A rare and endangered freshwater Indian peacock soft shell turtle, listed ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and protected under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, was caught in a fishing net in the river Brahmani river near Jayakunda village, close to the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary.
The inland fisherman- Kailash Barik, in whose fishing net the animal was entangled- will be given away Rs 1,000 reward for handing over the protected animal to the forest department. The rare turtle was later released into the river water, said J. D Pati the Divisional Forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division.