240 black softshell hatchlings went into a protected pond in Biswanath

Two hundred and forty black softshell hatchlings were released on Saturday, November 7, into a protected water body in Assam's Biswanath Wildlife Division. IANS reported the release, and Mangalorean.com carried that report on November 8, 2026. The turtles, Nilssonia nigricans, are known locally as Bormuria kaso. A senior forest official said the release was organized by the Wildlife Survival Alliance Foundation India with the wildlife division, Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, and the Assam Forest Department. The project, Conservation and Recovery of Black Softshell Turtle in Assam, has run for nearly a decade.

The official said the species was declared extinct in the wild in the early 2000s and now has a stable population in the Brahmaputra-Kaziranga landscape, while remaining critically endangered. Eggs are collected in March and April from the pond at historic Nagshankar Temple and incubated at Biswanath Ghat, which cuts losses to predators, especially mongooses. Hatchlings emerge in July and August, then spend about three months in a grow-out facility on fresh small fish so they are heavier when they go out. Since 2021 the foundation, formerly TSA Foundation India, has released more than 1,000 hatchlings.

Guests at this release included Naduar legislator Padma Hazarika, the divisional forest officer, temple committee secretary Rajib Barua, and the foundation's northeast coordinator, Upamanyu Chakraborty. They were given handwoven gamosas with turtle motifs, made by Kaso Sakhi, a women's livelihood group the foundation supports. The news is this batch of 240 and the running total since 2021. It is not a new census of every black softshell in the Brahmaputra.