Spotted Pond Turtles

 

Latest Context:

Recently, 3 people have been arrested from the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, Assam for capturing and consuming spotted pond turtles, which is a rare species of a freshwater turtle.

About the Spotted Pond Turtles

• Basically, Spotted pond turtles are named for the yellow or white spots on their black heads, legs and tails. This species have large heads and short snouts, and their webbed feet help them in swimming.
• Also known as Black Pond Turtle, Black Spotted Turtle, Hamilton’s Terrapin.
• They bask in the sun to balance their body temperature. Their need for warm water and an intense basking area is very important for them.
• When they retreat into their shells, them make a soft croak.
• They are found in large, deep rivers in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• In India, the species is distributed across the north, northeast and a few parts of central India too.
• These turtles are primarily carnivorous and eat aquatic invertebrates.
•  These turtles are crepuscular (they are most active at twilight (dusk and dawn).

About their Conservation Status:

• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): Endangered (EN)
• CITES : Appendix I

About the Kaziranga National Park

• Located in the state of Assam and covers almost 43,000 Hectare (ha) area. 
• This park is the single largest undisturbed and representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain.
• It was declared as a National Park in 1974.
• It has been declared a tiger reserve in 2007. It has a total tiger reserve area of almost 1,030 sq km with a core area of 430 sq. km.
• It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
• It has been recognized as an important bird area by ‘BirdLife International’.
• It is home to the largest number of one-horned rhinos in the world. 
• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world and 2^nd highest number of Rhinos in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.
• High focus of conservation in Kaziranga is focused on the 'big 4' species— Rhino, Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger and Asiatic water buffalo.
• Kaziranga is also home to 9 of the 14 species of primates found in the Indian subcontinent.
• The National Highway (NH) 37 passes through this park.
• The park also has more than 250 seasonal water bodies, besides the Diphlu river running through it.

Some Additional Information:

About UNESCO

• It’s s a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
• It aims to build peace through international cooperation in education, the sciences and the culture.
• It is also a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), a coalition of UN agencies and organizations aimed at fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• UNESCO’s headquarter is located in Paris and the organization has more than 50 field offices around the world.
• It has a total of 193 members and 11 associate members and is governed by the General Conference and the Executive Board.
• 3 UNESCO member states are not UN members: Cook Islands, Niue, and Palestine.
• While 3 UN member states like Israel, Liechtenstein and the United States are not the members of UNESCO.

What are UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites?

• A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by UNESCO for its special cultural or physical significance.
• List of World Heritage Sites are maintained by the international 'World Heritage Programme', administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
• Presently, there are almost 1,100 UNESCO listed sites across its 167 member countries.

UNESCO Sites in India:

• • India is home to a total of 3691 monuments and sites. Of these 40 are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites including places like the Taj Mahal, Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves. 
  • World Heritage Sites also include natural sites like the Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
  • Recently, Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat was designated as   India’s 40^th world heritage site.
  • Ramappa Temple (Telangana) was India's 39^th World Heritage Site.
  • Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim has been declared as India's 1^st   and the only “Mixed World Heritage Site”.

Q. Consider the following pairs: (2013)

	National Park	River flowing through the park
1.	Corbett National Park	Ganga
2.	Kaziranga National Park	Manas
3.	Silent Valley National Park	Kaveri

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

(a) 1 and 2 
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 3
(d) None

Ans: (d)

Q. Consider the following fauna of India: (2013)

1. Gharial
2. Leatherback turtle
3. Swamp deer

Which of the above is/are endangered?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None

Ans: (c)

 

 

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