Turtle Survival

The large pond in the foreground was constructed for adult individuals. Those in the back will be used as a hatchery
for juveniles. PHOTO CREDIT: ANTON WEISSENBACHER & RUPALI GHOSH
One of the released juveniles seems to have settled quickly into its new home. PHOTO CREDIT: ANTON WEISSENBACHER & RUPALI GHOSH
2014. Meanwhile, newly hired workers began
clearing the area of shrubs and bushes, and
additional workers from the nearby villages of
Bhajonkhali, Dangmari, and the house Smith
from Pabna, arrived to begin construction of a
breeding pond (13m x 40m) with a sand beach
for nesting (13m x 5m). There were often as
many as 70 workers on site at the same time.
TSA’S Rupali Ghosh visited Karamjal at
just the right moment, arriving the same time
as a new sand shipment. She was able to make
recommendations on slope steepness, and approve
pond depths as the beach was filled with
sand. By the end of November, workers were
able to focus on the next tasks: constructing two
juvenile ponds (10m x 5m each), the hatchling
rearing tank, and new fencing.
Our combined efforts, aided by local support,
made for fast progress. Work continued on cement
pillars, wall construction, and the installation
of barbed-wire fencing. By mid-December,
the project was nearly complete. Only the finishing
touches, such as a water change in the ponds,
and tiger fern planting, remained to finalize the
new B. baska conservation and breeding facility.
We hoped to transfer individuals to the
new site as soon as possible. Unfortunately, a
labor strike, paralyzing the country since the
beginning of 2015, made travel to and from
Karamjal nearly impossible. Co-workers had a
difficult time reaching Bhawal National Park,
located only 29 miles / 47 km., from Dhaka, and
transport of the terrapins to Karamjal had to be
postponed several times. The situation finally
resolved and Anton Weissenbacher, Peter Praschag
and Rupali Ghosh finally visited Bhawal
National Park in May 2015.
The team measured all individual terrapins,
took blood samples, and tagged recently
acquired females and the hatchlings from
2014. We were then able to arrange transportation
for relocation of the terrapins to the new
facility, and all reached the breeding center in
Karamjal after an arduous seven hour car ride
to the town of Mongla followed by a two hour
boat trip through the mangrove forests of the
Sundarbans.
Partners and collaborators from the Forest
Department Bangladesh (Dr. Sunil Kumar Kundu
and Mr. Jahidul Kabir), along with two IUCN
Bangladesh members (Mr. Ishtiq Uddin Ahmad,
and Mr. Dipu A.B.M. Sarowar Alam) joined us
when we released the first four males and ten juveniles
from 2012 into the new Karamjal ponds.
We were also delighted to welcome crocodile
conservationist Rom Whittaker who was there
for the event.
Two additional adult terrapins joined the new
Karamjal group a week later, providing us with
the successful foundation for a second breeding
project in Bangladesh.
A sustainable reintroduction of B. baska will
still require the finding of suitable habitat and
nesting beaches for a wild population. However,
future field surveys and continued tracking of
terrapins will help yield more habitat information
and bring us closer to that goal.
Contacts: Anton Weissenbacher and Doris Preininger,
Vienna Zoo, Maxingstraße 13b, 1130 Vienna, Austria,
d.preininger@zoovienna.at; a.weissenbacher@zoovienna.at
Rupali Ghosh, Shant Kamal Kunj, 1, Shakti Colony,
Rajkot 360001, Gujarat, India, rghosh@turtle-island.at
Peter Praschag, Turtle Island, Am Katzelbach 98, 8054
Graz, Austria, ppraschag@turtle-island.at
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 27 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org