PREVIEW

The nesting site of an "incredibly rare" critically endangered turtle has been discovered in India. Researchers from the University of Portsmouth
and the Zoological Society of London, located a nest of the giant softshell turtle along the Chandragiri River in Kerala. A representative from the university said the species was "known for its rarity and secretive nature", adding it had "long been a subject of fascination and concern among conservationists". This turtle species, indigenous to the river systems of South and Southeast Asia, is classified as critically endangered. It had been thought that the species was vanishing from India's waters, but there is now fresh hope that this might not be the case due to evidence of the turtles reproducing. The team is now working to set up a community hatchery and nursery where the creatures can be born and looked after near where the nest site was discovered.