Albino turtles rescued in Odisha
Flatshell species mainly seen in India, Nepal, Pak
A rare yellow turtle rescued by villagers in Odisha’s Balasore district has evoked curiosity among animal lovers in the state. The turtle was rescued from Sujanpur village under Soro block on Sunday.
According to reports, Basudev Mahapatra of Sunjanpur spotted the rare turtle when he was working in his cropland and brought it to home. Later, he handed over the turtle to forest officials.
“A rare yellow turtle was spotted and rescued in
Balasore, Odisha yesterday. Most probably it was an albino. One such aberration was recorded by locals in Sindh a few years back,” tweeted Susanta Nanda, senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer and chief executive of Chilika Development Authority.
Sharing the pictures of this turtle, Nanda said it also appears to have pink eyes, a feature that indicates albinism.
Bhanoomitra Acharya, Wildlife Warden, was surprised upon seeing the turtle and said the whole shell and the body of the rescued turtle is yellow. “This is a rare turtle. I have never seen one this,” said Acharya.
Dr Siddhartha Pati of Association for Biodiversity Conservation and Research (ABC) who was part of the rescue of the turtle said albinism is a condition in which there is an absence of melanin. like
“Vertebrates with albinism are not only white (or sometimes pale yellowish) in color but they also have very pale eyes, often pink or red in color as the blood vessels show through. Leucism is only a partial loss of pigmentation, which can make the animal have white or patchily colored skin, hair, or feathers. However, the pigment cells in the eyes are not affected by the condition.,” Dr Pati informed.
The researcher said the rescued turtle belonged to the Flatshell species. This species is mainly seen in India, Nepal and Pakistan.