Sixty-five hatchlings have emerged from the eggs of a critically endangered Batagur baska turtle at the Karamjal wildlife breeding centre in the Sundarbans. On the morning of 5 May the hatchlings were collected and placed in conservation pans at the centre's turtle-rearing unit.

Azad Kabir, officer in charge of the Karamjal breeding centre, said a Batagur baska turtle laid 82 eggs on 15 February. The eggs were collected and placed in sand. After close care on the sand beach beside the centre's pond, 65 hatchlings emerged on Monday morning. They will be reared in pans and then released into a larger pond.

Breeding of Batagur baska turtles at Karamjal began in 2014 with eight turtles. Since then the turtles have laid 521 eggs at Karamjal, from which 475 hatchlings emerged. The centre now has 458 turtles, large and small. More than a hundred young turtles have been released from the centre into the sea and the Sundarbans at various times to help the species multiply.

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