The smuggled tortoises were returned to the country by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), after they were confiscated by authorities in Malaysia.

“The Indian star tortoise, endemic to the Indian sub-continent, has a huge demand as exotic pets. Thousands are illegally channeled into the wildlife pet trade market every year,” says Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). “The species is found in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but this consignment is known to have originated from south-east India, and reportedly reached Kuala Lumpur airport through Bangladesh.”

Back in their native land, the tortoises will now be rehabilitated in accordance with the IUCN’s guidelines for the placement of confiscated animals. The rehabilitation is being carried out by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department assisted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI), both agencies with previous experience in rehabilitating star tortoises, in association with Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology, Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Wildlife Institute of India and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology.

“In all repatriated tortoise population, a certain percent of mortality is always expected,” says Dr NVK Ashraf, Chief Veterinarian, WTI, who has earlier facilitated rehabilitation of star tortoises, repatriated from Singapore in 2002. “This is due to the way they are smuggled, packed in high densities in small boxes, and shipping stress. One of the immediate measures to be taken to minimise mortality is by identifying and segregating the weaker ones from the healthy, and giving all of them more space.”

The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is listed in Schedule IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and Appendix II of CITES. In India, they are found in the northwest and southeast of the country. Genetic tests will be conducted to help identify the origin and race (sub-species) of these tortoises and will contribute to the site selection process which will commence this month.

“The release site must fall within the distribution range and have adequate food, water and hiding spaces with minimum anthropological interference,” says Dr Gowri Mallapur, MCBT. “They will be shifted to the selected site and acclimatised in smaller groups before release.”