TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2019  TODAY'S PAPER

In Assam, temples stave off extinction of

turtles
Species that have disappeared in the wild are being bred in
Assam’s shrines.
It received ‘divine protection’ for many years and now, the rarest of India’s
28 turtle species is back where it belongs – in the wild - where it went extinct
years ago.

The black softshell turtle (Nilssonia nigricans) figures in the International

Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List as “extinct in the wild”.
But a few temple ponds in Assam and Bangladesh are bringing these turtles
back from the brink

.
 World wildlife day – wildlife
under threat.

Every year March 3 is celebrated as World Wildlife Day to raise awareness

about our planet’s flora and fauna.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora (CITES) was finalised on March 3 and the day has been
celebrated as World Wildlife Day since 2014. CITES is an international
agreement between the governments of 183 countries to protect wild plants
and animals and ensure their survival.

This year the theme is “Big cats — predators under threat."

“UN World Wildlife Day 2018 will feature a star-studded cast — cheetah,

clouded leopard, jaguar, leopard, lion, puma, snow leopard, tiger. These most
majestic predators on our planet are facing many and varied threats, primarily
caused by human activities, be it habitat loss, poaching, human-wildlife
conflict or climate change,”said CITES Secretary-General, John E.
Scanlon.Not just the big cats, the tiny insects, the slithering snakes and the
agile deer are all under threat in our country.The photographs in this gallery
show us the various threats faced by wildlife in India.
ENVIRONMENT

300 endangered turtles found dead on

Mexico beach

"They had drowned at sea trapped in banned 120-meter fishing

nets"

More than 300 sea turtles from an endangered species were found dead on a
beach in southern Mexico, on August 28, trapped in a banned type of fishing
net, environmental authorities said.

In Mexico's second mass turtle death in as many weeks, the Pacific Ridley
turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) were found floating just off the beach of
Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca, their shells forming a bleak mini-
island.

"They had drowned at sea about eight days earlier, trapped in banned 120-
meter fishing nets and six-inch nylon fishing line," said Mexico's prosecution
unit for environmental crimes.

On August 17, authorities said they had found 122 sea turtles dead on a beach
in the neighboring state of Chiapas, mostly from the same species. In that
case, some of the turtles had wounds to the head or shell.

Mexico banned the capture of sea turtles in 1990, but there is still a lucrative
black market for their eggs.