Mangroves hatch hope for endangered turtles

KOLKATA: Sunderbans has once again bred one of the most endangered species of turtles, the batagur baska, successfully in captivity. An official said 95 baby batagur turtles were hatched at the breeding pool in Sajnekhali on Thursday giving a boost to the conservation of the river terrapin, listed critically endangered by the IUCN.
Less than 50 adult batagur baskas exist in the world. Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR) field director Nilanjan Mullick said the eggs were laid in four pits in the pool a few months ago."Since none of the eggs hatched last year, we were extra-cautious this time, particularly about the temperature. The babies are fine now," he said.
No official sighting of the species has been reported from Indian Sunderbans in a decade and it's feared that they have become extinct in Odisha's Bhitarkanika. Shailendra Singh of Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), a sister organization of IUCN, said some fragmented individuals are found in the Bangladesh Sunderbans.
Earlier in 2012, twenty five baby batagur turtles were hatched in the Sunderbans followed by 32 in 2014. Prior to that, only 11 batagur baskas, 2 female, 8 male and a juvenile, were there at Sajnekhali. These were rescued by fishermen 10 years back. Since 2009, the TSA has taken up a captive breeding programme of these turtles in India and Bangladesh. "The latest hatchlings will take the tally of the turtles, kept in captivity here, to close to 200. Till three years, we won't think of releasing them in the wild," said Singh.
Apart from Indian Sunderbans, 17 such adult turtles are found in Bangladesh's Bhawal National Park, two at Madras Crocodile Bank and nine in a Vienna zoo.
A source said the batagur baskas found in the coastal region of India and Bangladesh are a different species and are known as northern river terrapins. "These are genetically different from the ones found in Malaysia and Indonesia, known as southern river terrapin or batagur affinis," he said.
Mullick said that the department had, earlier this year, undertaken a soft release of ten such turtles in the wild.
State wildlife advisory board member Joydip Kundu said: "It's high time to concentrate on preserving such small species too. It's more endangered than Bengal tigers. This effort by the STR has great conservation significance globally." Wildlife activist Anirban Chowdhury said: "It's one of the most critically endangered species of turtles. The TSA and forest department's effort has given a ray of hope as far as revival of the species is concerned."