A rare yellow flapshell turtle has been rescued from a canal in the Ambikapur area of Faridpur's Sadar upazila, forest officials have said.
The turtle was spotted by a youth, named Riyad, a resident of Ambikapur village, on Sunday afternoon when he had been fishing in the canal in Biswas Dangi.
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The turtle was subsequently caught in a fishing net and handed over to the Faridpur forest department. The reptile is currently kept in a reservoir of the forest department at Gangavardi in Faridpur Sadar.
Faridpur Divisional Social Forest Officer Kabir Hossain Patwari said that the turtle is a unique and rare reptile. "It weighs about 1.5 kg and has a diameter of eight inches," he said on Tuesday.
However, Ashikur Rahman Shomi, a student of zoology at Dhaka University, said that it's very much possible that the Sundhi turtle species -- matte and grey in colour -- may have turned yellow due to genetic changes.
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The Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Department in Khulna has been informed. The next step will be taken as per their advice, said the forest officer.