Forest Department to relocate turtles after rehabilitation

In November, the Pune Forest Department launched a turtle rehabilitation program. Under this, nearly 478 turtles were collected from three different forest departments in western Maharashtra

The Pune Forest Department, as a part of its turtle rehabilitation program, has admitted 478 turtles which were kept in captivity at various locations in Maharashtra. Now that the turtles are showing progress, they will be sent back to their natural habitat. For this, the department has finalised five locations in Maharashtra spreading in various areas of the Godavari River basin.

These turtles were rescued in various operations and kept in captivity. (HT PHOTO)

In November, the Pune Forest Department launched a turtle rehabilitation program. Under this, nearly 478 turtles were collected from three different forest departments in western Maharashtra.

These turtles were rescued in various operations and kept in captivity. After collecting them from the respective forest department, the turtles were then admitted to the Transit Treatment Centre (TTC) in Bavdhan. Turtles brought to the TTC undergo a structured multi-phase rehabilitation process.

However, approximately 38 of them died from a metabolic bone condition. Others, after getting primary treatment, showed signs of improvement. Following the planned rehabilitation program, many of these turtles have shown signs of returning to their natural environments.

As a result, the department has begun the process of releasing 448 turtles back into their natural habitat. The process is expected to be completed by the end of February.

The authorities have selected five places for turtle release in the Godavari basin; however, the specific location cannot be disclosed to safeguard the wildlife. They will be released in four to five phases. While the majority of the turtles will be released in Maharashtra, some will be released in other states such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Assam.

“Our team has started communicating with the forest agencies in the other states. However, the procedure for turtle release in Maharashtra has already begun. As of now, we have covered practically all turtles in captivity, and there is no plan to launch the second phase of this project any time soon. If required we might re-implement this plan in future,” said Tushar Chavan, deputy conservator of forest (wildlife), Pune Forest Department.