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India’s archetypal satellite-tagged Ganges soft-shell turtle, an endangered species, was released successful the 1,302 sq. km Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve successful Assam connected Friday (May 15, 2026).
The merchandise of the freshwater reptile coincided with the reflection of Endangered Species Day.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the lawsuit a large measurement for wildlife conservation and a arrogant infinitesimal for the State, “as we proceed to support each taxon that calls our forests home”.
Assam is 1 of the world’s apical precedence areas successful freshwater turtle conservation. Of the 8 soft-shell turtles reported from India, 5 are known from the Kaziranga landscape.
The Ganges soft-shell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica), a Schedule I carnal nether the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, tin beryllium differentiated from different riverine turtles by its chiseled arrowhead-shaped markings connected the apical of the head. In India, the taxon inhabits ample rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.
Recorded arsenic endangered connected the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, this ample turtle is simply a large stream predator and helps cleanable up the strategy by feeding connected dormant and decaying carnal matter.
Identifying captious habits
“Understanding seasonal question patterns, location range, and identifying captious habits similar nesting and breeding volition assistance successful progressive absorption of soft-shell successful the Brahmaputra stream basin,” Abhijit Das, a elder idiosyncratic astatine the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), said.
He led a squad nether the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change successful the satellite-tagging workout successful collaboration with the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve authorities and the Assam Forest Department. The National Geographic Society funded the project.
Forest officials said a steadfast big turtle was captured, fitted with the transmitter nether veterinary supervision, and released backmost into its earthy situation on the bluish slope of the Brahmaputra.
