Endangered Tent Turtles Rescued by Delhi Cops - Video

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Indian tent turtles, also known as roofed turtles, are endemic to the northern Indian states and parts of neighbouring Bangladesh. They derive their names from the visible roof-like shape at the top of their shells.

Four tent turtles, a rare breed, were found abandoned in Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate area by the city police on Thursday. They were rescued and moved to the Delhi Zoo for rehabilitation.

Crime branch of the Delhi Police has rescued four rare endangered tent turtles pic.twitter.com/NDze0c7xb0

— bhavatosh singh (@bhavatoshsingh) February 20, 2020

According to police officials, these turtles come under Schedules 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, under which hunting, trading or any other form of utilisation of the species or their body parts and derivatives is banned. All turtle and tortoise species from India are also listed under CITES regulating their international trade.

Teams of Delhi Police are trying to determine if any gang was involved in a syndicate for the sale of these Indian tent turtles.