4 turtles found in a box at a parking lot
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Wednesday found four turtles kept in a cardboard box, abandoned in a parking lot at Mori Gate in old Delhi area. The animals were handed over to the Delhi Zoo, police said.
Anil Mittal, Delhi police spokesperson, said on Wednesday that they received information about four live turtles in a cardboard box in the parking lot at Mori Gate. Mittal said, when a police team reached the spot, they found these turtles had been abandoned and no one knew who brought them to the parking lot.
“We are trying to track the person who left the cardboard box there. We contacted the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and they identified three of these turtles as Indian tent turtle also known as kachuga tecta, which is listed in schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1962,” the spokesperson said.
He said these three turtles are rare. “Possession of this species of turtles is strictly prohibited as it a scheduled species as per the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972,” Mittal said, adding that the turtles were handed over to the officials of Delhi Zoo.
However, BHC Murthy, scientist, Zoological Survey of India, said kachuga tecta is a common species and found in parts of northern India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, along the plains of Ganga, Indus, and Brahamaputra rivers.
“This species is exploited for pet trade but rarely for food. It is protected under Schedule I part 2, of the Indian wildlife (Protection) act, 1972. It’s one of the commonest species,” he said.