Rare Softshell turtle under threat due to conservation neglect

Kathmandu, Dec. 13: The Narrow-headed Softshell Turtle (Chitra indica), one of the rare and most threatened vertebrates in the world, is facing survival threats due to lack of conservation priority in Nepal.

The turtle, also known as Badahar, Bathar and Gyanorhiya in Nepal is listed as the endangered species in CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 

“The record of the turtles in the protected areas of Nepal is incidental. These turtles are consumed as luxury food items, used as ingredients in Chinese medicine, and treated as curio item. Similarly, their eggs are collected by fishermen and tribal communities,” says a report Published in the Tropical Natural History  which describes the relocation of narrow-headed softshell turtles from Chitwan National Park (CNP). 

“River flow modification, destruction and degradation of habitats, and invasion of the exotic species have played a pivotal role for a decline in their population,” the report says.

Its status and distribution are poorly known in Nepal, and experts blame the protected areas, which have only focused on the conservation of charismatic and keystone species such as tigers, one-horned rhinos and gharials.

According to researchers, who include herpetologists Bed Bahadur Khadka, Saneer Lamichhane and Santosh Bhattarai, the turtle which belongs to the family of Trionychidae, is at least 115 cm in length.  It is a freshwater inhabitant that eats mostly fish, frogs, crustaceans, and mollusks.

Observations on these turtles have been recorded since 2010 during survey of  gharials in the river systems of CNP. The distribution update of the turtles is based on observations. 

During scheduled river patrolling for gharials, the survey team recorded three nests of  Chitra indica on the bank of the Rapti River in CNP. The team also relocated the eggs to CNP’s breeding centre to prevent any damage from flooding and to reduce mortality as the river bank is prone to heavy flooding, said Santosh Bhattarai, a herpetologist at Nepal Conservation and Research Center.

Altogether, they collected 496 turtle eggs from three nests. The eggs were transported to the breeding centre by a small wooden boat down the Rapti River on the same day of the collection. Three weeks after the egg collection on September 24, 2020, there was a flash flood in the Rapti River. 

According to Bhattarai, earlier the animals could be seen in almost all major river systems of Nepal but in recent years nobody knows where and in what numbers they are found.

“Integrated conservation is needed to protect this threatened vertebrate in the world,” Bhattarai said. Nepal’s conservation organisations are focused only on rhino, tiger and elephant conservation. Turtles and other reptiles should also be conserved along with the big species,” he said.

According to the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act- 1973 of Nepal, 27 mammal species, nine bird species and three reptile species have been accorded the highest degree of protection. However, none of the turtle species has been placed 

in the list. The government initiated a turtle conservation programme by establishing a turtle breeding centre in CNP and permitting an NGO for turtle rescue and conservation in eastern Nepal. However, dedicated conservation interventions are still lacking.

As the species is poached for its eggs and flesh, conservation measures such as turtle zones must be declared within their habitat range. Resource extraction such as gravel, and sand mining should be restricted in such zones. Extensive conservation campaigns should be conducted for the protection of this turtle species in the rivers of CNP, Bhattarai said.