It wouldn’t be an expedition if it were simple. A team of Bengaluru-based wildlife researchers set out on an expedition to a remote jungle in Arunachal Pradesh, where they encountered hardship and luck when they came upon two individuals (a male and a female) of the Impressed Tortoise (Manouria impressa). 

This study emphasizes the significance of performing a comprehensive herpetofauna census in north-eastern India, particularly along the border. Future surveys will be conducted near the occurrence region, with areas picked based on interviews with locals, resulting in an ecologically viable population of the species in the area. The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 protects tortoises in India.

Tortoise: 

The tortoise is a member of the turtle family ‘Testudinidae’. Previously, the term tortoise was applied to any terrestrial turtle. The tortoise is easily distinguished because they all have elephantine hind limbs and hind feet, each digit in their forefeet and hind feet has two or fewer phalanges. The shell of all tortoises, with the exception of the pancake tortoise, is high domed. Some species’ shells are virtually spherical with a flattened base.

Tortoises come in a variety of sizes, from the small padlopers (Homopus) of southern Africa with shell lengths of 10 to 15 cm to the giant tortoises (Geochelone) of the Aldabra and Galapagos islands with shells exceeding 1 meter.

Impressed Tortoise discovery: 

On June 20, 2019, the tortoise that was buried in the arms of a villager was seen by Bunty Tao, a ranger from the Hapoli forest division in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kamle district.

Tao, who started working for the forest service when he was 18 years old, fed the turtle and maintained him in a forested area near his home. But first, he snapped a photo and forwarded it to ‘Arunachal Against Hunting,’ one of the numerous wildlife-related Whatsapp groups to which he belongs. He had no idea that his fortuitous rescue would usher in a new chapter in the history of turtle conservation in the Northeast.

Next Sunday, Purkayastha and a team of surveyors (including Tao and Dr. Bharat Bhushan Bhatt, an Arunachal Pradesh-based herpetologist, and Dr. Shailendra Singh and Arpita Dutta from Turtle Survival Alliance) visited the montane forests of Yazali in the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh and discovered not one, but two of these creatures, guided by the villagers.

Before being released in their natural habitats, the animals were checked, marked, and photographed. The scientists were able to confirm that it was the Manouria impressa, or Impressed Tortoise, which had previously been thought to be found solely in Western Myanmar.

Identification of Impressed Tortoise: 

Impressed tortoises have a carapace, or shell, that is somewhat flattened and has a sharply serrated edge. The shape of their scutes, which are impressed or indented rather than the conventional dome shape, gives them their name. The scutes are a light yellowish-brown tint with a dark brown rim. The limbs and tail of this tortoise are dark brown or black, while the head is yellowish. The snouts of some have a rosy hue. It has a sharp serrated edge on its carapace, which can grow to be over 12 inches (31 cm) long.

Habitat and Nutrition: 

Impressed tortoises can be found in evergreen and bamboo woods in Asia’s highlands and mountains. They have been found in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia, with a potential range into China. The impressed tortoise is thought to be primarily terrestrial, spending most of its life on the forest floor under leaves. It grows in dense evergreen forests or bamboo thickets on slopes and mountainsides. 

According to recent research, these tortoises eat virtually solely mushrooms, though they may also consume other flora. They consume mixed greens, pellets, and mushrooms at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

Conservation efforts: 

• Galapagos Conservancy and the Galapagos National Park Directorate(GNPD) are leading the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative (GTRI). The initiative’s long-term goal is to restore tortoise populations across Galapagos to their historical distribution and numbers, even on islands where tortoises have gone extinct.
• Further surveys in suitable habitats are needed to determine the area occupied by this species, its population size, and genetic diversity, as well as its ecology and habitats, in order to design conservation management plans for this species in Arunachal Pradesh. 
• Tortoises are protected in India under Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which makes collecting or killing them illegally. As a result, the State Forest Department should be urged to start awareness efforts for the protection of this uncommon species in collaboration with the local Nyishi population.

Conclusion: 

These beautiful and uncommon tortoises can be fantastic additions to a collection if they are properly understood and cared for. To thrive or even survive impressed tortoises require particular diet and habitat conditions. Their upkeep is time-consuming, but it pays off handsomely. We can learn more about these animals and improve our captive breeding performance with continued research.

They are now classed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, although their situation could improve with the help of captive breeding and continuous conservation efforts.