Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Seized Star tortoises shifted to Hyderabad

By T. Lalith Singh

The smuggled Indian Star tortoises which were seized at Singapore airport and sent to the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad.

HYDERABAD AUG. 23. As many as 1,830 Star tortoises, smuggled from Chennai, were confiscated at the Singapore airport and later shifted to the Nehru Zoological Park here. The tortoises would be rehabilitated in the wild after ascertaining their place of origin through a morphological analysis and DNA fingerprinting.

The Geocheleone Elegans, popularly known as Star tortoise, were seized from two Indians in June and July. After housing them at the Singapore zoo, the authorities there shifted them to Hyderabad via Chennai.

The species, basically land dwelling, feed on succulents and plant material, and are found in semi-arid zones in the southern and the north-western parts of the country. "The Star tortoise, which is protected under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act, is fast becoming rare because of illegal trade,'' said Hemanth Kumar, regional deputy director, Wildlife Preservation, Chennai, who escorted the consignment to the city from Chennai.

The tortoise, with a life span averaging 30 to 35 years, are smuggled to South-East Asia, the United States, and Europe for pet trade. B.C. Choudary, joint director, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, said the tortoises were between one and six years old. "They grow to weigh about three kg and then are killed for their meat and the shell,'' he said.

Dr. Choudary said the assistance of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology here would be sought to establish the place of origin of the rescued animals. "Once sufficiently recouped, these animals will be electronically tagged and rehabilitated into the wild.''

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