The Black Softshell Turtles of the Bayazid Bostami Shrine

At the Bayazid Bostami Shrine in Bangladesh, a pond holds one of the last populations of the black softshell turtle. Local legend says the turtles are spirits cursed to live in the shrine forever. Today they are revered: visitors bathe beside them for blessings and feed them bananas.

For years, the eggs the turtles laid around the shrine were eaten by dogs and other predators. Working with the Creative Conservation Alliance, a shrine caretaker volunteered his own small room to house an incubator. Hundreds of eggs were collected, many hatched, and for the first time in years juvenile turtles were released back into the ponds, a step toward one day returning the species to the wild in Bangladesh.