[8] Originally native to the lower Brahmaputra River, the only population ever reliably known consists of a number of the species in a man-made pond which is part of the Bayazid Bostami shrine at Chittagong, where they are dependent on humans for survival.

To the locals and worshipers, the black softshell turtle is known as mazari ("Mazar inhabitant"); specimens from this shrine were used in the first scientific description.

[5][9] In a 2014 survey by Poribesh Banchao Andolon, a Bangladeshi private organization it was found that the amount of oxygen dissolved in the pond water was 2.01 mg/L, whereas the favorable level is 5 mg/L.

[10] In 2012, wildlife biologists of the Center for Advanced Research in Natural Resources and Management found a small population in the wild of Sylhet.

[10] Two tiny wild populations were discovered in Assam, in Kaziranga and in the Jia Bhoroli River which is a northern tributary of the Brahmaputra.

[15] These interactions with direct feeding have created a dependence for these turtles on the people, since this species no longer has a need for hunting.

Oxygen is needed at a reduced rate than normal and the turtles practice a technique called “pharyngeal breathing”.

[19] This extinction has been caused by human intervention, specifically the migration of people into the habitat and the contamination of water and land following this movement.

A waiting period had passed to ensure oxygen levels were rich in the water, indicating a sustainable environment, in turn allowing the release of the species.

[21] Since 2013, TSA India has worked diligently to improve conditions at selected temple ponds in Assam where these turtles were discovered.

The turtles showed signs of poor nutrition and a lack of suitable nesting space resulted in eggs being deposited in areas where there was little chance of hatching.

The goal of the project is to eventually rear and release juveniles from these captive colonies to supplement depleted wild populations.

As part of that initiative, the TSA India team camped at the Nagshankar temple in April to observe nesting in the 40-45 adult females at that location.

Neonates and juveniles cannot be released back into the temple pond due to predation by larger turtles and exotic fish.

For this reason, the team acquired an earthen pond in the nearest village to provide space for the fast-growing juveniles, improving survival prospects for this extremely rare softshell.

The population size had shown a gradual increase over time, indicating that the calculated area per turtle had decreased in accordance.

[21] In 2011, Dr. Jayaditya from the Help Earth NGO found a grouping of black softshell turtles in a temple pond in Hajo, Assam.

The State Zoo of Assam is playing an important role in this conservation project, serving as the location where baby turtles are reared for six months.