MEERUT: As a joint team of the UP forest department and Worldwide Fund for Nature(WWF) prepared to release 506 turtles into the Ganga near Makhdoompur section of Hastinapur wildlife sanctuary, on Monday, they were thrilled to find a new sub-species of turtle.
According to Azgar Nawab, senior manager, habitat and aquatic biodiversity conservation, WWF, "We found a sub-species of turtle but know little about its ecological nature. We found 26 such turtles. This is the first time such a sub-species has been found here."
The turtle conservation activity is part of Rivers for Life programme of WWF in association with UP forest department.
According to Mukesh Kumar, chief forest conservator, Meerut zone, "In the past five years, we have been able to release 1,029 turtles in Ganga and now another 506 will be added to their population today."
Speaking with TOI, local coordinator of aquatic diversity project, Sanjeev Yadav, who is also the in-charge of the turtle hatchery at Makhdoompur, said, "Technically speaking, this discovery is actually a hybrid of two species - 'pangshura tentoria' (Indian tent turtle) and 'pangshura tecta (Indian roofed turtle). Close to 70% of its physical characteristics resemble tentoria while the rest have tecta's specifications."
He said, "This is the first time we have found these turtles. We will wait and watch, if the next set of hatchlings also have this sub-species which right now we are calling tentoria only, then we will go for DNA mapping of the same and study it thoroughly. Maybe after that we will recommend a new name for it. It is part of evolutionary process and hybrids can be a robust sub-species or a weak one as well. Only time will tell what lies for us in future."
Talking about the five-year River for Life programme which began in 2012, Nawab said, "That year, we educated farmers cultivating crops on the river banks of Maqdoompur in Hastinapur, about the importance of these endangered species of turtles in the preservation of the river. We approached around 10 villages on the banks, spread over 50 sq km. The villagers gave us 53 nests, which had 578 eggs, in 2014. WWF workers were able to save 532 hatchlings. These were nurtured for five months before being brought to their natural habitat, Ganga in 2014. Now after the concerted efforts of WWF and forest department, residents of 37 villages are actively participating in the turtle conservation project."
