TURA: Activists from a wildlife conservation organisation recovered the shell of a giant turtle on the banks of Tasek Lake near Songsak in East Garo Hills district on Saturday.
The team from Huro India, an organisation working for conservation of the Hoolock Gibbon and other wildlife in Garo hills, went to the spot after a photograph of the dead turtle went viral on social media.
“We noticed the photo of the dead turtle going viral on social media and thereafter decided to go to the spot for details. We located the person who first spotted it and had kept the shell in his custody after removing it,” said Dr Saljagringrang R. Marak, a veterinarian associated with Huro India.
Marak said it was for the first time that such a rare turtle was spotted in Garo hills, which is yet to be documented. The Huro India team said such turtles were found in large numbers in Tasek, Chitmareng, Chidambong and Bolgisim.
“It calls for research as we suspect that the turtle may be listed in the endangered category,” said Bhutto Marak, another activist associated with Huro India.
Bhutto said a US-based Turtle Conservancy and Chelonian Research Foundation has identified the turtle species to be either Nilssonia hurum or Nilssonia nigricans. Hurum and Nigricans are on the red list category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“Nigricans are known to exist in an artificial pond of Baizid Bostami shrine near Chittagong in Bangladesh. So we are very excited since this could be a big achievement and we can come together for conservation and protection of this rare turtle in Garo hills,” said Bhutto.
“We have collected the DNA samples of the species and will send it for further investigation to Bangladesh,” Bhutto said.
Members of Huro India say Tasek is a community-protected site and that heavy penalty provisions are being enforced for fishing and hunting of any species found in the lake. However, once the species venture out of the protected area, they are in danger as villagers in Garo hills are still fond of hunting wild animals.
“We urge the concerned organisation and particularly the government to ensure that the turtle species found in the area is protected and adequate research is carried out for its identification,” said Saljagringrang Marak.
