Alert Panna farmer spots rare tortoise in field, calls forest team to its rescue

Jabalpur: A farmer’s alertness and presence of mind helped forest officials rescue a rare Indian Star Tortoise from a field in Devendranagar area of Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district.

Known for its trademark yellow-star marking on the shell, the tortoise is marked as ‘vulnerable’ in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and also protected under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Working in his agricultural field in ward number 12 of Devendranagar in Panna, the farmer, Mahendra Prajapati, spotted the tortoise and was alerted by the unusual way it lay on the surface. Sensing something was wrong, he immediately sent word to the forest department.

Soon, a rescue team dispatched by the forest department rushed to the spot and secured the reptile.

The official confirmed the reptile to be an Indian Star Tortoise, a species, while not critically endangered, faces serious threats from illegal wildlife trafficking, habitat degradation and poaching for the exotic pet trade.

“It is seldom sighted in these parts of the state, though the climatic conditions here are congenial to their existence. However, it had never been spotted here earlier. The rescued tortoise was sent to Gandhi Sagar in Mandsaur as there is a conservation facility there,” district forest officer Dhirendra Singh told TOI.

Officials said the tortoise was, on Tuesday, shifted to the conservation facility at Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary for further care and monitoring.

The reptile appeared healthy, the officials said, adding that it would eventually be rehabilitated in a suitable natural habitat after examination and other necessary procedures.

Sources say sightings of Indian Star Tortoise are not common in central India, making the rescue significant from both biodiversity and conservation standpoints.

The species has a lifespan for 30 to 50 years and is globally known for its striking shell pattern, which also makes it a prime target for smugglers.