Rare for world, turtle born in Lucknow

Jubilee News Desk

In what could be said as a major achievement for wildlife enthusiasts 24 hatchlings of the critically endangered Tricarinate Hill Turtles (Melanochelys tricarinata) were born at Lucknow’s Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre.

Interestingly the parents of these hatchlings were rescued back in 2017 in a rescue operation by UP STF and forest department.

The Turtle Survival Alliance India program is excited to announce the hatching of 24 Tricarinate Hill Turtles (Melanochelys tricarinata). These 24 hatchlings significantly increase the captive population of this Critically Endangered species at the joint TSA India Program/Endangered Project/Uttar Pradesh Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department’s Laboratory for Aquatic Biology at the Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre (KGRC), said Arunima Singh, Project Coordinator (Ex-situ Conservation) Wildlife Conservation Society/ Turtle Survival Alliance- India Program.

It also continues to validate the captive-breeding potential for imperiled turtles seized from illegal trade, Arunima pointed.

In 2017, the parents of these 24 offspring were among 54 Tricarinate Hill Turtles seized by the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Task Force and Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department. The TSA India Program and Uttar Pradesh Forest Department retained 10 female and 6 male turtles from the seizure as founder individuals for a breeding program at the KGRC. The additional 38 turtles were released into a protected tiger reserve.

This hatching event represents the greatest total number of Tricarinate Hill Turtle eggs and hatchlings produced in one year at the KGRC, and marks the 4th year of successfully reproducing this species. Ten nests totaling 24 eggs were deposited between October 2020 and March 2021. All 24 turtles hatched over a 10-day period from May 11-22, demonstrating an exceptional 100% hatch rate!

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The Tricarinate Hill Turtle is a small terrestrial species found along a narrow sub-Himalayan band that stretches across northeastern India, southern Nepal, southern Bhutan, and northern Bangladesh. This species primarily inhabits temperate forests, as well as grasslands and foothills of the Himalayas. A victim of habitat destruction and collection for food and pet trades, this endearing turtle was recently (2018) uplisted to Critically Endangered by the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.