Context: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized 436 baby Indian Tent Turtles in Varanasi from a person illegal transporting them from Kanpur to West Bengal.
About Indian Tent Turtles
- Indian Tent Turtle is a species of riverine freshwater turtle native to India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
- Males are smaller than females in size and have longer and thicker tails.
- The size of the carapace ranges from 20 cm to 26.5 cm depending upon the subspecies.
- Due to attractive appearance of the species, they are illegally traded in the pet market.
- Habitat: Still water pools on river side and slow running water near the river banks.
- These are active swimmers and are mainly herbivorous.
- Indian Tent Turtles have three sub-species:
- Pangshura tentoria: Occurs in peninsular India and is recorded in Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Madhya Pradesh.
- Pangshura circumdata: Occurs in western tributaries of Ganga and the rivers of Gujarat. Thus, found in Rajasthan, MP, UP and Gujarat.
- Pangshura flaviventer: Occurs in northern tributaries of Ganga and is recorded from UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam.
- IUCN Status: Least Concern