The forest department has rescued a turtle of the near-extinct dhum softshell (cartilaginous) species in Bagerhat. The turtle was caught in a fishing net on Wednesday (20 April) afternoon in a pond belonging to a man named Hanif Fakir in Karapara village, Sadar upazila.

On being informed, officials of the Khulna divisional Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division rescued the turtle and took it into their custody.

The dhum softshell turtle is found in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The wildlife conservation department said the turtle is a protected species under Bangladesh's Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act of 2012.

Hanif Fakir of Karapara village said: "The turtle got caught in the net while we were fishing in the pond at midday. I kept it with me and informed the forest department, and then people from the forest department came and took it away. We had never seen a turtle like this before."

Raju Ahammed, wildlife inspector of the Khulna divisional Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, said a dhum softshell turtle had been rescued from Bagerhat and would be released in line with instructions from higher authorities.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.