Turning turtle

Jewel of the Ganga. That is how the red-crowned roofed turtle (Batagur kachuga) is often described due to its striking colouration, especially the brilliant hues displayed by males just before winter. Their heads flare with red, yellow, white and blue stripes; the crown glows a vivid red, giving the species its name.

The turtle is one of the three large freshwater species in the genus Batagur found in India. All are listed as Critically Endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red List, and protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 as well as Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Historically, the red-crowned roofed turtle ranged widely across the Ganga river basin, inhabiting major rivers and tributaries throughout a 400,000 sq km landscape. Intensive hunting of adults and eggs triggered a catastrophic collapse—an estimated 80 per cent population decline—alongside a dramatic contraction of its range. A 1993 survey in unified Uttar Pradesh’s Rishikesh and Kanpur recorded several individuals in the upper Ganga. But subsequent surveys in 2006 and 2020 around Narora and Haidarpur found none.

The species’ disappearance from the upper Ganga is attributed to a combination of pressures: rampant harvest of adults and eggs, illegal trade, habitat degradation due to factors such as sand mining and erratic water releases by upstream dams and agriculture in nesting banks, unsustainable fishing practices and fatal entanglement in nets. In the past three decades, only two confirmed sightings have been recorded across the turtle’s historic range. In 2021, an adult female was identified in Duhri village in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district. Two years later, residents of Ahar village in Bulandshahr district discovered two nests; 21 hatchlings emerged from 27 eggs in these nests. These rare encounters suggest that a remnant population persists in the upper Ganga in the area of Hapur and Bulandshahr, and that at least one female continues to nest there.

Today, the Chambal river, stretching roughly 800 km through braided ravines of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, provides the only viable habitat remaining, supporting fewer than 1,000 adults, which includes about 500 females. Like most riverine turtles, the species prefers flowing water bordered by high sandbanks. Rocky outcrops and sand edges serve as basking sites for thermoregulation. Nesting occurs in March, when females emerge to select dry, elevated sandbanks near deep pools. They excavate a chamber and lay 15 to 20 eggs in fine sand, positioned to avoid desiccation and flooding. After a 60- to 65-day incubation, hatchlings make their way toward shallow riffles—sections of the river where water runs in broken currents. Beyond India, Bangladesh and Nepal hold only marginal habitat, with no confirmed wild populations.

More than a visual marvel, the turtle functions as a bio-indicator of river health. It contributes to the cycling of nutrients within the river, which is essential for the overall health of the aquatic environment. Its predominantly herbivorous diet helps regulate aquatic vegetation and supports nutrient cycling—processes critical to maintaining a balanced freshwater ecosystem. Intensive monitoring is thus essential to safeguard its small but crucial stronghold, and perhaps, to help re-establish the species in its ancestral waters.

To help restore the former glory of the species, the Indian Turtle Conservation Program—supported by the Union government’s Namami Gange initiative and the forest departments of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan—runs long-term nest-protection efforts, riverside hatcheries, and rear-and-release programmes designed to stabilise the Cham-bal population. The programme has also begun exploring alternative habitats for reintroduction. Recently, as many as 20 sub-adults were released into the Ganga, and early monitoring shows encouraging survival and dispersal.

This article was originally published as part of the December 16-31, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth