Elongated tortoise, shrinking habitat
The elongated tortoise is a species of tortoise once found in different areas of the country including Sylhet, Bangladesh.
However, shrinking habitat and demand for their meat have seen the tortoise’s numbers decline in recent years.
Where once they commonly occurred in the calm waters of beels, in river channels and forests, their distribution is now restricted to hilly areas only.
Apart from habitat destruction, the use of insecticides has also played a role in reducing tortoise numbers, said Tabibur Rahman, assistant conservator of Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Department in Moulvibazar.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently lists the species as “endangered”.
Swapan Deb Sajal, director of the Bangladesh Bonyo Prani Sheba Foundation, a wildlife care foundation, said the elongated tortoise is in severe decline across its natural range. Ten years ago, he said, this species could be easily found in Lawachhara forest. But they are rarely seen now.
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Photo from Mintu Deshwara.
