A Fishermen Handed Over a Painted Terrapin to Us and the Agency of Conservation
A male of the critically endangered species Painted Terrapin (Batagur borneoensis) was handed over by its owner to the team of Satucita Foundation and officers of the Big Agency of Conservation of Natural Resources Province of North Sumatra (Balai Besar Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam/BBKSDA) on Saturday (January 15th) in Village Tapak Kuda, District if Langkat, Province of North Sumatera.
That male was accidentally caught by a fishing net about two weeks before. Then, one of the fishermen reported that finding to the officer of BBKSDA North Sumatra on January 14th.
Our team who had been in Village Jaring Halus – a village located near Tapak Kuda – since early December 2021 to carry out a nest patrol, visited the Tapak Kuda to meet the owner and seize those endangered species.
Our team scanned that male to know if the male have a Pit Tag we had injected before. But, we did not find the tag. So, this is a new individual capture. We also measured the length and width of the carapace and its wieght. His length is 37.5 cm (CCL), 34 cm (CCW), 6.3 kg weight.
Currently, this male is placed in the pool located in Karang Gading Langkat Timur Laut Wildlife Reserves, with another two females who were handed over to us from a market in November last year.
This handover is the fourth case where endangered Painted terrapin was handed over to us in North Sumatra. Perhaps the illegal ownership is higher than estimated.
