Turtles

NGT castigates UP officials for mining permissions in turtle sanctuary

The National Green Tribunal has castigated three district magistrates of Uttar Pradesh and the member secretary of the state's pollution control board for granting permission "in a mechanical manner" for mining works in the state's turtle wildlife sanctuary. Issuance of clearances and grant of permission for such activities in the prohibited areas was not only a flagrant violation of environmental laws but also "non-application of mind and exercise of illegal power" by the authorities concerned, the NGT said. A bench of NGT judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Afroz Ahmad was hearing two connected matters regarding illegal sand mining in the 30-km sanctuary on the banks of river Ganga spread across the districts of Pyayagraj, Mirzapur and Sant Ravidas Nagar (Bhadhoi). Noting the evidence before it, including the reports of two joint committees formed earlier, the tribunal in its order dated October 24 said that mining leases were in the "prohibited area" both ...

World Turtle Day 2024: Date, history, significance and all you need to know

World Turtle Day 2024: It is an occasion to celebrate the habitat and lifestyle of turtles and tortoises who play important role in the development and well-being of our ecosystem

Panama turtles get legal right to live, free passage in healthy environment

On a Panamanian beach long after dark, a group of undergraduate students dug into the sand to excavate a sea turtle nest, their lamps casting a soft red glow as they studied eggs, inventoried the success of the hatch and checked for any surviving hatchlings stuck at the bottom of the nest. Nearby, armed members of the National Border Service stood watch for protection in an area known for drug trafficking. The students worked under the guidance of Callie Veelenturf, who founded a group that works to protect leatherback turtles and pushed for a new law in Panama that guarantees sea turtles the legal right to live and have free passage in a healthy environment. The new law will allow any Panamanian citizen to be the voice of sea turtles and defend them legally, Veelenturf said in a text message as she boarded a plane to Panama City after her group's work near Armila. We will be able to hold governments, corporations, and public citizens legally accountable for violations of the right

India's proposal for enhance protection to Leith's softshell turtle adopted

India's proposal for enhancing protection status to Leith's softshell turtle has been adopted at the ongoing world wildlife conference in Panama, the Union Environment Ministry said on Thursday. The country also proposed to give a higher degree of protection to the red-crowned roofed turtle or 'Batagur Kachuga' and received wide support from other parties at the 19th meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP 19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) being held in Panama City from November 14 to 25. The transfer of Leith's softshell turtle from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I would ensure that legal international trade in the species does not take place for commercial purposes, the ministry said in a statement. "It would also ensure that international trade in captive-bred specimens only takes place from registered facilities and that higher and more proportionate penalties are provided for illegal trade of the species," it ...

Study shows how turtles fared decade after oil spill in US' Kalamazoo River

Twelve years after an oil spill coated nearly 35 miles of the Kalamazoo River, new research confirms that turtles rehabilitated in the aftermath of the disaster had high long-term survival rates

How turtle conservation led to protection for other species in Odisha

People in Odisha's coastal Ganjam district, home to a world-renowned community conservation effort to protect endangered Olive Ridley turtles, are extending that legacy to conserve other species

Cyclone Yaas: Crocodile, rare turtle breeding centre inundated in Sundarbans

Nylon net fencing to prevent tigers from entering human habitations were damaged, breeding centres for crocodiles and Batagur baska - a rare species of turtle were inundated

Rare yellow turtle rescued in Odisha's Balasore, handed over to forest dept

Locals from Sujanpur village in Soro block rescued the unique yellow colour turtle on Sunday

Now, humans can control turtles with thought

In the 2009 blockbuster Avatar, a human remotely controls the body of an alien