Rare turtles rescued in Pune brought to native habitat in NE

By Sujit Chakraborty

Guwahati, Aug 14 (IANS) A total of 63 endangered turtles belonging to five species, which were rescued in Pune, have been brought to their native habitat in northeast India after an 18-hour-long flight journey.

The endangered species have been housed at the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati, officials said on Saturday.

According to Shailendra Singh, Director of Turtle Survival Alliance's (TSA) India programme, the turtles, including the endangered Spotted Pond Turtle and Crowned River Turtle, were confiscated by the Pune Forest Division between 2019 and 2020 from poachers and illegal traders.

"The Spotted Pond and the Crowned River species were recently added to the Red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature," Singh told IANS.

He said that following months of meticulous planning and onerous administrative clearances, 63 endangered turtles were finally flown to Assam on Friday from Pune.

Building on the past success of similar translocation operations carried out by the TSA, the expertise of the Alliance was again pressed into service by the forest departments of Maharashtra and Assam, he said.

Singh said that after the seizure, the turtles were kept in the interim facilities of Indian Herpetological Society and Resq Charitable Trust in Pune.

He said that the survival of these species of turtles, which are not found in Maharashtra, were threatened by climate fluctuations and unsuitable weather conditions.

"Subsequently, flying the turtles back to their native river systems in Assam remained the only viable option. In the absence of such repatriation measures, the turtles are either released in in-appropriate wetlands or remain in captivity for their entire life," said Singh.

"Apart from the lengthy Covid restrictions and unavailability of any direct flight between Pune and Guwahati, other complications of turtle translocation also had to be accounted for before embarking on the journey, which ended successfully on Friday.

"The translocation was done as part of the zoo-to-zoo transfer practice. Necessary due diligence would be done before releasing the turtles into the wild," said the conservationist.

Singh said that each turtle was inspected thoroughly before packing them in padded plastic cartons for their 18-hour flight via Delhi.

TSA researcher Pawan Pareek had rushed to the Delhi airport from Lucknow to examine the consignment during its night-long stay at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

"During his inspection, Pareek ensured that the turtles were healthy, not stressed by transit, and most importantly, the hydration levels are maintained," Singh said.

After the turtles were received in Guwahati by a joint team of Assam State Zoo and TSA, they have been housed at the Assam State Zoo under observation for an eventual rehabilitation into the wild.

"The entire repatriation process was proactively supported by the wildlife officials of Maharashtra and Assam, including Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Rahul Patil, Aswini Kumar and his team at the Assam State Zoo, and Air India officials," Singh said, adding that the TSA experts would closely monitor the behaviour and health of the turtles before they are released.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at [email protected])