The Cantor’s giant softshell turtle is one of the oldest species still alive today. Its ancestors once shared the planet with dinosaurs millions of years ago, which alone should've made them celebrities in biological circles but that didn't happen. Once routinely caught in fishing nets and discarded as lifeless bycatch, the turtle had all but slipped into obscurity.
That changed when wildlife biologist Ayushi Jain began working in the fishing villages of Kasargod, Kerala, in order to bring it back into the circle of care. A homegrown documentary depicts this story and tells the tale of a turtle that almost disappeared from public memory.
'Saving the Bhimanama: Ayushi Jain and a Giant Turtle' recently earned top honours at the 15th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival 2025. Produced by Roundglass Sustain and directed by acclaimed environmental journalist Bahar Dutt and nature filmmaker Vijay Bedi, this compelling film follows the tireless work of wildlife biologist Ayushi Jain as she sets out to document and conserve one of the world’s rarest freshwater turtles. Locally known as Bhimanama, this elusive reptile is as mysterious as it is massive, weighing in at nearly 100 kilograms and teetering on the brink of extinction, with only a few hundred individuals left in the wild.
These turtles are notoriously difficult to study. They are shy, near-mythical creatures that spend most of their lives buried in sandy riverbeds, surfacing only briefly, and rarely when humans are around. What makes the film all the more astounding is that it is the second-ever video documentation of these turtles hatching in the wild. It's nothing short of extraordinary.
By working closely with local fishermen in Kasargod, Ayushi has built a conservation programme that not only studies the elusive Cantor’s giant softshell turtle, but actively involves the people who share the same rivers and banks. Through consistent outreach and education, she’s guided the community to recognise the turtle’s fragility and importance, encouraging them to release the turtles gently back into the water if found tangled in fishing nets.
“Dams and sand mining are the two immediate threats to its habitat — sandy banks, and we need to address these threats. And for this, we need extra resources.”Ayushi Jain
Ayushi’s work includes meticulously documenting the species, measuring hatchling weights, head sizes, and tracking behaviours previously unrecorded. In the absence of scientific literature, this has become one of the first comprehensive studies on the species. And over time, the conservation effort has also taken root in the community's collective consciousness with villagers who now protect nests, care for the eggs, and gather to release baby turtles into the river.
In the film, Ayushi and Bahar rush to a nesting site to witness the hatchlings gingerly emerge from their shells. After a few days, the tiny baby turtles are gently released into the river as the local community, including the forest officers, stand by and watch their conservation efforts come to fruition. The impact of the film not only comes from the efforts to save a species from going extinct, but the larger message of interdependence and the responsibility we have in co-existing with the creatures we share this planet with.
The film is available on Roundglass Sustain's YouTube channel. Roundglass Sustain is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to documenting India’s wild places and species, creating a continuously growing modern encyclopaedia of biodiversity. Follow them here and watch the documentary at the top of the page.
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