No toy no tart, let it live in a lake.

This piece appeared in Deccan Herald on 9th October 2012. In case you are surprised with the title - must confess - it did come as a surprise to me too !

We were at Phura, a small village surrounded by wet-rice-fields in Saiha district of Mizoram.  I worked in Saiha for 3 years on  conservation education work with students and elders in the area.  As we visited our favourite tea-stall for the last time for the day we saw a tortoise on a bench. One of its legs was tied with a thin string to the bench After the initial confusion, we discovered that it was alive and one of us rushed to get our camera, pad and pen from the forest guest house where we stayed. 

Mizoram is one of the 8 states that form the bio-diversity rich part of our country, commonly referred to as the north-east. Saiha is the southernmost tip of not only Mizoram but also north-east India and its amazing forests are a part of the vast wild landscape that stretches deep into Myanmar. A large portion of Mizoram’s land is covered by forests and most of them are owned by villagers.

A delicacy.

Tortoise meat is a delicacy in the region and we suspected that the tortoise at the tea stall would soon become part of somebody’s meal. I immediately realized that interacting with the person who ‘owned’ the tortoise was more important than trying to identify the reptile! But the owner was initially reluctant to converse with us. Then he said he was surprised we were concerned about the tortoise as many people ate tortoise meat. His companion mentioned that tortoises were being hunted in their region with the help of dogs.

In the discussion that followed our cajoling, the owner suddenly said  he wished to take it home to his children. He said that they would look after it as their pet! Cajoling was anything but easy. He insisted that there was nothing uncommon or wrong about what he was doing, while we argued that hunting and keeping wildlife as pets is prohibited under a law called the Wild Life (Protection) Act.

This Act was passed in 1972 and is one of the strongest wildlife laws in our country that lays punishment in the form of fines and imprisonment for hunting and other acts that harm wildlife. Removing wildlife species from their habitat and having them as pets is a serious problem; neither do the species get the diet nor the habitat they are accustomed to and in most cases move towards a slow, painful and unnatural death.

While we were at the tea-stall, some members of a youth club joined us. Initially they were a little surprised and thought that we were making too much of a noise over a small tortoise but later they too joined us in urging the owner to hand over the tortoise to us for release. Finally he consented. Amidst all the chaos of the arguments and counter arguments, I suddenly noticed that the tortoise had retreated into its shell in fear, not knowing that its future was being hotly debated!

Release Plan.

Within a short while we decided that PalakLake would be the best spot to release the tortoise. I was thrilled! Palak Lake was one of pristine beauty and an area that attracted a large number of birds as well.  Soon we left for the lake with the tortoise in tow! We released it near the lake’s edge and stood silently watching it as it slowly made its way into the water. We then walked back in the moonlight towards Phura very pleased with ourselves. 

Sharing the images with experts later we identified our tortoise as the Asian brown tortoise or the Asian forest tortoise. This species of tortoise lives in evergreen forests in the hills near water and is the only tortoise that lays its eggs above the ground in a nest. We then made a short write-up on the incident in English to share it with supporters over email and in Mizo to share it with friends in Saiha! This incident was a beginning towards our joining hands with youth club and village council in Saiha towards conserving the amazing wildlife in the region!

This is a part of the series The Emerald Garden co-ordinated by Kalpavriksh. Many thanks to Kalpavriksh.