Mizoram’s river turtles: a community hatchery brings a rare species back
Villagers along the Tiau river have hatched 400 endangered softshell turtles in three years.
The softshell turtles of Mizoram’s river systems, once hunted to the edge of disappearance, are making a comeback through an unusual partnership: village councils and herpetologists.
Communities along the Tiau river now guard nesting beaches and run a village hatchery that has released more than 400 hatchlings in three years.
The project’s success rests on a simple bargain: the villages keep the turtles, and the turtles keep the river’s balance.