India GOIndian flapshell turtle: the small soft-shelled turtle of temple tanks
कछुआ
The Indian flapshell turtle is a small, round, olive turtle with a soft leathery shell and skin flaps that close over its hind legs when it pulls them in. It is the most common freshwater turtle in India, at home in ponds, tanks and slow canals, yet it is listed as Vulnerable and protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act. The easiest places to see one are sacred tanks, where the turtles are fed rather than caught.
A round, low, olive turtle with a soft leathery shell and skin flaps that fold over the hind legs when it pulls in. It is listed as Vulnerable.
👀 How to recognise it
Watch still water for a small pointed snout breaking the surface, then a smooth domed back with no horny plates and pale spots over the head. On warm mornings they come up to breathe every few minutes.
Protection
Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Where to see it
Govardhan
Radha Kund and the other tanks hold water all year and the animals in them are fed rather than taken, so a pond a few dozen metres across can carry more turtles than kilometres of farmland around it. The sacred tanks of Govardhan are among the species' best remaining homes on the Braj plain.
Radha Kund and Shyama Kund (often) · Mansi Ganga (often)
Vrindavan
Sacred ponds are among the best remaining habitat for the species on the Braj plain: the water is held year-round, the animals are fed rather than taken, and the banks are not cleared. Records around Vrindavan come mostly from the quiet Yamuna backwaters north-east of the town rather than from the busy ghats.
Prem Sarovar · Keshi Ghat
Ujjain
Turtles are fed and protected in many temple tanks, which has given the species some of its most stable populations in otherwise built-up areas.
Rudra Sagar Lake (often) · Shipra River and Shri Ram Ghat (often)
How to recognise it
Watch still water. First a small pointed snout breaks the surface, then a smooth domed back with no horny plates, and on a closer look pale spots over the head. On warm mornings the turtles come up to breathe every few minutes, stay a moment and go down again.
The shell is broadly oval in adults and almost round in the young, 24–37 cm long; females grow bigger than males. The name comes from the underside: a pair of large skin flaps on the plastron (the lower shell) folds over the hind legs, and a smaller one over the tail, when the turtle withdraws. Next to the much larger Ganges softshell turtle, which can approach a metre and has a flat, dish-like shell and a long tube of a nose, the flapshell looks compact and high-backed.
It eats almost anything: snails, shrimp, frogs, insects and carrion, as well as leaves, flowers, fruit and seeds. By eating snails, insects and dead animals it helps keep a pond's water cleaner.
Where to see it
Sacred tanks hold water all year, the animals in them are fed rather than taken and the banks are not cleared, so a pond a few dozen metres across can hold more turtles than kilometres of farmland around it. They are most visible on warm mornings, roughly March to October.
Govardhan
Frequent at Radha Kund and Shyama Kund, watched from the steps in the first warm hour of the day, and in the open water of Mansi Ganga away from the busiest ghats.
Vrindavan
A matter of luck: watch the open water of Prem Sarovar from the steps, or the Yamuna backwaters above and below Keshi Ghat. Most records around the town come from the quiet backwaters north-east of it, not from the busy ghats.
Ujjain
Frequent in Rudra Sagar Lake and along the Shipra by Shri Ram Ghat; in Ujjain the turtles bask most from October to March.
Built for drought, threatened by people
The flaps are part of a survival kit for drying ponds. When water disappears the turtle burrows into mud, moves from one waterhole to the next or goes dormant (aestivation): some have survived up to 160 days. Females lay two to sixteen eggs in damp, sunny soil, two or three times a year, mostly between June and November.
People are the bigger problem. Freshwater turtles and their eggs are eaten across South Asia, a myth credits them with aphrodisiac power, and the flapshell, being meatier than other local turtles, is heavily traded. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable (2021), CITES lists it on Appendix II, and in India it is in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. In Hindi it is simply kachhua, turtle.
❓ FAQ
Why is it called a flapshell turtle?
Because of skin flaps on the lower shell that fold over the hind legs and tail when the turtle pulls them in.
Is the Indian flapshell turtle protected in India?
Yes. It is in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the highest level of protection, and the IUCN lists it as Vulnerable.
What is the Indian flapshell turtle called in Hindi?
Kachhua, the ordinary Hindi word for turtle.
What does the Indian flapshell turtle eat?
It is omnivorous: snails, shrimp, frogs and carrion, plus leaves, flowers, fruit and seeds.
Where can I see flapshell turtles near Mathura?
At the sacred tanks of Govardhan, Radha Kund and Mansi Ganga, on a warm morning; in Vrindavan sightings at Prem Sarovar and Keshi Ghat are a matter of luck.