Guwahati, Nov. 7 -- In a significant step towards conserving the critically endangered Black Softshell Turtle (BST), locally known as Bormuria Kaso (Nilssonia nigricans), 240 hatchlings were released into a protected waterbody under the Biswanath Wildlife Division in Assam.

The release was carried out by the Wildlife Survival Alliance Foundation India (WSAFI) in collaboration with the Biswanath Wildlife Division, Kaziranga Tiger Reserve and the Assam Forest Department as part of the decade-long initiative titled Conservation and Recovery of Black Softshell Turtle in Assam.

The species, which was declared 'Extinct in the Wild' in the early 2000s, has since recorded a stable population in the Brahmaputra-Kaziranga landscape through sustai...