Largest Asian tortoise species reintroduced into Nagaland community reserve

GUWAHATI: The critically endangered Asian giant tortoise, the largest tortoise in mainland Asia, has been reintroduced into the Zeliang Community Reserve in Nagaland’s Peren district.

Officials in the State said 10 individuals of the species from the Nagaland Zoological Park in Chümoukedima district’s Rangapahar were released in the reserve through a community event on August 2. The event was organised by the Nagaland Forest Department and the India Turtle Conservation Programme (ITCP).

“These tortoises were bred and head-started from a conservation colony in our park, which has India’s largest captive population of the species,” C. Zupeni Tsanglai, Director of the Nagaland Zoological Park, said on Monday.

Once found in large numbers, the Asian giant tortoise was almost wiped out from Nagaland more than a decade ago. Following a long-term agreement with the State Forest Department, the ITCP started the conservation project in 2018 with tortoises mostly donated by people who kept them as pets.

The 10 tortoises released in the Zeliang Community Reserve were born in 2019 to a dozen-odd tortoises the conservation programme started with.

“Asian giant tortoises, also known as the small elephants of the forests, help in seed dispersal and forest regeneration, apart from scavenging to keep the forest floor clean,” ITCP director Shailendra Singh said.

Habitat suitability study

The State’s wildlife warden said the site was selected after a thorough habitat suitability assessment across several potential areas of Nagaland.

“Other than national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, protected areas such as community and conservation reserves in Nagaland have been performing quite well to preserve the forests and wildlife under the joint leadership of the communities and the Forest Department,” Tokaho Kinimi, Wildlife Warden based in Dimapur, said.

The tortoises were released in a pre-constructed soft-release enclosure to help them develop site fidelity before actual dispersal.

“The released tortoises are marked and tagged with a VHF-based telemetry system to study their dispersal and survival in deep rainforests. Once the pilot release is successful, more individuals will be released in this landscape to recover the decimated wild populations,” Sushmita Kar, ITCP’s project coordinator, said.

Health checks

Before transportation, the tortoises underwent comprehensive health checks and quarantine for more than six months.

Peren’s Divisional Forest Officer Chisayi said youths from the local community have been engaged by the project as ‘tortoise guardians’ to ensure protection of the released tortoises and assist in data collection. Other community members have also been involved in the project in various capacities.

The Peren district administration has also pledged to chip in. “We will undertake special measures for the long-term protection of the released tortoises in and around the site,” the district’s Additional Deputy Commissioner, D. Robin, said.