CHENNAI: The mortality of reptiles that were rescued from a house in Kolathur is increasing, confirmed Vandalur Zoo authorities on Wednesday, after 25 more Indian roofed turtles died due to extreme stress.
A full-fledged veterinary team is trying to stabilise around 600 turtles and tortoises, a majority of whom are juvenile. These native animals belonging to four different species were seized from a house rented to run an international wildlife trade by an ousted Tamil Nadu police officer, S Ravikumar. When customs and forest officials raided the house on August 11, 23 turtles were already found dead.
Zoo assistant director P Manikanda Prabhu told TNIE that the reptiles are in a fragile condition, especially the Indian roofed turtles. “On August 12, 14 reptiles died and we lost 11 on the next day. This is due to stress caused by improper handling and storage by traffickers. They are also too young.”
Indian roofed turtles are endemic to Brahmaputra and Indus basin and thus these are alien climatic conditions for the reptiles. “When we took measurements, some of them just weighed 20g. They must be four to six months old. We have put them on prophylactic antibiotics and are trying to provide the best care, but there will be mortality considering the condition in which they were brought in,” said Dr K Sridhar, veterinary assistant surgeon at Vandalur Zoo.
TNIE visited the transit area in Vandalur Zoo on Wednesday, where these reptiles are kept in observation. Workers were seen clearing enclosures and enriching them with water and creating hideout, basking, shaded and cooling areas to fulfil the reptiles’ physiological needs.
Zoo authorities said the best that could be done was to observe, provide necessary food and ideal living conditions. “We need to make empirical decisions and try not to over intervene, which would cause more stress.”
Another reason for increasing mortality was delay in shifting these animals to the zoo. The raid happened on August 11 afternoon and seized animals were to be produced before the court. The reptiles were handed over to the zoo only the next night. A conservationist said, “We need to first provide necessary care to the animals in stress. The judiciary should pass orders in this regard.”