Turtle Survival

escue and rapid response unit. Besides rescuing
turtles, the TSA team aided in rescuing
individuals from several other species, including
Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica), Gharial
(Gavialis gangeticus), and Mugger (Crocodylus
palustris).
TSA’s Chambal conservation project mainly focuses on the recovery Red Crowned Roofed Turtle. Established in
2006, the Garhaita Turtle center has been instrumental in head-starting hundred of hatchlings of the species and
teaching communities about aquatic wildlife conservation. PHOTO CREDIT: DAREN R RIEDLE
THE TERAI CONSERVATION PROGRAM
The Indian foothills of the Himalayas, also
known as the Terai region, is a turtle diversity
hotspot with 13 species of aquatic and semiaquatic
turtles and one species of tortoise known
to occur there. TSA recognizes the Terai as
one of five Turtle Priority Areas (TPA) across
the country. This year, with support from the
Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund and the
Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund,
we were able to construct a community education
center and field research station along the
Ghaghra River in Bahraich district. This community
center marks the culmination of long-term
efforts in the region to demonstrate the linkage
between conservation and sustainable livelihoods
for local communities. Education efforts
also included a series of outreach programs in 35
riverside schools to raise awareness of the need
for freshwater vertebrate conservation.
Former crocodile facilities at Kukrail Gharial Centre in Lucknow have been renovated for developing assurance colonies
of endangered turtles, such as these juvenile Narrow-headed softshell turtles that Shailendra Singh is moving.
PHOTO CREDIT: ARUNIMA SINGH
over a series of 46 events held at the center.
Finally, with the Kukrail Center now serving
as the TSA India base office for all research and
veterinary activities, signage was renovated and
new graphics installed.
A WAY STATION FOR CONFISCATED CHELONIANS
Along with the many other key activities happening
at the Kukrail Center, it also serves as the
main transit point for large-scale confiscations of
illegally traded and hunted chelonians throughout
the region. Over the last few months, Kukrail
Center successfully handled four large confiscations
involving 1,200 turtles representing four
different north Indian species. On the occasion
of World Turtle Day, we were able to assist with
the first-ever repatriation of 335 Spotted Pond
Turtles (Geoclemys hamiltoni) from Maharastra
to Lucknow.
Kukrail Center has also developed a mobile
RESEARCH AT TERAI
Field trials to test hoop nets with turtle
friendly modifications were concluded recently
and have yielded seminal information on mitigating
incidental mortality (see sidebar for details).
Further, we also began sampling exercises to
establish baseline abundances and diversity of
turtles on the Sarju River. Preliminary data on
trade-offs between body size and reproductive
output on the Crowned River Turtle (Hardella
thurjii) was gathered, and twenty gravid females
were sampled and x-rayed during late August
and early September. Two H. thurjii females
were relocated to the Kukrail Center to induce
ovi-position. Of the two nests, one nest hatched
in late May and 9 hatchlings of H. thurjii are currently
being maintained at the center.
To better aid the recovery and management
of diverse turtle communities in the Terai, we instituted
an assemblage level sampling protocol on
the Sarju and Ghaghra Rivers. Protocols include
collecting basic demographic information on all
species, assessing the variation in species richness
and abundance at both up and downstream
sites, and the collection of environmental variables
to identify habitat requirements for each
species. To date, we’ve sampled an upstream
(Katra Ghat) and downstream (Paska) site on
december 2015 22 turtle survival