Chambal landscape: one of last viable habitats for red-crowned roofed turtle

Chambal landscape: one of last viable habitats for red-crowned roofed turtle

• The Chambal landscape is an important habitat for freshwater turtles.
• There are eight species of turtles found here of which the red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga) is critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
• The male of the species exhibit dimorphism by producing distinct colours on the head, red, blue and yellow, to attract females during breeding season. In this habitat, less than 500 adult females survive.
• The other important species found here is the Batagur dhongoka or the three-striped roofed turtle.
• The Chambal turtles use the sandy riverbank for nesting. Illegal sand mining is one of the major threats for them.
• A programme by the Turtle Survival Alliance-India protects vulnerable nests from inundation during the monsoon season by removing these to hatcheries.
• In Chambal, turtle protection work by the TSA started around 2006 after it identified 10 species of freshwater turtles that it deemed needed immediate attention. Of this, three endangered species were present in Chambal.
• In these 15 years of turtle conservation in the Chambal landscape, eighteen major turtle habitats have been identified along the river and 5,000 Batagur nests protected by TSA.
• Activities involve translocation of vulnerable nests to hatcheries and the release of young turtles fitted with transmitters to help track their movement
• Recently, the organization has introduced a spatial monitoring and reporting tool for turtle monitoring and conservation in the landscape. turtles.

Chambal landscape

• The presence of several important species ensured that Chambal was declared a sanctuary for proper protection.
• Apart from reptiles and smoothed coated otters, Chambal also supports resident and migrant bird species.
• The landscape is suitable for turtles as the animals get proper places for nesting and basking.
• The ravines act as a protective barrier during heavy floods when many turtles are able to prevent themselves from being washed away.