Amid a ban on the use of Viagra, the male sex stamina drug, Adams in Pakistan are turning to oil extracted from desert lizards. As a result, desert lizards were hunted on a large scale.
The main ingredient for this impotence medicine is made from the desert lizard with the Latin name Saara hardwickii or commonly known as the Hardwicke spiny-tailed lizard, and belongs to the Agamidae family.
This species is common in swathes of the Thar desert, Kutch, and the surrounding arid zones of India and Pakistan. Hardwicke's skink is herbivorous, living in groups and often attracting predators such as birds of prey.
So far there is no scientific evidence that proves that this oil can increase male stamina in bed. However, local residents overdo believe that the oil is highly efficacious.
The oil is made by extracting lizard blubber, then soaking it in another oil extracted from scorpions and other ingredients.
"You only need five drops and apply it to the intimate area. This oil is magical in terms of increasing sexual stamina," said Yasir Ali, one of the four desert lizard oil sellers.
#Pakistan Quack 'aphrodisiac' from lizard a hit
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These reptiles are hunted when they emerge from their burrows to bask. Muhammad Nasir, one of the lizard hunters in a village near Islamabad, said he broke the lizard's back while catching it using a wire snare.
"This is done so they don't escape, because the animals move at the speed of a bullet," explained the 25-year-old man.
"It's sad and sadistic to hunt these lizards and deprive them of their right to live in their natural habitat, but that's how we make a living," he added.
In a conservative country like Pakistan, married couples are under pressure from society's expectations of 'producing' a large family. The impact, among others, infertility married couples are stigmatized and Viagra banned. On the other hand, sexual stamina drugs, especially for men, are still sought after, and they believe more in unscientific treatments.