Uttar Pradesh: 13 rare turtles found dead in Etawah's Sarsai Nawar lake

KANPUR: Atleast 13 turtles of an endangered species were found dead in Sarsai Nawar lake of Etawah district on Tuesday.
The dead turtles were identified as Indian flapshells.
A forest department team visited the spot and sent the dead turtles to a veterinary hospital for autopsy.
District forest officer, Etawah, Rajesh Verma, said, “Recently, nearly 1,324 turtles seized in Kanpur were released in Sarsai Nawar lake of the district.Prima facie, it seems that the majority of the turtles that died could be from the same lot."
Verma also said that, "Water sample from the lake has been sent to the laboratory for forensic examination.”
Autopsy of a dead turtle underway
“As per the rescue team, the death toll is likely to increase as counting of dead turtles is still on,” he added.
Experts are of the view that such a large number of turtles has not been found dead in Sarsai Nawar lake in recent years.
“A detailed protocol on rehabilitation and release of seized turtles is required. It is quite possible that most of these turtles have died of shock due to their poor handling by the poachers. In the absence of a standard protocol, high mortality among seized turtles is quite possible,” said general secretary, Society for Conservation of Nature, Dr Rajiv Chauhan.
“They need proper medication first and should be kept at rehabilitation centres, which should be equipped with adequate infrastructure to follow approved standard operating procedures for quarantine, captive management and healthcare of aquatic animals,” he added.
The Union government gave the Ramsar site tag to Sarsai Nawar wetland in Etawah last year in 2020.