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MUTTS © 2017 Patrick McDonnell – Distributed by King Features SyndicateBy Patrick McDonnell
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A tricarinate hill
turtle in the Buxa
Tiger Reserve,
West Bengal.TAMAGHNA SENGUPTAMMuttsutts
SANCTUARY ASIA, 2017 NOVEMBER 7WHO Tamaghna Sengupta, 29
WHERE Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal
WHEN July 29, 2017
SPECIES Tricarinate hill turtle
CHAIN OF EVENTS My friends and I spent an evening in
the Buxa Tiger Reserve hoping to photograph elephants that can
usually be spotted along the tall, grassy banks of the Dima river
during the rainy season. A portion of that river passes through
the outskirts of the reserve where we waited for the elephants
to emerge. One of my friends, Kunal Chakraborty, spotted a small
creature moving along the shallow riverbed. A really attractive
turtle! We were unable to identify the species but took some
photographs before it crossed the stream and disappeared
out of sight. On returning home, I informed my friend Vivek
Sarkar, who helped me identify the species as the tricarinate hill
turtle. I learnt that this entirely terrestrial turtle has been rarely
photographed even within Protected Areas in India.