In News
- After the Pink Bloom, an alien flower that choked the Avala Pandi canal at Perambra, yet another invasive species posing a major threat is a cute red-eared slider turtle.
About Red-eared turtles(Trachemys scripta elegans)
- Originated from the area around the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico, they live in still and warm water bodies such as ponds, lakes, streams, and slow- running rivers.
- It is a semi aquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae.
- It is a subspecies of the pond slider.
- The Red-eared Slider is considered one of the world’s top 100 worst invasive species.
- The red-eared slider turtles are considered a major threat to native turtle specials, as they mature fast, grow larger, and produce more offspring, and are very aggressive.
- They can out-compete native turtles for food, nestling, and basking sites. As they eat plants and animals, they can finish off a wide range of aquatic species, including fish and rare frogs.
- The turtle found in the Kalathode canal has been referred to the Nodal Centre for Biological Invasions (NCBI) at KFRI.
- IUCN – Least Concern.
Source: The Hindu
