Two star tortoises, protected under the country's wildlife act, were today rescued from Indraprastha Park in the national capital by a wildlife body.
Our (Wildlife SoS) rapid response team responded to a distress call by a person who got alerted after seeing crows creating a ruckus near a bush and later found the two tortoises behind a bush, Co-founder of Wildlife SoS, Kartick Satyanarayan said.
The team identified the tortoises as Indian star tortoises (Geochelone elegans), a species of tortoise found in India, South-eastern Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
This species is quite popular in the exotic pet trade despite being protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
They are also listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), which regulates the international trade of wildlife species.
"We believe that the tortoises were abandoned in the park. This species is often kept as 'exotic' pets or for spiritual purposes. In India, it is illegal to possess and commercially trade protected tortoise species.
"A large number of specimens of the Indian star tortoise are found in the illegal wildlife pet trade due to their high demand in the international black market," he said.
