THE HINDU (Chennai, India) 27 June 04 Captive breeding to save freshwater crocodiles
Chennai (PTI): In a bid to prevent extinction of some freshwater species like turtles, tortoises and gharials, the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT), in association with the Uttar Pradesh Forest department, has embarked on a five-year captive breeding project.
The project, estimated to cost USD 56,000, would be initially implemented at the Kukrail Reptile Conservation Centre in Uttar Pradesh and Deori Reptile Conservation Centre in Madhya Pradesh, MCBT Director Harry Andrews told PTI here.
It would be extended to Orissa and the Northeast next year, where some endangered species had been identified,
He said the trust would not take any species from the wild, but utilise those in its gene bank. Sponsorship for the project has also come from agencies like Turtle Conservation Fund, and International Union for Conservation of Endangered Species.
The project was conceived in 2001, but the actual work began only recently, he said adding it had been taken up following an initial survey on fresh water turtle species conducted by the U.P. Forest department and MCBT. He said many of the species were killed after being caught in the fishing nets in rivers.
As part of the project, community training programme for conservation would also be taken up. A socio-economic study would be undertaken to help assess habitats, Andrews said.
Besides, an environmental programme on educating people was also on the cards.
He said captive breeding enclosures would come up at Kukrail Reptile Conservation Centre in UP, Deori Reptile Conservation Centre in Madhya Pradesh and one more, either at Assam State Zoo or Botanical Garden or Nandankanan Biological Park in Orissa for the northeast species.
``Some zoos are coming forward to give us some species of turtles for the project," he said.
Andrews said the country had one of the world's largest diverse varieties of freshwater turtles and tortoises, and some of them were found exclusively in India.
Captive breeding to save freshwater crocodiles