Context: 

Three persons engaged as mahouts in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve have been arrested for capturing and consuming a rare species of a freshwater turtle- Spotted Pond Turtle. 

About Spotted Pond Turtle:

• Common Names: Black Pond Turtle, Black Spotted Turtle, Hamilton’s Terrapin
• Distribution:
  • The species is found in north and north-eastern Indian subcontinent primarily in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. 
  • It is found in the Indus and Ganga river drainage, from Pakistan to Bangladesh and also in northeast India. 
  • It is also reported to be found in Gomti and Girwa rivers in Uttar Pradesh, Aravalli foothills and Gandak Dam in Bihar.

• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN : Endangered
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
  • CITES : Appendix I 

• Characteristics, Habitat and Behaviour:

• • Black spotted turtles are black in colour with yellowish streaks or spots and wedge-shaped marks. 
  • Their head is black with yellow spots and is extremely large, short-snouted. 
  • The neck is greyish and has white spots. The skin at the backside of the forehead of this species is divided into shields.
  • They are freshwater turtles found in lentic water bodies. 
  • They are mainly carnivorous and feed on snails and insect larvae, however, vegetative material has also been found in some of the digestive tracts.

• Major Threats:

• • Habitat loss due to land fillings and conversion of the lentic water bodies into agricultural land such as rice fields and for human settlements.
  • The species is subjected to commercial exploitation for meat consumption.

News Source:The Hindu, WII