HYDERABAD: A eight-year-old land tortoise belonging to the rare star-shelled species, which was found on the road by a passer-by, has been shifted to the Nehru Zoological park on Sunday.P Girish, a resident of Malkajgiri who found the tortoise, said, “On Friday at 7 a.m, I found the star tortoise near the roadside in the grass. It was so beautiful with design of stars on the shell. I have never seen such a tortoise before. I took it home and kept it for two days. People from my colony visited my home to see the tortoise.” However, he was later asked locals to give it to the Nehru zoo and he brought it to zoo officials on Sunday.Dr MA Hakeem, assistant director (veterinary) said, “The tortoise weighs around 1.75 kg, 16 inches long and has a height of 6.5 inches. It is about 8 years old. The animal is very healthy and energetic and can walk faster than all types of tortoise.” Nehru zoo curator, MA Waheed who received the tortoise from Girish said, the star tortoise is one of the rarest species. “They are land-dwelling, feed on succulents and plant material and are found in semi-arid zones in the south and north-western parts of the country. The star-shelled land tortoise which is protected under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act, is fast becoming an endangered species because of illegal trade,” he added. The star tortoise has a life-span of around 50 to 60 years while most tortoises live around 150 to 200 years, according to Waheed.In a couple of weeks, the tortoise would be rehabilitated in the wild in Atmakur of Kurnool district, after ascertaining its place of origin through a morphological analysis and DNA fingerprinting. “Assistance of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology would be sought to establish the place of origin of the rescued animal. Once it has sufficiently recouped, the animals will be electronically tagged and rehabilitated into the wild. We are also planning to breed them in the zoo as suggested by the Central Zoo Authority of India,” the curator said. Before 2008, the star-shelled tortoises were smuggled from India to South-East Asian countries for their meat. They were also allegedly smuggled to the US and Europe for the pet trade. “That business has been curbed somewhat due to awareness that possessing, harming or killing any wild animal is a non-bailable offence,” Waheed observed. With the star tortoise, the tortoise count has gone up to 20 in the zoo.
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