{"id":4613,"date":"2026-02-22T12:16:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T06:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=4613"},"modified":"2026-02-22T13:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T08:16:21","slug":"indian-star-tortoise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indian-star-tortoise\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Star Tortoise"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Indian Star Tortoise Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A slow-moving star-shelled tortoise was rescued and safely relocated to another part of the forest while escaping a fast-spreading ground fire in the Amrabad Tiger Reserve.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Indian Star Tortoise<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a <\/span><b>medium-sized terrestrial<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tortoise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientific Name: Geochelone elegans.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their name comes from the <\/span><b>star-like pattern on their shell<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>These patterns act as camouflage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by helping to break up the shell outline so that it more easily blends into its surroundings.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Distribution<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: It is native to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where it inhabits dry areas and scrub forest.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Indian Star Tortoise <\/b><b>Features<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can grow to 10 inches long. <\/span><b>Females <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are considerably <\/span><b>larger<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than their male counterparts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>upper shell or carapace<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is coloured in <\/span><b>dark brown or black <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with <\/span><b>light brown or yellow lines radiating out from the centre of each scale <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to provide the <\/span><b>star pattern.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> pattern itself varies greatly <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from a simple pale \u2018X\u2019 shape in some tortoises to an intricate and complex array of stripes spreading from the central hub of each scale.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has a <\/span><b>lifespan <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of <\/span><b>35 to 80 years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the wild.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These <\/span><b>solitary <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">animals <\/span><b>do not hibernate<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but <\/span><b>when it is very dry and hot, or very cold, they stay inactive.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Indian Star Tortoise <\/b><b>Conservation Status<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is classified as &#8216;<b>Vulnerable<\/b>&#8216; under the IUCN Red List.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Key Facts about Amrabad Tiger Reserve<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is located in the<\/span><b> Nallamala hills of the Eastern Ghats in Telangana<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> state.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spread over 2611.4 sq.km., it is<\/span><b> one of the largest tiger reserve<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was <\/span><b>originally part of the larger Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve before<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the <\/span><b>bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reserve is renowned for its rugged terrain, deep valleys, and dense forests.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Within the reserve lies the historic <\/span><b>Nagalapuram fort.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> Krishna River <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and its perennial streams originating within the reserve contribute to the<\/span><b> water supply of major reservoirs <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">such as the <\/span><b>Srishailam Dam and Nagarjunsagar Dam.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Chenchu tribe<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one of the major tribal communities that live in the ATR.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Flora<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is characterized by <\/span><b>dry deciduous forests, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">primarily made up of <\/span><b>sal, teak, bamboo<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and acacia trees.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The forest is rich in <\/span><b>medicinal plants and shrubs, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which have long been used by local tribes for traditional remedies.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fauna<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Apart from tigers, the reserve supports a range of other big cats, such as l<\/span><b>eopards and wild cats, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">along with herbivores like<\/span><b> sambar deer, chital<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (spotted deer), nilgai (blue bull), wild boar, and the Indian bison (gaur).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over 303 bird species have been identified in this region. Some important groups include Eagles, Pigeons, Doves, Cuckoos, Woodpeckers, Drongos, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deccanchronicle.com\/southern-states\/telangana\/slow-tortoise-gets-a-helping-hand-to-escape-forest-fire-1938724\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DC<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is a medium land tortoise of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, famed for its star-patterned shell for camouflage. Read more about Indian Star Tortoise, Distribution, Conservation Status, News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":89321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5642,21,22,23],"class_list":{"0":"post-4613","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-indian-star-tortoise","9":"tag-prelims-pointers","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4613"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89322,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4613\/revisions\/89322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}