104 turtles released in waterbody in Assam's wildlife sanctuary

Morigaon, Sep 27 (PTI) A total of 104 turtles of three different species were released in a waterbody in the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam’s Morigaon district on Saturday, an official said.

The turtles, released in Hadug Beel in Mayong division, are of black soft shell, Indian tent and Ganges soft shell species.

The Hadug Beel is known for rich diversity of species like turtle, fish and other aquatic wildlife due to the high protection measures adopted by the authority in recent past.

The beel or waterbody is perennial in nature and connected to the inlet and outlet water channel of the sanctuary, linking rivers like Brahmaputra, Pokoriya and Kolong during the flood season.

The turtle hatchlings were brought from Haigrib Madhab temple in Hajo in Kamrup district by a team from the state zoo in Guwahati, where these were kept in quarantine under supervision of veterinarians, the official said.

These were released at the waterbody in a joint effort of the Kamrup district administration, the committee of Haigrib Madhab temple and the Forest Department for in situ conservation of these rare species. PTI COR SSG SSG SOM