Eggs of the nearly extinct Batagur baska turtle have hatched again in the eastern Sundarbans under the Chandpai range in Mongla, Bagerhat. By Friday afternoon (30 April), 37 hatchlings had emerged from 50 eggs laid by two turtles at the forest's Karamjal Wildlife Breeding Centre. Md Azad Kabir, officer in charge of the centre, gave the information.

Azad Kabir said Batagur baska breeding work began in 2014, but the turtles started laying eggs only in 2017. Usually one or two turtles lay eggs each year, but in 2021 the turtles laid 27, 23, 23 and 23 eggs on 28 February, 3 March, 5 March and 20 March respectively. Hatchlings would normally emerge after 65 to 67 days, but this year, because of extreme heat, they emerged after 62 and 59 days respectively. Hatchlings from the eggs of the other two turtles are expected in due course.

He said the centre now has 359 turtles of various ages. Of them, four are egg-laying females, with six males for their breeding. There are also 10 more adult turtles at the centre to be released into rivers and canals of the Sundarbans. The centre was set up mainly to increase breeding of the nearly extinct Batagur baska.

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