but then realized it would be trespassing. Next, they agreed to involve the police but didn’t want to make silly reports backed only by speculative evidence.
The House Responds
As if someone had let the house in on the neighbor’s plot, the smell suddenly stopped. Then the supposedly abandoned building started to receive occasional visitors.
Since the smell seemed to have disappeared, people decided to continue their lives and move on.
The Smell Came Back
Just when the neighbors were heaving a sigh of relief from the terrible smell of the house, it returned.
Without any patience to continue living in such conditions, residents of that locality called for a meeting. They finally agreed to involve the cops, despite not knowing what was causing the smell. The officers documenting the complaint report had a hunch about the odor but decided to investigate first.
The Investigation is On!
To get the ball rolling, an officer obtained a warrant to search the property based on a number of complaints by the neighbors.
When the investigation began, the police were assisted by some of the neighbors to find their way around the abandoned property. Also, they involved paramedics and wildlife experts to give their opinion on whatever might be causing the smell.
Getting the Specialists Involved
Interestingly, Soary Randrianjafizanaka—head of the local wildlife committee—happened to live in the neighborhood. So, she was invited to participate in investigating the smelly residence.
The police department has had similar cases of bad-smelling properties that eventually had to involve the wildlife committee. Consequently, the officers thought it proactive to invite the committee beforehand. Besides, it would be a good idea to bring Randrianjafizanaka up to speed on occurrences in her neighborhood.
An Otherwise Peaceful Town
The town in question is located on one of the beautiful coasts of Madagascar. Toliara is a town known for its serenity and the friendliness of its occupants.
However, there have been a few cases of animal poaching in the area, which is why the police opted to involve Randrianjafizanaka and her team. As a police officer, you want to involve the Environmental Agency in any case involving animals.
Deputizing in the Appropriate Jurisdiction
When it comes to criminal offenses or social disturbances involving animals, Madagascar’s Environmental Agency is always up to the task. Besides rescuing stranded animals or wild ones that occasionally stray into human colonies, they equally look into cases of animal abuse and environmental pollution.
For a while now, the Environmental Agency has worked with law enforcement to ensure that government regulations are followed regarding the mentioned issues.
Getting Dirty
Back to the house under investigation, Randrianjafizanaka, the police officers, and other team members proceeded with caution. Interestingly, the pungent smell coming from the property is different from what the wildlife committee of the Environmental Agency had ever encountered.
They couldn’t conclude too early, so they proceeded to examine every inch of the property, hoping to find anything out of the normal.
The Smell Remained the Decisive Anchor
As the team checked around the property, almost every other part of the building looked normal except for the strong and terrible smell. The house was too quiet to believe any activity had occurred there recently.
In Madagascar, you’d seldom find houses with a “For Sale” sign out front. So, the police officers had to check again if the property was for lease or sale.
Plunging Into the Labyrinth
As the team explored every inch of the house, some had to step to catch an occasional breath due to the smell. But they refused to back down before finding the very source of the stench.
At this point, Randrianjafizanaka was inclined to offer a professional opinion—the smell appeared to come from an accumulation of animal waste. While none of the team members doubted this theory, they still needed to identify the odoriferous source.
Answers Finally Coming Forth
It would have been difficult for anyone to live in such conditions, which explains why the house was found empty. But it was obvious that something had been actively refueling the source of the pungent smell.
All the loose ends and unanswered questions inspired the team to forge on and get to the end of this matter. Left to the unbearable stench, every team member would have given up.
Exploring the Stillness
Out of the blue, the team heard an audible shuffle close by. Of course, it wasn’t a loud noise, but the quietness of the house caused everyone present to hear it.
So, everyone went into hyper-careful mode because they were not alone. The level of confusion on the team went another notch higher. Consequently, everyone proceeded with the utmost caution.
There Was an Encounter
At the turn of the next corner, the team chanced upon actual people—with shovels in their hands—and they were digging frantically. The noise of their digging was probably guilty of giving away their position inside the big house.
The team members noticed that strange objects littered the ground being dug up. They were making a last attempt to cover something up in the holes being dug.
Guilty As Charged
Luckily, the men found within the property were locals, not tourists. So, the police officers stepped forward to question them. However, the look on the diggers’ faces said it all; they had the demeanor of people who had just been busted.
Just like criminals who had been found out, in the course of committing a crime, they dropped their shovels and looked somber. Luckily, they had no firearms.
The Rules of Engagement
No concrete evidence had been found to rule the men in that house as criminals. However, the police officers had to first take them into custody and lead them to the other personnel waiting outside.
Then after making sure the suspects were securely detained, they all returned to the house to unravel the mystery behind the men’s hidden activities. At the section of the house where the men had been apprehended, the experts then started a comprehensive search.
A Room in Total Squalor
It was now obvious that the smell was coming from the room where the digging men had been arrested. When members of the raiding team returned, they found the room in pitch darkness and considerable disrepair.
Another thing they could not help but notice was that the floor of that room was shifty. After a careful and closer look, they realized they were not standing on a giant treadmill. Their find was an unexpected one.
An Unsuitable Home for a Tortoise
Some other team members fetched a bright light source with which the room was illuminated. Under the light’s influence, every team member could see that the room was crawling with tortoises.
Every inch of the room was covered with a shockingly large number of turtles. Randrianjafizanaka identified them as a very unique specie of tortoise. Now they could see those tortoises littered some rooms in the house.
What Were the Tortoises Doing There?
Randrianjafizanaka told other team members what she knew about these tortoises. They are widely known as radiated tortoises and were being hoarded in the abandoned house because there is obviously something special about them.
It turns out they are a rare species that is very friendly and easily identified by their shells’ markings. However, this species of tortoise is native to Madagascar.
The Allure of Radiated Tortoises
It is an economic fact that rare items tend to be valued highly. So, poachers tend to always be on the lookout for these radiated tortoises because they fetch handsome prices on the black market.
Some people keep them as pets, while others eat them for exotic meat. However, the Madagascan government ruled that keeping radiated tortoises is against the law. The animals have been noticed to be rapidly going extinct.
Wildlife Committee to the Rescue
Immediately Randrianjafizanaka saw the tortoises; she knew exactly what was expected of her. So, she swung into action to save these endangered species kept in an unstable environment.
Randrianjafizanaka made arrangements to evacuate the animals from the abandoned house. The cramped spaces in which the team found the tortoises were far from ideal, so much so that they had high tendencies of dying off.
A Little Orientation
From Randrianjafizanaka’s expert knowledge about radiated tortoises, she could tell that every second the animals spent in that abandoned house spelled doom for them. She informed the team that the tortoise species do not do well in cramped spaces.
Unfortunately, they could not even number how many tortoises were in the abandoned house’s small rooms.
Taking a Census
As the tortoises were being moved out of the abandoned building to safer locations, Randrianjafizanaka made sure a head count was carried out. The wildlife committee wanted to ensure each radiate specie was accounted for.
To highlight how endangered the radiated tortoises are, there were an estimated 12 million of them around in the 1990s. Unfortunately, the population today has dropped to 3 million. The radiated tortoises salvaged from the abandoned house were found to be approximately 9,000.
Freedom At Last!
While Randrianjafizanaka was unhappy with the poor conditions in which the radiated tortoises were hoarded, she was glad her team could recover that population from a single den.
During the evacuation, it was not difficult to identify that many of the tortoises were quite sick and might die soon if not given the appropriate attention. Hopefully, they’ll help the sick ones recover under healthy conditions.
Not So Good Afterall
Right after the evacuation, the tortoises were taken to a new location with access to as much space and resources as necessary. The 9,000 tortoises were equally provided with veterinarians to care for the sick ones.
Unfortunately, many tortoises were severely sick from neglect at the abandoned house. The vets could do very little to save many suffering from severe bouts of dehydration.
They Did Their Best
The poachers exploited the radiated tortoises for monetary benefits, but Randrianjafizanaka, her team, and other members of law enforcement saw to it that the animals were liberated. Unfortunately, despite all the efforts and care, some of the tortoises still lost their lives.
The conditions at the abandoned house had put a terrible strain on the health of the radiated tortoise that eventually died.
Spectating in Awe
Only a couple of neighbors were bold enough to enter the building, along with law enforcement. The police officers needed a guide, after all. Others stood outside the building to observe what would come of the investigation.
So, the neighbors were quite surprised when the arrests were made and the animals evacuated. They never could have imagined that such an activity was going on in a building that has always been believed to be abandoned.
News of the Event Started a Movement
When the story broke, a movement began. Wildlife preservation activists educated locals about the dangers to our ecological diversity of poaching exotic animals—particularly endangered species.
Locals needed some education on treating animals humanely, even if they are pets of which they have legal possession.
What Became of the Radiated Tortoises?
Of the 9,000 radiated tortoises that were rescued, roughly 8,000 survived. The Environmental Agency and the wildlife team were reluctant to release them back into the wild since they wouldn’t want the animals to fall into the hands of other poachers.
So, experts decided to help them breed in a very comfortable enclosure. To deter other poachers, the arrested culprits were charged to court and were served lengthy years of incarceration after the hearing of their case.
