Bostami Shrine

People line the waters to feed and touch the turtles

Bostami Shrine

Polluted waters of the shrine

These Critically Endagered black softshell turtles are forced to live in these polluted waters. Notice the ammonia burns on their bodies.

Blessings

A woman drinks the waters from the Bostami shrine to receive its blessing

Black Soft-shell Turtle (Nilssonia nigricans)

Found in only 2 temple ponds in the world and fed bananas as a tourist attraction

Caretaker

This caretaker dedicated space in his already very small room for the turtles.

Caretaker

He took extraordinary care of the incubating eggs

Hatchlings

Once we proved we could hatch the eggs at a higher success rate than they historically have, we convinced them that the fate of the turtles is, in fact, in their hands, not God's

Caretaker

This caretaker for the incubating turtles was a janitor for the shrine

Headshot of hatchling

Hatchling release

A head Kadem (religious leader) releases one of the hatchlings

Bostami Shrine

A man bathes in the waters of the shrine to receive its blessing