Overview

• Manipur Zoological Garden and the India Turtle Conservation Programme reported 28 hatchlings from a single nest through artificial incubation in Imphal.
• Officials said dedicated breeding infrastructure will be established to sustain yearly breeding and enable phase-wise release to the wild.
• ITCP plans habitat suitability assessments and mapping of native distribution across Manipur to determine population status and conservation needs.
• A one-day workshop on August 21 trained 25 zookeepers and frontline forest staff in tortoise and freshwater turtle care to support the programme.
• The Asian giant tortoise, listed as critically endangered and native to Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, is under husbandry care at MZG, which the Central Zoo Authority classifies as a medium zoo.