Batagur baska

Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAT : Batagur baska

The Batagur baska is a species of river turtle. It is one of the most endangered turtle species according to a 2003 assessment by the IUCN. Batagur baska is a rare and endangered Asian river terrapin also called the "Royal Turtle" in Cambodia because its eggs were a royal delicacy.

Many Asian turtles are in danger because of the thriving trade in animals in the region, where a species' rarity can add to its value on a menu or as a traditional medicine.

The Batagur is found only in parts of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, and populations have been sharply declining in recent years.

The species was thought to have disappeared in Cambodia until it was rediscovered in 2001. Conservationists eventually began tagging the animals with tracking devices and monitoring their nests, and King Norodom Sihamoni personally ordered their protection.

In Malaysia, rivers of Perak and Terengganu are major nesting grounds though the population is continuing to crash despite conservation effort undertaken by Malaysian Wildlife Department for over 20 years. Pasir Kumpal by Dungun River in Dungun, Terengganu is one of the largest nesting sites for Batagur baska in the world with over one kilometer in length of sandy bank.

Distribution

Three terrapins (Batagur baska) at a gazetted conservation site at Pasir Kumpal, Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia. From top to bottom, roughly, a year old, four and six years old.

1. Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar
2. Southern Thailand
3. Southern Vietnam
4. Perak and Terengganu in Peninsular Malaysia
5. Sumatra, Indonesia
6. India
7. Bangladesh
8. Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia

External links

• [Centre for Turtle Research and Conservation]
• [EMBL reptile database]

References

• Asian Turtle Trade Working Group (2000). [Batagur baska]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered

• Das, Indraneil 1989 Batagur baska in Orissa Hamadryad 14 (1): 2-3
• Gray,J.E. 1857 Notice of some Indian tortoises (including the description of a new species presented to the British Museum by Professor Oldham). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (2) 19: 342-344
• Platt, S.G.; Bryan L. Stuart; Heng Sovannara; Long Kheng, Kalyar And Heng Kimchhay 2003 Rediscovery of the critically endangered river terrapin, Batagur baska, in Cambodia, with notes on occurrence, reproduction, and conservation status Chelonian Conservation and Biology 4 (3): 691

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.