In news-Forest officials who installed GPS transmitters on Northern River Terrapin in Indian Sundarbans have found that in just six weeks after the release, at least three of the ten individuals travelled hundreds of kilometers and are now in Bangladesh.
About Northern River Terrapin-
- It is a species of riverine turtle native to Southeast Asia.
- Its other common names are Batagur baska, Common Batagur, Four-toed Terrapin, River Terrapin.
- It can be found in India and Bangladesh (Sundarbans), Myanmar, Malaysia (peninsular), Indonesia (Sumatra), Thailand, and Cambodia.
- It is regionally extinct in Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
- The species has an upturned snout.
- Front feet are broad and webbed with only four claws (other turtles have five).
- It has white eyes. Females and juveniles are olive grey in color with grey to brown eyes.
- Males are darker, turning completely black during the breeding season with yellow or white eyes.
- Males have longer and thicker tails but are somewhat smaller in size.
- It lives in coastal mangrove estuaries and creeks, but ventures far upstream during the breeding season.
- An omnivore, it feeds on waterside plants and small animals such as clams.
- Females nest in sandbars and banks far upstream from the normal estuarine habitat during the breeding season, December to March.
- It is classified Critically Endangered by the IUCN and considered extinct in much of its former range.
- It comes under Schedule I of WPA 1972 and Appendix I of CITES.
Source: The Hindu
