Hummingbird News Desk
KRISHNAGAR, 18 JUNE: A turtle with unusual colour shell – not a common sight – was rescued from a person living at Netaji Nagar in Santipur. Foresters later found that it was an Indian flapshell turtle (Lissemys punctata), protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, which had unusual colour due to pigmentation loss.
Dulal Haldar, a resident of Netaji Nagar under Santipur municipality area in Nadia first spotted the turtle on the road near his house. Due to heavy rains for the last few days, several ponds and roads have already been inundated. He then brought the turtle in his house and kept it in a container.
Later, Haldar called the forest officials who then rescued it from his house today.
Anupam Saha, a wildlife rescuer in the locality said, “It is an endangered species and this type of turtle is normally not seen in the locality. As the ponds are filled with rain water, this turtle somehow came out from any nearby pond.”
He also thanked Mr Haldar for calling the forest official.
Amid the euphoria, Mr Saha has also sounded an alarm. “In such cases, people should show restraint on social media, otherwise demand of the animals will rise in illegal markets,” he said.
Feature Image by Debabrata Malakar
