Posted on 02/23/2024 9:34:05 PM PST by Red Badger
It’s the first time a breeding population of this critically endangered species has been reported.
f you’re familiar with the Twitter game “flat f*** Friday”, then oh boy, do we have a treat for you. We present to you one of the flattest fellas around: the Asian giant softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii). And, with the help of local community knowledge, researchers have just discovered both its first-ever nesting female and breeding population.
Unfortunately, the Asian (or Cantor’s) giant softshell turtle is also critically endangered; its population has been declining due to habitat destruction, getting caught up in fishing gear, and being hunted for meat.
But in figuring out ways to find out more about and protect the species, conservationists have encountered a problem – the turtles are notoriously elusive, spending much of their time buried in the sands under their native rivers of South and Southeast Asia.
So, researchers turned to communities local to the Chandragiri River in Kerala, India, as study author Dr Francoise Cabada-Blanco explained in a statement. “Following several unsuccessful attempts at tracking one down using conventional ecological survey methods, we took a different approach by tapping into local knowledge.”
“The team, led by Ayushi Jain were able to engage the community really effectively, so much so that they shared tales of historical sightings, provided leads on current occurrences, and even aided in the live release of individuals accidentally caught as by-catch.”
As a result of this collaboration, the team discovered the first evidence of both a female turtle nesting and of a breeding population. They even managed to rescue some eggs from nests that had been flooded, later releasing the flat and, frankly, ravioli-esque hatchlings into the river.
A baby ravioli, oops, Asian giant softshell turtle hatchling. Image credit: Jain et al., Oryx 2024 (CC BY 4.0)
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It’s an important step towards the conservation of this secretive species – the team is now setting up a community hatchery and nursery in the area – but the authors were also keen to emphasize just how critical a role local knowledge can play in achieving this goal.
“The community’s willingness to engage formed the backbone of our project, allowing us to record not just fleeting glimpses of the turtles but evidence of a reproductive population – a discovery that rewrites the narrative of a species thought to be vanishing from India's waters,” said Jain.
“For years, the Cantor turtle’s existence has barely been a murmur against the backdrop of India's bustling biodiversity, with sightings so scarce that the turtle's very presence seemed like a ghost from the past,” added Cabada-Blanco.
“Our study is a narrative of rediscovery, of finding hope in the stories told by the river and its people, and of laying the groundwork for a future where this magnificent species can thrive, not just survive.”
The study is published in the journal Oryx.
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Story Reminds me of those situational ethics “lessons”.
Ship sank. Three people in the lifeboat. All three are liberals.
There are also 10 of these tasty turtles in the lifeboat.
Who lives? And who is lunch?
I think Cantor is another term for “singing”, so what have we here: The Singing Turtle?
That would have made some cute and clever children’s books.
If this is the first sighting.
How rare do we know it is.
How do we know it is endangered.
A cantor is a singer..............
I’ll go out on a limb and bet that they were nesting and breeding before the scientists discovered that they were nesting and breeding.
For millions of years............
>> How do we know it is endangered.
BECAUSE OUR BETTERS TOLD US SO!!! They wouldn’t lie to us! Right?
(actually, those turtles look tasty to me.)
They kept it secret for a long time. Very prim and proper those Asian giant softshell turtles.
Awww... A cutie.
From the photo caption.
“If this thing can get laid, then there’s hope for all of us.”
Reminds me of Ernie Angelicola who was a mechanical engineer among many other things.
He told me of one of his jobs, where the owner of a large manufacturing company hired him to study their process and recommend ways to improve it.
So Ernie just chatted with workers and asked them about it, then prepared a detailed report of what they had said.
After he presented it to the owner and the rest of management, the owner paid him.
Ernie asked him why he paid him $50,000 for just compiling what the workers had told him.
The owner said it was well worth it as the managers would never have accepted the info directly from the employees, but now, coming from the "outside expert engineer" they would.
In my first job I did the same thing. They gave me the book on how the plant was supposed to be run, but I found it wasn’t true; the employees had modified it substantialy. So checking to make sure what they did was beneficial, it became my expertise too.
One of my best days was to set the guy who had written the book straight on what was really happening.
This was my routine ever after.
Borrow a guy’s watch to tell him what time it is.
Thanks Red Badger.
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