Victims of illegal wildlife trade, these 85 turtles including Black Spotted Pond Turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii), Indian Roof Turtle (Pangshura tecta), Tricarinate Hill Turtle (Melanochelys tricarinata), Indian Tent Turtles have safely travelled with the RESQ CT Pune team and have now arrived at the Gharial Rescue Centre, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. They will be acclimatized and released about two weeks from now by Turtle Survival Alliance and officials of Uttar Pradesh Forest Department. 

These turtles were rescued by the Maharashtra Forest Department and multiple organisations from Thane, Pune and Nashik over the last few years. In 2021, in a state-wide collective drive, these turtles were collected at the Reptile Transit Unit in RESQ Wildlife TTC, Pune. They were put through quarantine and screened for infections. They were grouped based on species and placed in suitable housing conditions where they slowly transitioned off their captive diets. They were exposed to different types of weather conditions and the ones who survived it all, were deemed fit for repatriation.