An extremely endangered and mysterious species is threatened with extinction. People destroy the villains’ habitat and kill them for meat.
The rare turtle living in the riverbanks of Southeast and South Asia has appeared mostly in rumors in recent years. Now they have finally been found in the Chandragiri River in India.
– Observations have been so scarce that the turtle has seemed like a ghost of the past, says Dr. Francoise Cabada-Blanco from the University of Portsmouth in the bulletin.
The researchers tracked down the villain by asking people who live in the state of Kerala in the southwestern part of India. The villagers led the researchers to places where, in addition to the turtles, eggs and nesting sites were found.
Cantor’s Giant Softshell Turtle (Pelochelys cantorii) is critically endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The next rank of the classification means that the species has been preserved only by breeding, cultivating or returning to the wild.
The population of turtles has shrunk primarily because of the destruction of the environment. In addition, the locals kill them to get meat to eat.
Researchers rescued eggs from flooded nests
Pelochelys cantorii, which grows up to two meters in length, is also known as the frog-faced soft-shelled turtle. Its mysterious ways of life have fascinated researchers for a long time.
Now the riddles of the “frog face†begin to unfold. The researchers were able to witness the female laying eggs, and in addition, they rescued the eggs from nests filled by the flood.
At this moment, a group of scientists and conservationists are working in Kerala for the good of turtles. Hatcheries and nurseries are being built for the animals together with the locals, which is hoped to serve as an example for a new kind of nature conservation.
The researchers report their findings In the Oryx release.