A documentary on saving the critically endangered turtle in Kasaragod wins the Dadasaheb Phalke Award

It was round six years in the past that ecologist Ayushi Jain arrived in Kasaragod, Kerala, searching for the Asian big softshell turtle (a big freshwater turtle). She interacted with the group, took them into confidence and finally noticed the turtle. She went on to doc the critically endangered species, with the assist of the folks, who proceed their efforts to guard the turtles.

Ayushi’s efforts are advised within the documentary Saving the Bhimanama: Ayushi Jain and a Large Turtle, directed by Bahar Dutt and Vijay Bedi, which not too long ago obtained the award for the very best documentary (jury) on the fifteenth Dadasaheb Phalke Movie Pageant 2025.

The 11-minute documentary is produced by Roundglass Maintain, which has been ‘telling tales of India’s wildlife and habitats to create consciousness and assist conservation’. “This documentary is a part of the Science in Motion sequence, which talks in regards to the scientists and their work by way of which we all know extra in regards to the species. Ayushi’s story stands out not simply due to the turtle but additionally due to the group’s involvement,” says Samreen Farooqui, who produced the documentary for Roundglass Maintain. She provides, “Despite being the biggest and rarest, the turtle was missed. At Roundglass, we speak about issues which can be missed.”

The olive-brown turtles, exceptionally lengthy for a freshwater turtle (one metre) and one of many largest, weighing as much as 100 kilograms, is named the Asian big softshell turtle resulting from its distribution in Asia. Additionally it is often called the Cantor’s big softshell turtle, after Dr Theodore Edward Cantor, a zoologist and botanist. Within the native parlance, it’s sometimes called Bhimanama (bhiman means big and aama is turtle) and Palapoovan, since its options resemble palapoo or the flower of Indian satan’s tree.

Ayushi Jain (left) and Bahar Dutt within the documentary
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

In an e-mail interplay, Ayushi, presently pursuing her PhD on the College of Miami, says, “In 2022, when the documentary was filmed, it was the second video documentation ever of how they hatch within the wild. The primary such shoot occurred in Cambodia.”

Asian big softshell turtle
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Particular Association

The one clue that Ayushi, a Zoological Society of London–Nationwide Geographic EDGE fellow, had when she reached Kasaragod was a report by a Kerala-based scientist in regards to the turtle being sighted by a fisherman in an estuarine habitat a number of years in the past. “There have been hardly any paperwork out there to learn in regards to the turtle. So I approached the fishermen who used to get these turtles of their nets as bycatch,” Ayushi says within the documentary.

As soon as she gained the belief of the folks, she educated them in regards to the turtle and skilled them to launch these caught of their nets. In return, the natives, particularly the fisherfolk, advised her about its nesting websites in order to guard the eggs.

For the turtle

Ayushi, who did her commencement in Zoology, accomplished her Masters in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from Pondicherry College. Ayushi says, “My analysis pursuits broadly circle round understanding the ecology and conservation of freshwater turtles together with community-led approaches for sustainable administration of threatened species. My ongoing work because the Habitats Belief Conservation Hero grantee includes coaching area people members and forest managers for the long-term safety of species nests and nesting grounds in Kerala. As a PhD pupil within the Conservation Ecology Lab, my purpose is to make coverage suggestions and administration methods to scale back threats to freshwater turtle populations and their habitats.”

It was tough to check the turtles due to their secretive nature, writes Ayushi in an article. They lie buried within the riverbed ready for the prey. Ayushi notes that their eyes, current on the highest of their head permit them to detect their prey whereas they continue to be hidden. So they’re ‘extremely specialised ambush predators with aggressive behaviour, a lightning pace strike and a strong jaw’.

Asian big softshell turtle
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Ayushi, 29, who hails from Agra, provides that unlawful and verify dams, and in depth unlawful sand mining have posed a risk to their pure habitat, the riverbeds. Ayushi’s work is the primary such long run documentation on the turtle.

Bahar, a outstanding identify in terms of reporting a few of the path-breaking environment-related tales, says the documentary was particular on many accounts. “After we had been knowledgeable that the eggs had been about to hatch, we rushed and reached the spot on time to witness the infants come out of the shells. The heartening second was that the complete group was current when the newborn turtles had been launched into their pure habitat. It was not staged. Everybody needed to be there and the exhilaration of the group was overwhelming,” says Bahar. She remembers that the documentary had additionally received a silver award within the Video Spot Information/Characteristic Reporting class within the 2023 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards.

The officers with the Division of Forest, who had been extraordinarily supportive of Ayushi’s work, had been additionally current on the time of releasing the turtles.

Ayushi Jain
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Particular Association

Ayushi says, “There are continued efforts in Kasaragod to guard the nests and launch the hatchlings into the Chandragiri River, with group and the forest division taking part in a central position on this initiative. Having established a rapport with the group and developed shut relationships with some native households, it was extremely fulfilling to see my mission of defending the turtles grow to be a shared purpose among the many group.”

As a part of her PhD, she is specializing in enhancing the administration of the Bavikkara Dam to forestall nest inundation for the species in Kasaragod. “Through the first 4 months of this yr, I performed nesting surveys in Kasaragod and studied dam administration to suggest methods for its sustainable operation,” she provides.

Watch the documentary on Roundglass Maintain’s YouTube channel.