104 rare turtles released in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary for in-situ conservation
Turtle hatchlings from Hajo temple pond released in Hadug Beel to boost wild population and aid species recovery.
An image of turtles being released at Pobitora.
Morigaon, Sept 28: Altogether 104 turtles of three different species, namely, Black soft shell turtle, Indian tent turtle and Ganges soft shell turtle, were released on saturday in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary of Morigaon district in a joint effort of the district administration of Kamrup, Mandir Committee of Hajo Haigrib Madhab Mandir and the Forest Department for in situ conservation of the rare species of turtles.
A team of Assam State Zoo led by Panchami Sharma, pathologist, Jayaditya Purkayastha, renowned herpetologist and Pranjal Mahananda, biologist, brought the 104 hatchlings from the temple pond of Haigrib Madhab Mandir and released them with the help of the range officer of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary at the Hadug Beel.
The Hadug Beel of Pobitora is known for its rich diversity of species like turtles, fish and other aquatic wildlife due to the high protection measures adopted by the authority in the recent past.
This initiative was taken up to improving the status of the turtle species from critically endangered or endangered to the ‘least concern’ level and also to provide better habitat to the turtles.
The turtles were initially kept in quarantine under the supervision of the veterinarians at the State Zoo in Guwahati and then were finally released in the sanctuary today.