TurTle
Survival
A pu blicAtion of the Tu rTle Su rvival alliance
august 2011
This past year has seen our strongest growth to date,
made possible by ambitious individual commitments
and new sources of revenue. We continue to strategi-
cally target high priority regions that we feel will give
us the biggest bang for our limited bucks. And we
constantly re-evaluate species priorities in light of new
threats and emerging trends. Throughout this process
we never forgot that saving species and preventing
extinction is why the TSA exists.
New People: At the August 2010 meetings in
Orlando the TSA Board took a leap of faith and
boldly agreed to put three new people on the
payroll. We are pleased to welcome Kalyar Platt
(Myanmar), Herilala Randriamahazo (Mada-
gascar) and Cris Hagen (Animal Management)
to our growing list of full time employees; they
join Heather Lowe (Program Coordinator) and
Shailendra Singh (India). The hiring of Kalyar
and Herilala as country coordinators greatly
expands TSA's ability to respond to growing
threats in two highly important turtle and
tortoise diversity hotspots. As the new Director
of Animal Management, Cris maintains oversight
for a growing area of TSA work the mainte-
nance of our living assurance colonies and rescue
operations. For more details see p. 18. And we
are constantly impressed and surprised with the
number of new faces that emerge to help when
we put out a call for help. That so many are will-
ing to respond in times of need truly represents
one of our greatest assets, and is what sets us
apart from other turtle conservation groups. Just
as I am writing this, a notice has come in that
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo's AAZK Chapter held
a "race against extinction" that raised more than
$4,000 for the Sundarbans Batagur recovery
program in Bangladesh!
New Facilities: This has been a big year for
construction and we have new facilities in
Myanmar, Belize and Bangladesh, all provid-
ing much needed assurance colonies for species
ranked Critically Endangered. In Myanmar, after
two years of fundraising, the TSA spent $60,000
building six new facilities for Burmese Star Tor-
toises, Burmese Roofed Turtles, Asian Mountain
Tortoises and Arakan Forest Turtles (see article
p. 55). In Belize we just completed the ponds
and infrastructure for the Hicatee Conservation
Research Center (for Central American River
Turtles) that will allow us to establish success-
ful breeding techniques for a species with a poor
history in captivity; these methods will lead to
the development of a large scale assurance colony
that can provide offspring for restoring depleted
wild populations (see article p. 82). And finally
in Bangladesh, we have built or renovated two
large ponds to support breeding colonies of the
Sundarbans River Terrapins, currently consid-
ered the second most highly endangered of Asia's
large river turtles. Thanks to the dedicated field
work of a remarkable woman Rupali Ghosh
we now have an adult captive breeding group
of ten males and five females, and eggs in the
ground!! (see article p. 60).
New Programs: Our prioritization process
does not occur in isolation, but is a collaborative
process involving many of our colleagues around
the globe, often in strategic planning or training
workshops. In the eleven month period from
August 2010 to July 2011, the TSA sponsored
or participated in workshops in Brazil (South
American turtle red-listing), India (prioritizing
regions for Indian turtle conservation), the U.S.
and China (action planning for Asian box turtles),
Singapore (setting priorities for Asian cheloni-
ans) and Malaysia (river terrapin conservation
techniques). Some new priorities emerged that
present challenges as well as opportunities, and
one of the TSA's primary responses was to fund
a new Seed Grant program that will target the
following regions: India, Africa, Indonesia, and
Colombia. These grants will mobilize projects
recommended from the India workshop, help us
New People, New Facilities, New Programs:
A Year of Remarkable Growth for the TSA
to gain traction in Indonesia (Sulawesi in par-
ticular), begin the arduous process of setting spe-
cies priorities in Africa, and lead to the develop-
ment of a new South American program, based in
Colombia. Colombia is a turtle diversity hotspot,
ranked seventh globally in number of species
(27, tied with India and Vietnam). Colombia is
also blessed with an exceptionally talented and
motivated group of biologists. Meetings in Cali
and Medellin in July 2011 set the stage for an Ac-
tion Plan for that country's chelonian fauna. We
look forward to bringing you exciting news and
progress from this program as it develops, and
we give special thanks to our esteemed colleague
Vivian Paez for working with us to spearhead
this initiative.
Final thoughts: The Singapore workshop in
February 2011 allowed us to evaluate the past ten
years of the Asian turtle crisis and plan how to
adjust our game plan and priorities as we enter
the next decade. One of the results from that
workshop was particularly sobering: of the 86 to-
tal Asian species, 38% are now considered Criti-
cally Endangered (CR), up from 20% in 1999 - a
90% increase. Fifty-seven species (66%) are con-
sidered either CR or Endangered, a 40% increase
since 1999. These figures are likely to grow worse
as the food and pet markets in China continue to
drain wild populations. The high volume trade in
both Asian Mountain Tortoise and Arakan Forest
Turtles for food is very disturbing (see article p.
80), as are the pet shops where large numbers of
small forest turtles (Cuora galbinifrons, C. bour-
reti, C. mouhotii, Geomyda spengleri) are widely
sold, essentially as "throw away pets" with little
hope for survival in inexperienced hands or
without veterinary care. We must find a way to
salvage some of these market turtles and transi-
tion them into assurance colonies while wild
stocks still exist; the TSA is currently investigat-
ing a process to do this.
I recently told a colleague that I was becom-
ing increasingly disheartened by these figures
because it appears that we are losing the battle
to save Asia's turtles and tortoises. But he re-
minded me that these numbers would likely be
worse were it not for our efforts. Not sure that I
completely agree with that but I do know that we
have to maintain hope and try to stay optimistic.
r i c k h u d s o n
from the president's desk
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 01 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
table of contents
features
partner news
exclusives, news and
announcements
range country updates
Inside Cover | From the President's Desk
2 | Partners
3 | Board of Directors
4 | Membership
7 | Meet the Staff
8 | Cover Story
11 | Medical Update
15 | Animal Management
20 | Significant Breedings
24 | Batagur Workshop
28 | Singapore Workshop
32 | Redlist Workshop
34 | Turtle Conservancy
38 | Turtle Conservation Fund
39 | Taipei Zoo
42 | Brazil Field Course
43 | National Institute of
Amazonian Research
45 | The Orianne Society
48 | TSA Europe
100 | Bern Tryon Memorial
101 | Donor Recognition
55 | Myanmar
60 | Bangladesh
63 | Madagascar
78 | China
82 | Belize
86 | TSA Africa
88 | Philippines
91 | India
aboUt tHe coVeR: Described in 1906 from China's southern Yunnan Province, the Yunnan Box Turtle (Cuora yunnanensis) essentially vanished and had
not been seen since the 1940's, despite intensive field searches. Known from only 12 museum specimens collected over a century ago, this species remained
an enigma for decades. In 2000, the IUCN Red List officially listed the species as 'Extinct in the Wild'. But a glimmer of hope appeared in 2004, when photos
of a female were posted on an Internet forum requesting assistance with identification. A few months later, an adult male appeared in the southern Chinese
pet trade. A Chinese turtle breeder acquired both specimens and was able to produce hatchlings in 2006 as well as in subsequent years. Since then, other
wild specimens have trickled into the market and commanded incredibly high prices. In 2008, Professor Rao Dingqi and his colleagues finally discovered
the habitat for the species which will be formally reported to science at an appropriate time. There is great concern that the remaining wild animals could be
illegally removed for the pet trade and the pressures on this unprotected wild population are expected to be intense. With a few animals from this population
and some rescued from the markets and local village homes, an officially sanctioned assurance colony was established at a secure location in Kunming, under
the oversight of Professor Rao, where this photo was taken. Captive reproduction in this colony first occurred in 2010. Now recognized by the IUCN Red List
as 'Critically Endangered', C. yunnanensis has been given a "second chance" for survival. But with the only known remnant wild population in an unprotected
area, this situation is still considered a crisis and there is an urgent need for additional support. Captive assurance colonies are critical at this juncture. The
TSA, in collaboration with Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in Hong Kong, is providing husbandry assistance and technical support to Professor Rao Dingqi
and his capable staff to help ensure success for this important program.
tURtle sURViVal
alliance
board of Directors
Rick Hudson, President
Dwight Lawson, Ph.D., Vice President
Walter Sedgwick, Treasurer
Scott Davis, Ph.D., Executive Director
Bill Dennler
Michael Fouraker
Bill Holmstrom
John Iverson, Ph.D.
Pat Koval
Lonnie McCaskill
John Mitchell
Russ Mittermeier
Colin Poole
Hugh Quinn, Ph.D.
Anders Rhodin, M.D.
Frank Slavens
Andrew Walde
F. William Zeigler
advisory committee
Gary Ades
Bernard Devaux
Tomas Diagne
Arthur Georges, Ph.D.
Doug Hendrie
Brian Horne, Ph.D.
Gerald Kuchling, Ph.D.
Jackie Litzgus, Ph.D.
Bill Ninesling
Peter Praschag, Ph.D.
Maurice Rodrigues
Peter Paul van Dijk, Ph.D.
Dick Vogt, Ph.D.
Henk Zwartepoorte
Program coordinator
Heather Lowe
august 2011 02 turtle survival
pa r t n e r s
From our inception, the TSA was intended to be an alliance of partners
that shared in a common goal zero turtle extinctions. In the ten years
since our formation in 2001, that has proven to be the secret to our success.
The partnerships with the organizations represented here are what sustain
us, support us, provide us access to working with foreign governments, and
ultimately enable us to grow and affect change. The challenge of protecting
turtle and tortoise species today is far too great for just a handful of orga-
nizations. We must continue to be strategic in our development of partner-
ships in order to be most effective and we must work together to direct
limited resources to regions and projects where they are most needed.
These myriad organizations provide a range of services to our collec-
tive mission, including guidance, networking, strategic planning, funding,
turtle care and rescue facilities, animal management, marketing and public
relations, field research, logistical and technical support, salaried positions,
and a host of other resources. Significantly, some of these have been with
us since the early days and were there when the TSA was "born." All are
integral to our success. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the TSA, we
salute this remarkable group of dedicated partners.
The Strength of the TSA
Lies in our Partnerships
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 03 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
The TSA is pleased to announce the appoint-
ment of four new members to the Board of Direc-
tors: Bill Dennler, Michael Fouraker, Raymond
Saumure and Andrew Walde.
Bill Dennler began his 33 year zoo career as
a Keeper at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1972 and then
moved to the Toledo Zoo in 1975 as the Cura-
tor of Reptiles and Amphibians. He became the
Zoo's Executive Director in 1981 a position he
held until retiring in late 2005 and now he is the
Director Emeritus. He has a Master's in Business
Administration and has served on the boards of
the American Association of Zoos and Aquari-
ums (AZA) and the World Association of Zoos
and Aquariums (WAZA). His passion is, and
always has been, turtles and tortoises and he is
excited to be "going back to his roots" by joining
the Board of the TSA.
Michael Fouraker is the Executive Director
of the Fort Worth Zoo and has more than 30
years of animal, exhibitry and zoo management
expertise. He has focused his career on building
partnerships that support global conservation
initiatives. An advocate of sustainability and
active wildlife management, Michael is a founder
and board member of the International Elephant
Foundation, founding board member of the
International Iguana Foundation, Caribbean
Wildlife Alliance, Caribbean Wildlife Founda-
tion and board member of the International
Rhino Foundation. These organizations have
contributed millions of dollars in support of
these rare species and their habitat. Michael
has served on various committees for the World
Conservation Union (IUCN), as a board member
of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association,
and is currently on the scientific advisory board
for UNESCO. Under Michael's direction, the Fort
Worth Zoo has been the leading supporter of the
TSA, starting in 2001 when the zoo hosted the
international workshop that led to the formation
of the group. Since then, the Zoo has provided
salary, office and financial support to TSA's staff,
including the leadership position, record keeper
and Program Coordinator.
Raymond A. Saumure received his B.Sc. in
Biology from the University of Guelph in Ontario,
Canada. His M.Sc. and Ph.D. (2004) were com-
pleted at McGill University in Montral, Qubec,
Canada for his research on the impacts of
agriculture on the North American Wood Turtle,
Glyptemys insculpta. Dr. Saumure is a member
of the Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist
Group (TFTSG) Steering Committee; as well as,
the Desert Tortoise Council Board of Directors.
Thus far, he has 40 publications, most of which
are on the population ecology, parasitology, and
conservation of freshwater turtles. Currently,
he is co-editing the TFTSG monograph entitled
b o a r d o f d i r e c t o r s
TSA Welcomes Four New Board Members
Conservation Biology of Turtles and Tortoises.
In addition to his academic credentials, Ray has
13 years of experience working for and opening
innovative zoological institutions in the United
States and Canada. His extensive animal hus-
bandry experience was obtained while working
at such facilities as the Biodme de Montral and
the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada. He
serves on the Governing Board and as the Chelo-
nian Section Editor of Herpetological Conserva-
tion and Biology, a journal he co-founded in 2006.
Andrew Walde is a Research Biologist with
Walde Research & Environmental Consulting
based in Atascadero, California. He obtained a
B.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario in
London, Ontario and a M.Sc. from McGill Univer-
sity (1998) in Montral, Qubec, Canada. His cur-
rent dissertation research investigates microhabi-
tat selection, burrow use, activity, and movement
patterns in a large population of Desert Tortoises.
He is a member of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and
Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. He also
serves as the co-chair of the Program Committee
for the Annual Symposium on Conservation and
Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. He
was an Editor on the updated Turtles in Trouble,
The World's 25+ Most Endangered Tortoises and
Freshwater Turtles and serves as an Editor for
Herpetological Conservation and Biology.
Board member and long-time TSA supporter
Chuck Landrey recently stepped down from the
Board, citing a desire to refocus his efforts toward
local chelonian conservation in the northeastern
United States something that has long been a
passion for him. Chuck served the TSA gener-
ously during his time on the Board and his input
will be missed, though we have been assured that
he will continue to lend his support to the TSA.
august 2011 04 turtle survival
Strengthening the Alliance
m e m b e r s p o t l i g h t s
Ben Anders
Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas
Occupation: Graduate Research Assistant
What do you enjoy about being a member
of the TSA?
The networking fostered by TSA has allowed
me to promote international collaboration in
the conservation of an endangered turtle that
otherwise may not have come about. I imagine
Heather Lowe | hlowe@turtlesurvival.org
everyone participating in the conservation of
turtles does so because it fulfills them on a per-
sonal level, and my own drive is no different; TSA
continues to demonstrate it is the organization
that will initiate or enhance this drive for people
all over the world. I also enjoy TSA's annual
conference, which is second to none.
How did you first learn about the TSA?
I first learned of the TSA shortly after its
inception from Patrick Baker, who attended the
formative workshop in 2001. Soon afterward, I
got in touch with Rick Hudson (TSA President)
to discuss loaning several large geoemydid spe-
cies for TSA assurance colonies.
How would you describe your personal
conservation philosophy?
My conservation philosophy is simple and
selfish: I prefer the outdoors to every other hu-
man pursuit in life, so I want there to be enough
outdoors to satisfy my preference. On a more
professional level, I accept that we don't under-
stand our planet adequately to confidently erase
large swaths of its ecosystems and the services
rendered by them. People will only work hard
to maintain environments if they both under-
stand the importance of nature and hold a direct
personal stake in the matter, so it is more critical
than ever for people to get outdoors and/or
become educated on what they can do to reduce
their impact. My focus on turtle conservation
comes from whatever hardwired me to have a
particular affinity to those critters.
Have you ever tried to educate others
about turtles and turtle conservation?
Discussing biology in general has always
come first for me, and with my bias for turtles,
I naturally wind up talking turtle conservation
more than many people would expect. I've given
talks about this topic to regional herp clubs,
classrooms ranging from elementary schools to
colleges, and professional conferences. I prefer
though to reach out to conscientious individu-
als one at a time, who otherwise may have no
likelihood of learning about turtles' current
status. In the big picture, those are the folks who
elect the representatives that control (directly or
indirectly) how turtles are managed.
Tell us about your job.
I'm a scientific illustrator via a graduate
research assistantship at The University of Texas
at Arlington. As a grad student, my research
centers on river turtle ecology in Midwestern
North America. During the long semesters, I use
a digital setup to illustrate Central American
herpetofauna, and during the summer I spend
large amounts of time in Ozark rivers collecting
data on turtle abundance. It's a livable gig.
stephen ecrement
Hometown: Alliance, Ohio
Occupation: Wildlife Biologist at the Fort
Polk military installation.
What are some of your hobbies?
I love traveling nationally and internation-
ally to see different cultures and environments,
Here at the TSA, we truly feel like our members are the secret to our success. With that in mind,
we are pleased to announce that once again our membership has continued to grow in 2011. We
have more members than ever before, representing 30 countries! We've heard time and again that
"word of mouth" is our most powerful recruitment tool, so we'd like to say thank you to all of you
who have helped to spread the word about the TSA and our conservation projects around the globe.
Funds generated by membership dues help to offset the operating costs of the TSA and also allow
access to non-restricted funds that can be used in the event of unexpected costs related to conser-
vation projects. In essence, your support is critical to our success.
The TSA is truly a grassroots organization and we hope that each of our members and donors
feel engaged in the work that is being done on their behalf for turtles globally. Aside from the
magazine, you can keep up with the TSA and our field projects via the website, e-mail newsletter,
Facebook page, even text messages! If you have any suggestions about how we may better serve
you in terms of communications, please let us know.
We firmly believe that anyone can contribute to turtle conservation, regardless of background or
experience. Each and every member has the ability to become an advocate for turtle conservation in
their local community, increasing the TSA's presence around the world. In this issue, we are highlight-
ing five truly exceptional members who do just that. We hope that you enjoy getting to know them.
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 05 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
m e m b e r s p o t l i g h t s
collecting "passport" stamps while visiting
US National Parks, hiking, camping, canoeing,
freshwater fishing, birding, searching for herps
(especially adding to my turtle species list) and
generally just being outside. I also enjoy listening
to blues, bluegrass, folk, classic rock and many
other genres of music, drinking beer or Flor de
Caa rum with family and friends, studying
history, reading non-fiction books, playing rac-
quetball, working on my house and in the yard,
playing with our cats and dogs, and spending as
much time with my wife, Mariamar, as possible.
Tell us about your family.
My mom and dad still live in my childhood
home in Alliance, Ohio. I have two sisters and
one brother that live in northeast Ohio, one
brother that lives in Delaware, 12 nieces and
nephews, and two godchildren. I'm married to
Mariamar Gutierrez, who is also a wildlife biolo-
gist, from Nicaragua. We met in 2004 when I was
a summer employee at Cuyahoga Valley National
Park and she was a Park Flight international
intern at the same park. We currently live in
DeRidder, Louisiana with our three rescued dogs
Luna, Guthrie and Guinness and two rescued
cats, Mango and Banjo.
What is your most memorable encounter
with a turtle in the wild?
The first time I caught a common snapping
turtle I was about seven years old. My friend and
I pulled it out of the creek and took turns carry-
ing it back to my house. We put it in an old kiddy
pool, filled it with water, and observed it for
several hours. I was going to convince my parents
that this would be a great pet, but it was gone the
next morning.
Have you ever tried to educate others
about turtles and turtle conservation?
Mariamar and I hiked a section of the Ap-
palachian Trail this year to raise money for the
TSA's efforts in Belize, which resulted in a lot of
discussion about turtle conservation with family,
friends, and coworkers. I also give a talk about
freshwater turtle conservation every year at the
South Polk elementary wildlife field trip.
Tell us about your job.
I work for Colorado State University's Center
for the Environmental Management of Military
Lands (CEMML). My main responsibilities at
the Fort Polk military installation are to manage
and monitor two separate populations of the en-
dangered Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (RCW). In
addition to RCW work, a large portion of my time
is spent surveying for herpetofauna. I currently
run several Louisiana Amphibian Monitoring
Program (LAMP) routes to identify anurans by
call, snake traps to target Louisiana Pine Snakes
(a candidate species), and trap the headwater
streams on Fort Polk to collect data on Alligator
Snapping Turtles. Additionally, I am looking at
amphibian productivity in artificial vernal pools
created by old military maneuver damage.
mAriAmAr Gutierrez
rAmirez
Hometown: Managua, Nicaragua
Occupation: Wildlife Biologist
What are some of your hobbies?
I enjoy cooking and trying new vegetarian
recipes, gardening, hiking and bird watching.
Do you have any pets?
I have three dogs and two cats, all rescued
from the Humane Society of Western Louisiana.
What first sparked your interest in turtles
and tortoises?
When I was little, my dad would be away
for weeks traveling to other countries for work.
When he returned home, he would bring my
mother a new turtle ornament from the country
he just visited. My mother's turtle collection
grew to include turtles from Mexico, Central and
South America, the Caribbean, United States, Eu-
rope and Asia. I have now started my own turtle
collection from the countries I have visited. I got
my mother's love of turtles and my father's love
of travel.
What is your most memorable encounter
with a turtle in the wild?
My most memorable encounter with a turtle
in the wild was very recent. I was sitting quietly
in the woods in Western North Carolina trying to
determine the nesting site of a bird. As I sat there,
the ferns in front of me started to move. Very
slowly, an Eastern Box Turtle emerged without
ever noticing me. It was very exciting to see it
moving through the woods so close to me.
Tell us about your job.
I've worked with migratory birds for eight
years. I am currently working in western North
Carolina, studying breeding Black-throated Blue
Warblers.
KenAn hArKin
Hometown: Jupiter, Florida
Occupation: Action Sports Broadcaster
Tell us about your family.
I'm from Long Island, New York and I am one
of seven kids. Three of my sisters are involved
in raising horses and caring for unwanted pets.
I guess a love for animals runs in my family; I'm
just drawn to scaly critters.
Do you have any animals?
I keep a small group of animals that are mine.
I work with Cuban and Rhino Iguanas, African
august 2011 06 turtle survival
Spurred and Elongated Tortoises, and one cat.
The rest are animals that I foster for the TSA.
What first sparked your interest in turtles
and tortoises?
When I was four years old, I was obsessed
with Godzilla! That inspired me to learn more
about dinosaurs, which in turn brought me to
reptiles. At the age of six, my dad and I were in a
pet store that had a small pond with adult Red-
Eared Sliders. One just kept begging for food and
I had to have her! My pop saw that I wasn't going
to leave without my new friend. He bought the
turtle for me and I had it for thirteen years!
What do you enjoy about being a member
of the TSA?
I love the ability to help turtles worldwide.
Being a steward for a large group of TSA animals
here has been an honor. These are animals that
surely would have ended up in a soup pot without
the TSA's help. Now we are ensuring that they
are able to live out their days in peace and repro-
duce to ensure the survival of the species. It's
great to be a part of this process!
How would you describe your personal
conservation philosophy?
I believe conservation is an "action sport."
(LOL!) I like to be involved in rescues and
health assessments of rescued animals. Getting
involved in a "hands on" way brings you to new
places and introduces you to new people. Plus,
the best part is you are making a difference no
matter how small.
Tell us about your job.
I've been a Pro BMX freestyle rider. I've com-
peted in the X Games and various action sports
events all over the world. From there I became
a television announcer for action sports. I have
been very fortunate in my career, traveling to
Beijing for the Summer Olympics and Vancou-
ver for the Winter Games. I also give talks with
my business "Reptiles on a Mission." I speak at
schools, summer camps, and birthday parties to
get the word out about reptile conservation.
AndreA currylow
Hometown: Atascadero, California
Occupation: Wildlife Biologist/Graduate
Student
What are some of your hobbies?
I am fortunate in that my interests are cohe-
sive with my work. I very much enjoy being out-
side and active. I used to say I was a rock climber,
kayaker, mountain biker, back-country camper,
and cross-country skier. I still enjoy those things,
but as my goals bring me to new areas and new
responsibilities, I usually find myself hiking and
camping as part of my field research.
What first sparked your interest in turtles
and tortoises?
As many people find, turtles are just so char-
ismatic! In 2003, I was amazed to see Harriet,
the 175-year old Galapagos Tortoise that Chuck
Darwin brought back from the Islands at the
Australia Zoo. I felt such a fantastic, living con-
nection to science history. I have always found
turtles relatable, but only recently did I realize
that tortoises were where I wanted to focus my
career. I had the opportunity to work with the
Mojave Desert Tortoise for a couple of years
straight out of college. I quickly developed a
deep affection for the Mojave, but at first I didn't
recognize the extent of my interest. It was only
after emphatically describing what I had learned
about desert tortoise biology to a friend that he
suggested my obvious enthusiasm should guide
my research goals.
What is your most memorable encounter
with a turtle in the wild?
"C'mon" I yelled behind me as I ran through
the downpour that had just begun to penetrate
the thirsty desert crust beneath my feet, "we're
gonna find one!" I could tell this first big rain
would bring out those elusive and threatened
Jurassic relics. In fact, I could feel it; I was going
to see Desert Tortoise.
It was raining in late August. It was my first
year in the Mojave Desert. And I found them.
What do you enjoy about being a member
of the TSA?
TSA members form an earnest and cohesive
community. The people I've encountered at the
annual meetings intensely share my interests
and passion for turtle conservation. The TSA
provides an unparalleled venue for sharing ideas
and compiling the skill sets necessary for the
development of effective conservation projects.
Have you ever tried to educate others
about turtles and turtle conservation?
Since I started working with turtles in 2004,
public outreach and education has been a part
of my job and has become a personal obligation.
I headed up the Desert Tortoise education pro-
gram at Edwards Air Force Base, briefing every
new or entering Air Force employee, contractor,
and their families on tortoise status and conser-
vation. I had the opportunity to bring captive
tortoises to girl scouts and school classrooms,
allowing the kids to connect with the animals
and encouraging them to convince me why
tortoises are worth caring about. When I worked
with Eastern Box Turtles in Indiana, I took every
opportunity to share their story of severe decline
with local newspapers, nature center programs,
and landowners. I believe it is our responsibility
as research scientists and wildlife profession-
als to publicly disseminate the knowledge we're
discovering. Public education and involvement
is the only way to achieve effective tortoise
conservation.
m e m b e r s p o t l i g h t s
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 07 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
cris hAGen
The Turtle Survival Alliance is pleased to
announce that Cris Hagen started as the orga-
nization's first Director of Animal Management
in October 2010. Cris is now responsible for the
strategic development and management over-
sight of turtle assurance colonies to support our
conservation mission. Cris' extensive background
includes a mixture of herpetoculture, animal
collections management, biological sciences,
field research and environmental education. His
captive husbandry experience spans roughly half
of the world's chelonians and he has successfully
bred 40 species from six families. Cris has been an
active member of the TSA since its inception and
we are pleased to have him join the organization
in this official capacity. This position is supported
through grants from the Beneficia Foundation and
the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation
Fund and a partnership with University of Geor-
gia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.
KAlyAr plAtt
Kalyar hit the ground running when she start-
ed as the TSA's Turtle Conservation Coordinator
in Myanmar in January 2011. As a PhD (Chul-
alongkhorn University, Bangkok) and turtle biolo-
gist with field experience in Thailand, Malaysia,
and her native country of Myanmar, Kalyar brings
years of practical experience to this position.
Kalyar will coordinate TSA's turtle conserva-
tion program in Myanmar in collaboration with
the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Myanmar
Forest Department, and other local academic and
NGO partners. Kalyar will devote much of her
time to managing and expanding existing captive
assurance colonies for Burmese Roof Turtles,
Burmese Star Tortoises, Arakan Forest Turtles,
Asian Mountain Tortoises and endemic softshell
turtles. Her field research efforts will be directed
at developing reintroduction programs for Roof
Turtles and Star Tortoises, and identifying safe
release sites for rehabilitated turtles saved from
the trade. Additionally she coordinates in-coun-
try support for rescue operations when turtles
are confiscated by the Forest Department, and
is currently spearheading efforts to construct
the country's first turtle rescue center. She will
also be conducting mobile training workshops on
turtle conservation and biology for government
personnel at selected national parks throughout
Myanmar. This position is supported by a grant
from the Beneficia Foundation, with generous
support from Andre Prost, Inc. / Taste of Thai.
The TSA would also like to acknowledge the
Wildlife Conservation Society for their logistical
support and partnership.
herilAlA rAndriAmAhAzo
Herilala Randriamahazo, a long-time tortoise
conservation biologist, came on board with the
TSA in September 2010 as our full-time Mala-
gasy Tortoise Conservation Coordinator. Herilala
is based at the office of the Henry Doorly Zoo's
Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership (MBP) in
the capitol city of Antananarivo. Herilala brings a
lot to the table politically because his reputation
is well established, both within the Govern-
ment and the Conservation NGO community. He
speaks fluent English and Japanese (he received
his PhD from the University of Kyoto) as well as
several dialects of Malagash. He is a dynamic
speaker and able to command a room and chair
meetings with confidence. This position is
supported, in part, by gifts from the Chelonian
Research Foundation, Conservation Internation-
al, the AZA Chelonian TAG, and Oregon Zoo's
Future for Wildlife Fund. The TSA would also
like to acknowledge Ed Louis and Henry Doorly
Zoo's Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership and
Conservation International Madagascar for their
generous financial and logistical support.
Meet the Staff
august 2011 08 turtle survival
With only 12 museum specimens collected over
a hundred years ago known to science, and after
nearly 60 years of not being found alive anywhere,
the Yunnan Box Turtle was officially listed as ex-
tinct on the IUCN Red List in 2000. Then in 2004,
rumors (along with a few Internet photos) had
spread that one had been found in a pet market
in Kunming, Yunnan, China. Since then, a very
limited number of additional living individuals
have been found in the local pet markets around
Kunming. Their taxonomic validity as Cuora
yunnanensis has been subsequently confirmed
through morphological and molecular studies.
In 2005, the Kadoorie Conservation China
Department of the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie
Building an Assurance Colony
for One Of The World's Rarest
Turtles, the Yunnan Box Turtle
(Cuora yunnanensis)
Cris Hagen, Rick Hudson and Michael Lau
Adult female Cuora yunnanensis from Yunnan, China. Without effective protection and management of the last remaining populations, this species will surely disappear from the
wild. Photo credit: cris hagen
c o v e r s t o r y
yunnan box turtle
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 09 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
Professor Rao Dingqi manages an assurance
colony for the critically endangered Yunnan Box
Turtle that may ultimately determine whether this
species survives or not. Photo credit: rick hudson
august 2011 10 turtle survival
Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) began sup-
porting Professor Rao Dingqi of the Kunming
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of
Sciences (KIZ-CAS) to conduct field surveys,
and worked with him to develop in-situ con-
servation actions as well as a captive breeding
program for this species. The surveys were
also partly supported by a small grant from the
World Wildlife Fund.
In 2006 Ting Zhou, a Chinese turtle special-
ist, succeeded in reproducing the Yunnan Box
Turtle in captivity for the first time, and has
continued to do so for the last few years.
After nearly 100 years one of the greatest
mysteries in turtle biology was finally solved
in 2008, when a small isolated population was
located in the wild by Professor Rao Dingqi and
his colleagues (Rao, Lau et al., in press). The site
is now being closely studied and monitored by
Professor Rao and KFBG's experts, local wildlife
managers and villagers. All feasible options for
protecting the wild habitat for this species are
being explored at this time.
In response to this discovery C. yunnanensis
was officially recognized as "rediscovered" in 2009
and its status upgraded on the IUCN Red List from
Extinct to Critically Endangered, symbolically
providing a rare second chance for survival.
With a few animals from this population and
some rescued from the markets and local village
homes, an officially sanctioned captive assurance
colony was established at a secure location in Kun-
ming, under the oversight of Professor Rao; captive
reproduction first occurred in this colony in 2010.
Following the May 2011 Cuora workshop in
Gangkou, China, a TSA delegation travelled to Kun-
ming, China to visit the C. yunnanensis assurance
colony. The TSA worked with Professor Rao, KIZ-
CAS, and KFBG in Hong Kong to provide improved
husbandry practices, breeding conditions, and
security for this valuable colony. In 2010, the TSA
had shipped six medium sized Waterland Tubs to
Kunming for the breeding program. During the
May visit, the delegation worked closely with Pro-
fessor Rao to upgrade the assurance colony habitats
to improve water quality and nesting areas. The
turtles were divided into individual and numbered
enclosures, which contained both land and nesting
areas. Live plants added sufficient cover for these
shy turtles. Drains and overflows were installed on
the Waterland Tubs for ease of cleaning, and new
overhead shade cloth (that can be easily opened and
closed) was repositioned to better protect turtles
from overheating in the summer.
The first hatchling from this group provides
optimism for the future survival of this species
and it is our hope that with improved husbandry
techniques and the use of professional incuba-
tors the number of hatchlings produced from this
colony will increase. It is an indication of Profes-
sor Rao's commitment to the project that on May
27, three females were determined to be gravid
with multiple eggs. The TSA is exploring partner-
ship with our colleagues at KFBG and Professor
Rao and hopes to continue to provide financial and
logistical support for this project, but our most im-
portant role will likely be in the form of capacity
building. We will continue to provide assistance
in any form that is requested and we hope to make
frequent visits to lend a hand with future facility
upgrades. This captive assurance colony may well
hold the key to this species' survival, and we must
not let this opportunity slip away. A third chance
for survival may not be in this species' future.
In ResPonse To ThIs DIsCoveRY C. yunnanensis
WAs offICIAllY ReCognIzeD As "ReDIsCoveReD"
In 2009 AnD ITs sTATus WAs uPgRADeD on The IuCn
ReD lIsT fRom exTInCT To CRITICAllY enDAngeReD,
sYmBolICAllY PRovIDIng A rare second chance
for survival.
(Above) shade cloth that can be easily pulled back and forth over tubs is installed to protect turtles from summer
heat. (Below) A hatchling Cuora yunnanensis that hatched in october 2010, from the assurance colony managed by
Professor Rao Dingqi and his staff. Photo credit: cris hagen
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 11 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
Conservation efforts to save endangered species
often begin with breeding programs to propa-
gate animals whose numbers have dwindled to a
small fraction of their original proportions due
to anthropogenic actions. Efforts are initially
made to preserve the animals themselves despite
ongoing threats to the animals in their native
habitat. Unfortunately for many animals, the
habitats they once inhabited are changed forever
with little hope of re-introducing the species
to their natural environment. However, when
threats to those species can be removed, and
habitats restored, the lack of a keystone species in
an ecosystem can doom the establishment of the
natural balance originally present.
An ecosystem can be considered to be analo-
gous to a living organism: each species in that
system being analogous to the organs of a body,
with the health of the whole, dependent upon the
health and function of each of the constituent
parts. An ecosystem can be considered healthy if
it retains all of the original species of plants and
animals living in dynamic equilibrium without
the influence of introduced species or significant
anthropogenic change.
Giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands were
heavily exploited by whalers and buccaneers as
food during the 18th and 19th centuries. Of 13
original species, eleven remain. Zoo attempts to
save giant tortoises from extinction started with
The Return of Tortoises
to Pinta Island, Galapagos
Joseph P. Flanagan, DVM | jflanagan@houstonzoo.org
Director of Veterinary Services, Houston Zoo, Inc., 1513 Cambridge, Houston TX 77030.
m e d i c a l u p d at e
Photo credit: JosePh P. Flanagan
august 2011 12 turtle survival
the New York Zoological Society's Townsend
Expedition in 1928, which brought 108 tortoises
into captivity for captive breeding. Some of the
animals collected at that time are currently pro-
ducing offspring in zoos and private collections.
Protection of the Galapagos began with the
establishment of the Galapagos National Park
in 1959. The Charles Darwin Research Station
established a tortoise rearing center on Santa
Cruz Island in 1965. The initial efforts here
were to hatch eggs and rear hatchlings from the
Pinzon (Duncan) Island Tortoise. This species
had shown no recruitment into the population
for decades due to predation on hatchlings by
the introduced Black Rat (Rattus rattus). The
Espaola tortoise population had been nearly
eradicated. A total of 12 individuals were found
and moved to the rearing center between 1963
and 1974 for captive breeding. 1 These two
programs, along with other efforts, established
breeding, hatching, and rearing methodologies
in order to repatriate a maximum number of
tortoises to their native islands.
Additionally, giant tortoises which had been
kept as pets in Ecuador (with no known source
of origin) were surrendered to the National Park
and maintained at the tortoise rearing center. For
a short time these animals were allowed to breed,
resulting in a group of hybrid animals which
were also maintained at the center.
Working with biologists, wildlife veterinar-
ians can play key roles in the conservation of
biodiversity and the restoration of balance in an
ecosystem. One typically would think the role
played by veterinarians would be to enhance
wildlife production, diagnose disease problems,
treat diseased or injured animals, or provide
anesthesia or chemical restraint for translocation
of animals. However, in a unique situation, steril-
ized giant tortoises are being used to help restore
a natural state of balance on the small island of
Pinta in the Galapagos archipelago.
In December 2008 the Galapagos National
Park Service (GNPS) inquired about the steriliza-
tion of giant tortoises. Could it be done, what
would be needed, and when could it happen?
Island ecosystems tend to be relatively sim-
ple, having relatively few species when compared
to larger land masses or continents. Loss of one
species or the introduction of others can have a
rapid, dramatic impact on other species in the
habitat and can cause the ecosystem itself to fail.
While remnant populations of native species may
still exist, they may be at different population
levels and their interspecies interactions, and
impacts on the environment might be changed.
Each of the islands in the Galapagos is unique.
While there are many animal and plant species
which are common to several of the islands,
each island has a different combination of plants
and animals, unique geology, terrain, weather,
and especially, a unique degree of impact from
human degradation. Humans have exploited the
islands for nearly 500 years, harvesting wildlife
- sometimes to extinction - and introducing do-
mestic animals and pest species such as rodents,
but also invertebrates and plants which threaten
the well being and survival of native animals
through competition or predation.
Pinta Island, in the northern part of the
archipelago had an endemic species of tortoise
(Chelonoidis abingdoni) which was reduced to
functional extinction by the mid 1800s. Giant
tortoises on Pinta were thought to be extinct for
most of the last 100 years until a single animal
"Lonesome George" was found there in 1971.2
"George" was removed to the Charles Darwin
Research Station in 1972 in hopes a mate might
be found, and the pair could breed, resulting in
repopulation of the island with the species of
tortoise found nowhere else on earth. Despite
world-wide efforts to locate tortoises with "Pin-
ta" genes, no mate for George has been found.
Since its inception, the Galapagos National
Park has been working to eradicate introduced
species and restore populations of native and
endemic species to their natural balance. Resto-
ration of the island of Pinta was nearly complete.
Introduced goats were eradicated in 2003 and
native vegetation, grazed to near extinction
by over 40,000 feral goats, was returning with
thick, herbaceous and woody growth. Other
native wildlife species were still present. The
only key species that was missing was the giant
tortoise. With no large herbivore, surviving
vegetation was growing unchecked. There was
no disturbance, no large seed disperser, and no
cropping of lush growth. What should be a mo-
saic of grassland pampas, scrub, and desert veg-
etation was becoming woodland, with a canopy
of vegetation not conducive to the survival and
well being of the other species of wildlife present
on Pinta. Pinta Island needed a large herbivore,
a giant tortoise. The "native" species is not avail-
able and the possible introduction of another spe-
cies as surrogate is being studied, but a "habitat
engineer," a non-breeding population of giant
tortoises, was needed immediately to maintain
the biodiversity of this unique island.
Elective sterilization in chelonians is not rou-
tinely performed. Surgery of the chelonian repro-
ductive tract normally is performed when there is
a health problem such as retained ova in females,
or prolapsed phallus in males. In these cases,
surgery is generally performed to salvage the life
of the patient. There are a number of procedures
that can be done to render tortoises reproductively
sterile. Males can be castrated, vasectomized,
Ovariectomy through pre-femoral fossa of a hybrid Galapagos Tortoise. Photo credit: JosePh P. Flanagan
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 13 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
or their phallus can be amputated (the phallus
is used for copulation, but does not play a role in
the elimination of urinary waste). Females can be
ovariectomized or hysterectomized. The goal was
that both sexes would be rendered infertile, so
there would be no chance of genetic contamina-
tion if a pure species from another island is one
day introduced to the island.
Planning and logistics had to account for
performing up to 50 surgeries in one week. A
veterinary team, endoscopic surgical equipment,
supplies, and medications all had to be brought
in. A surgical "suite" had to be established, and
housing identified for post-op and recovery.
Contingencies for managing emergencies or ad-
verse response to anesthesia, and aftercare of the
patients were necessary. Most importantly, the
team had to be able to adapt their skills to solve
unique problems and achieve their goals. Surger-
ies were performed in November 2009.
Tortoises were selected from the group of
hybrid animals maintained at the "Centro de
Crianza" (tortoise rearing center) which had
hatched in the 1960s and 70s, and others hatched
to captive held animals on the island of Floreana,
based on genetic confirmation of their hybrid
status (G. Caccone pers. com). These animals had
no "home island" where they could be released. If
sterilized however, they could be used to help to
restore the habitat on Pinta, while the search for
the most appropriate pure species of tortoise can
continue. Additionally, these animals would no
longer need to be cared for in captivity through-
out the remainder of their lives (up to 100 years
or longer). These hybrid tortoises ranged in size
from 20 to 100 kg and there were both male and
female tortoises in the group.
Ultimately the decision to perform laparo-
scope assisted ovariectomy was made because it
could be performed through the limited access of
the pre-femoral fossa. A small incision and mini-
mal tissue handling would result in rapid healing
and minimal discomfort to the animal. Males
were sterilized by amputation of the phallus. The
procedure could be done utilizing intrathecal
anesthesia, resulting in minimal risk and dis-
comfort to the animal. Castration or vasectomy
would have required an intracoelomic procedure
utilizing general anesthesia and a much greater
risk of complications. In addition, the procedure
developed and performed can be done in the
future by local veterinarians without elaborate
equipment or advanced surgical skills.
Prior to surgery, blood was collected from all
animals to determine baseline hematology and
serum chemistry values. Female tortoises under-
went general anesthesia with a combination of
meditomidine and ketamine. Buffered lidocaine
was used as adjunct anesthesia at the site of the
surgical incisions. They were placed in dorsal re-
Amputation of the phallus in hybrid Galapagos Tortoises to prevent successful copulation. Photo credit: JosePh P. Flanagan
august 2011 14 turtle survival
cumbency and stabilized using automobile tires
as a cradle. The skin of their pre-femoral fossae
was aseptically prepared, and small incisions
were made bilaterally to permit the introduction
of the laparoscopic instruments and to access
ovarian tissues. All ovarian tissues were removed
and the incisions closed using standard surgical
techniques.3 Anesthesia was reversed using
atipamezole and all animals were ambulatory
within two hours.
Male tortoises were positioned in dorsal
recumbency similar to the females. They were
anesthetized with buffered lidocaine adminis-
tered intrathecally (into the cerebro-spinal fluid
surrounding the spinal cord) resulting in near
immediate anesthesia of the tail, cloaca, and as-
sociated tissues. 4 The phallus was exteriorized,
ligated at the base, and excised. Mucosal tissues
were sutured over the stump of the phallus. After
surgery all tortoises were immediately able to
ambulate normally.
All animals were administered post surgical
analgesics and a long-acting broad spectrum
antibiotic to minimize discomfort and reduce the
chance of post surgical infection. Animals were
monitored in small recovery pens for 1-3 days
after surgery then were moved to an outdoor pen
at the Centro de Crianza for holding and longer
term monitoring while arrangements were made
for their release on Pinta.
Before release all tortoises were given a physi-
cal exam. Blood was collected to assess health
status, and fecal samples analyzed for parasites.
To prevent the introduction of plants not native to
Pinta, their intestinal tracts had to be free of seeds
prior to transport. Their pen was monitored for
any fruiting/seeding vegetation and they were fed
a seed free herbaceous diet for two months before
release. Finally, to prevent the introduction of par-
asites or other disease causing agents, the animals
had to be screened and prophylactically treated
for enteric nematodes prior to transport to their
release site. Considering the normal gastrointesti-
nal transit time, anthelmintics were administered
four weeks, two weeks, and immediately prior
to transport. Their skin was examined to assure
that it was free from any invertebrates that should
not be introduced. The tortoises were each fitted
with a radio transmitter so they could be followed
in their new habitat. 39 tortoises traveled by boat
to Pinta Island in May 2010 to do their part in
restoring the balance of nature in this remote part
of the world. Graduate students from the State
University of New York, College of Environmental
Science and Forestry monitored the tortoises and
their impact on the island for the first ten weeks
after release, with follow-up visits planned over
the next several years.
The success of this project depended on the
collaboration of biologists, technicians, students,
employees of the Galapagos National Park and
Veterinarians skilled in medicine and surgery of
reptiles. The release site was selected based on
knowledge of historical habitat used by tortoises
on the island. Post release monitoring of the tor-
toises is being performed to assess their impact
on the environment and to monitor their interac-
tions with other species on the island.
Editor's Note: The TSA invited Dr. Flanagan, a
long-time TSA member, to share a report on this
project in Turtle Survival as it is a great example
of the role of veterinary medicine in chelonian
conservation. The TSA did not provide direct
support to this project.
acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible
without assistance from staff of the Galapagos
National Park, the Charles Darwin Research Sta-
tion, Zoo Atlanta, University of Georgia College
of Veterinary Medicine, the State University of
New York, College of Environmental Science and
Forestry, and the Houston Zoo, Inc. Finan-
cial support was provided by The Galapagos
Conservancy, and the Pamela de Journo Fund
and the Houston Zoo, Inc. Equipment was made
available by Karl Storz Veterinary Endoscopy
America, Envisionier Medical Technologies, Ell-
man International, and Abaxis Animal Health.
Travel was provided by Continental and TAME
Airlines. Special thanks go to Steve Divers, Emi
Knafo, and Jason Norman (University of Geor-
gia, College of Veterinary Medicine), Sam Rivera
(Zoo Atlanta), James Gibbs, Elizabeth Hunter
(SUNY ESF), Lisa Marie Avendao (Houston
Zoo, Inc.),Washington Tapia (Galapagos National
Park), and Linda Cayot (Galapagos Conservancy).
endnotes
1 Marquez, Cruz; L. Cayot; S. Rea; 1999. "La Crianza de
Tortugas Gigantes en Cautiverio: Un Manual Operativo",
Fundacin Charles Darwin para las islas Galpagos.
2 Pritchard, Peter C. H. 2005. "The Pinta Tortoise: Glo-
balization and the Extinction of Island Species", Global
Connections foundation
3 Rivera, S., Divers, S. J., Knafo, S. E., MARTINEZ, P.,
Cayot , L. J., Tapia-Aguilera, W. & Flanagan , J. (2011)
Sterilisation of hybrid Galapagos tortoises (Geochelone
nigra) for island restoration. Part 2: phallectomy of
males under intrathecal anaesthesia with lidocaine.
Veterinary Record doi: 10.1136/vr.c6361
4 Knafo , S. E., Divers, S. J., Rivera, S., Cayot, L. J.,
Tapia-Aguilera, W. & Flanagan, J. (2011) Sterilisation
of hybrid Galapagos tortoises (Geochelone nigra) for
island restoration. Part 1: endoscopic oophorectomy of
females under ketamine-medetomidine anaesthesia.
Veterinary Record doi: 10.1136/vr.c6520
Dr. Divers visualizing internal structures via endoscopy while Dr. Rivera exteriorizes ovarian tissue in a hybrid Galapa-
gos Tortoise. Photo credit: JosePh P. Flanagan
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 15 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
The Asian Box Turtle Genus Cuora consists of 13
species, all of which have one thing in com-
mon: they are at very high risk of extinction.
All but one of these species is listed as Critically
Endangered (CR) by the IUCN Red List as of
2011. Five of these species are ranked among
the 25 most endangered turtle species on the
planet, four more can be found in the "top 40" as
assessed by the Turtle Conservation Coalition.
Without any doubt, Cuora is the genus of turtle
in most trouble in the world, threatened by the
overharvest for the pet trade, turtle farms, food
markets, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
and habitat destruction throughout its entire
range. The desire for these turtles has created
current market values reaching into the tens of
thousands of dollars for individuals of certain
species. With such high market values and un-
sustainable rampant range-wide collection, it has
taken only three decades to completely extirpate
many populations of different Cuora species.
Very little is known about the natural habits for
most of the species, with one, Zhou's box turtle
(Cuora zhoui), not yet even formally documented
from the wild. It is feared that some species are
probably already extinct in the wild or at least
very close to it. Furthermore, breeding successes
in captivity are low for many of these species.
While for most Cuora species, quite a number of
captive specimens exist, the hatching success is
low in many of them. To further complicate these
matters, there are a number of valuable founder
specimens residing in isolated non-breeding
collections, a luxury that is unsustainable in this
situation. Compounding the problem is the fact
that they are often hybridized because of the
complex taxonomic issues in this genus.
Three species, Cuora trifasciata, Cuora cyclo-
rnata, and Cuora flavomarginata are bred by the
thousands in Chinese turtle farms to satisfy the
huge Chinese market demand, whether it be for
a pet, status symbol, or as a supposed cancer-
curing medicine. Under certain circumstances,
farming can be a good approach to helping take
some pressures off of wild populations. However,
the creation of these turtle farms has had a huge
impact on the wild populations initially and still
many farmers restock their farm stock with wild
animals. This is especially true for males that are
not bred in the farms because of the higher incu-
bation temperatures that are used that produce
all females. Others experience high losses due
to stress caused by inappropriate maintenance
conditions. This male loss might sooner or later
have an impact on these farms if wild stock fi-
nally ceases. Most farms interbreed the different
varieties of Cuora trifasciata, Cuora cyclornata
and Cuora flavomarginata, making offspring
unsuitable for possible conservation projects.
In order to combat the eminent risk of disap-
pearance of an entire genus, the Turtle Survival
Alliance (TSA) and the IUCN Tortoise & Fresh-
water Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) initiated
a Cuora workshop to approach and evaluate
potential ways to save these species both in the
wild (at least trying to preserve some remaining
Workshops Recommend
Intensified Focus on
Imperiled Asian Box
Turtles, genus Cuora
Cris Hagen | chagen@turtlesurvival.org
Torsten Blanck
a n i m a l m a n a g e m e n t
cuor a workshop
Opening talk by Prof. Dr. Hexiang Gu, President of the
National Gangkou Sea Turtle Reserve, the host of the
workshop.
august 2011 16 turtle survival
habitat) and in captivity. The goal of this work-
shop was to create realistic action plans for each
of the 13 species.
The first TSA/IUCN Cuora workshop was
held August 19, 2010 in Orlando, Florida. A total
of 35 participants from seven countries, mainly
from the U.S. and Europe, participated in the
workshop. Unfortunately, there was a distinct
absence of Chinese representatives due to
problems obtaining travel visas. The main focus
and recommendations of this first workshop was
clearly that of the captive sector, since most of
the participants originated from this group.
The following general recommendations
were made:
Assurance colonies are likely the best way
to prevent extinctions at the present time.
Husbandry manuals need to be created.
Placement strategies are needed for hatch-
lings that are produced.
Improve the status of Studbooks in the U.S.
Studbooks are well maintained in Europe.
Range-wide genetic research on all Cuora
species should be conducted to maintain
pure groups in captivity and possibly iden-
tify important yet unknown lineages.
Research on natural history is lacking for
almost all species.
Protection of remaining habitat is essential
for future release programs.
A workshop in China was suggested for 2011
to discuss further steps for in-situ and ex-
situ programs with Chinese and Vietnam-
ese (and nearby countries) experts.
Due to the absence of Chinese participants,
it was clear that a second workshop needed to be
held in China to include as many Asian attendees
as possible so that achievable action plans could
be identified. The second TSA/IUCN Cuora
Workshop was held in Gangkou, Guangdong,
China from May 23-25, 2011. It was hosted by the
National Gangkou Sea Turtle Reserve. Hold-
ing this Cuora specialist workshop in China
was critical in facilitating the opportunity for
Chinese academics, students, biologists, NGO's,
turtle farmers, and Cuora specialist hobbyists
to sit together in one room and have an open
dialogue regarding the conservation of all Cuora
species. There were 50 participants (over 70%
from China) representing nine countries.
Day one of the workshop included presenta-
tions on the wild and captive status of Cuora
species in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam,
Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The
following two days were used to put the entire
group together at a roundtable to complete
the IUCN Red List recommendations for all
Cuora species, as well as evaluate them all for
recommendations and actions that will lead to
conservation priorities. At this workshop it was
recommended that all but one species of Cuora
be listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the
IUCN Red List.
To combat the complex issues threatening
this group of turtles, deliberate action is needed.
The following is a summarized list of primary
recommendations and action plans for each spe-
cies developed from this workshop.
C. amboinensis Collect baseline data to
monitor trends such as population, trade, and
harvests. Establish baseline data where data
doesn't exist (Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam,
Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, and Thai-
land). Gather data and raise awareness of the
plastron trade.
C. aurocapitata - Establish remote nature
reserves to protect quality habitat for the species
away from hydroelectric activity. Develop a gov-
ernment breeding center within known habitat
to accommodate captive bred stock from Europe
and U.S. Develop studbook management within
China. Continue and strengthen current local
community awareness and education programs.
C. bourreti Monitor and enforce
protected areas. Needs protection under na-
tional law. Establish an assurance colony at the
planned Turtle Assurance Colony (TAC) Center
in central Vietnam. Confiscate turtles from
markets and trade and get them into assurance
colonies. Improve captive husbandry and breed-
ing management.
Cuora cyclornata (AKA Vietnamese C.
trifasciata) - The few animals that are in western
collections and KFBG should be exchanged to
On day two of the workshop, a "round table" was formed for discussing the required actions for each Cuora species.
One of the workshop organizers, Torsten Blanck, giving an overview on the genus Cuora.
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 17 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
maintain genetic purity and diversity. An in-situ
breeding project should be established possibly
at the Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Center?
Cuora flavomarginata - Elevate protec-
tion status on China's national species protected
list to class II. Strengthen protection within
existing nature reserves throughout range
(mainland China, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands). Ex-
pand C. aurocapitata protection area to include
C. flavomarginata habitat. Evaluate suitable
habitat and develop reintroduction protocols for
repatriation and monitoring of the 2000 turtles
being held in Taiwan.
C. galbinifrons - Needs national protec-
tion in Vietnam and China. Confiscate turtles
from markets and trade and get them into assur-
ance colonies. Monitor and enforce protected
areas. Conduct surveys in Shiwandashan Moun-
tain range and provide incentives and capacity
training for better enforcement at known sites.
Place confiscated turtles from local villages
within range on Hainan in a core habitat man-
agement area.
C. mccordi Identify a local biologist to
champion the species and evacuate the last
remaining specimens to a government sponsored
in-situ captive breeding program. Create a pro-
tected area for future release projects. Initiate
studbooks in China. Improve studbook manage-
ment in U.S. and Europe and continue to investi-
gate incubation regimes and place non-breeding
specimens into breeding situations.
Cuora mouhotii - Upgrade legislation and
protection status across range countries to coin-
cide with recent CR ranking. Conduct range wide
surveys of distribution and status with emphasis
on western parts of their range (Assam, Bangla-
desh?, Myanmar, Yunnan). Evaluate and expand
existing assurance colonies and create studbooks
in U.S. and Europe. Increase breeding success in
captive populations.
C. pani Conduct surveys to detect pres-
ence in existing protected and military areas.
Increase enforcement throughout range with
emphasis on Guangyuan, Sichuan province and
Shenlongjia, Hubei province. Upgrade protection
status to be included on the key national wild
animals protection list. Create a photo identifica-
tion guide for distinguishing between C. pani and
C. aurocapitata. Improve studbook management
and reproductive output of assurance colonies in
Europe, U.S., and China.
C. picturata - Deo Hoa Cultural Site
in central Vietnam should be developed as a
protected area. Needs protecting under national
law. Work with province authorities to increase
enforcement at known sites. Improve husbandry
and breeding management. Develop studbooks
in U.S., Europe, and Vietnam. Move the eleven
individuals from Cuc Phoung TCC facility close
to natural range to improve breeding potential.
Confiscate turtles from markets and trade and
get them into assurance colonies. Continue to
monitor and document trade routes. Develop an
identification manual.
C. trifasciata Recommended for listing
on CITES Appendix I. Species identification
guide needs to be prepared. Kadoorie Farm & Bo-
tanic Garden/WCS to conduct training courses
for rescue centers. WCS to facilitate coopera-
tion and documentation of confiscation process
between customs officials and fisheries depart-
ment in China. Identify well protected small core
area reserves for reintroduction of captive bred
turtles. Develop best practices and process for
conducting conservation based reintroductions
(e.g. genetic and morphological identification,
health screening, individual permanent ID, post-
release monitoring). Previous release sites should
be evaluated for appropriate habitat and survival.
C. yunnanensis Improve assurance
colony management in Kunming though train-
ing, capacity building, and provision of hus-
bandry and facility materials. Establish protected
area for known wild population(s). Enhance
management and enforcement of habitat. Estab-
lish a research, education, and breeding station
in habitat. Expand range, distribution, habitat
and population status surveys. Upgrade national
protection status to class I. Conduct bloodline
exchanges between captive populations.
C. zhoui Carry out field surveys to locate
this species in the wild. When found, conduct
distribution, population status, ecology, and
natural history research. Develop international
studbooks and bloodline exchanges. Facilitate
cooperation among holders of captive specimens
in the U.S. to encourage breeding. Coordinate as-
surance colony development within China.
It was suggested that the formation of a Cu-
ora specialist working group may be beneficial.
Time is running out rapidly for some of the
rarest Cuora species. Without swift and decisive
actions they will surely be gone from the wild in
the very near future and without strict captive
management plans, some might be gone forever
sooner or later.
Michael Lau (Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden) did a
masterful job of translating and diplomatically interpreting
the workshop exchanges so that there was clear under-
standing of the often complex issues on the table.
There were 50 participants at the workshop in China, representing nine countries.
august 2011 18 turtle survival
This year has been another active one for TSA's
animal management program. On October 1,
2010, I started a new position as the TSA's first
Director of Animal Management. I also continue
to retain my position, in a part-time capacity, as
a herpetologist, environmental educator, and
genetics research technician at the University of
Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.
Since my position began with the TSA,
confiscations have been imported and placed, an
international bloodline exchange of a critically
endangered species took place, dozens of animals
have been transferred for breeding loans, adop-
tions, and new acquisitions, a master collection
plan for the TSA's captive program is in develop-
ment, important international turtle conser-
vation workshops have been organized and
facilitated, and assurance colony programs for
critically endangered species in Vietnam, China,
and Bangladesh are developing and improving.
ConfisCations
In October 2010, the TSA imported 50 endan-
gered Yellow-Headed Temple Turtles (Heose-
mys annandalii) that were confiscated in Hong
Kong en route to mainland China. For several
months, the group was held at Kadoorie Farm
and Botanic Garden (KFBG) until arrangements
could be made to ship them to the United States.
Upon arrival, the animals were transferred to
south Florida where they have been thriving. In
January 2011, one female laid a clutch of eight
eggs. The eggs began hatching in mid-April and
by May 1, all eight eggs had successfully hatched.
The hatchlings have been placed with three TSA
members for rearing.
The TSA would like to thank everyone who
donated funds to make this entire effort possible.
The TSA membership responded generously
to this need, as early as March 2010 when the
confiscation took place, and large gifts from the
Columbus Zoo and the BC Johnson Family in
Kerrville, Texas put us over the top and made this
costly import possible. We would also like to once
again acknowledge KFBG for the excellent care
that they gave the confiscated turtles while they
were held in Hong Kong and for their tireless work
to negotiate many of the details of their transport.
Thanks also to the Taipei Zoo who helped to ne-
gotiate a fantastic sponsorship from EVA Airlines
to bring the turtles to the U.S. With the generous
discount on freight, the TSA was able to set up
a rescue fund that will allow us to take swifter
action for future confiscation rescues. Acknowl-
edgements also go out to the Jacksonville Zoo, Bill
Ninesling, and Zoo Atlanta for their assistance
with processing these turtles when they arrived.
2011 Animal Management Report
Cris Hagen | chagen@turtlesurvival.org
a n i m a l m a n a g e m e n t
The first bloodline exchange of McCord's Box Turtles between TSA and the Muenster Zoo took place in 2011, likely
the first of many more to come. Such transfers are necessary to improve the genetic diversity in captive assurance
colonies, especially those with low numbers of founders.
Upon their arrival in the U.S., 50 rescued adult Temple
Turtles were unpacked, processed, and repacked during
the middle of the night at the Jacksonville Zoo before
being transferred to TSA members. (L to R: Dino Ferri,
Brian Eisele, Steve Gott and Cris Hagen)
An adult Heosemys annandalii confiscated in Hong
Kong while being imported illegally to mainland China.
Photo Credit: steve Gott
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 19 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
And a very special thank you goes out to Kenan
Harkin who has provided this group of turtles
with wonderful care at his facility.
Cuora exChanGe
The TSA's first international exchange of Mc-
Cord's Box Turtle (Cuora mccordi) was complet-
ed in February 2011. This species is endemic to
Guangxi Province, China and has been brought
to the brink of extinction by unsustainable col-
lection for the international pet trade. In October
2010, two subadult female Cuora mccordi captive
bred at the Turtle Conservation Center at the
Allwetter Zoo were shipped from Germany to
Atlanta, Georgia. After the permitting process
was completed, the TSA then returned two
completely unrelated subadult female Cuora
mccordi bred in the U.S. to the Allwetter Zoo in
February 2011. This exchange is very important
for the Cuora mccordi recovery plan by improving
genetic diversity within the captive populations
in both the U.S. and Europe. The TSA plans to
continue this type of exchange with Cuora mc-
cordi and other endangered species to ensure
the best possible genetic diversity for captive
managed species.
animal donations
Donations to the TSA this year have included:
11.5 Yellow-Margined Box Turtles (Cuora fla-
vomarginata), 1.1 Bourret's Box Turtles (Cuora
bourreti), and 0.0.1 Arakan Forest Turtles
(Heosemys depressa). (Editor's Note: Notation
denotes sex as follows: males.females.unknowns.
Example: 11.5 equals eleven males and five
females)
animal aCquisitions
The TSA has acquired a group of 7.11 Ser-
rated Hinged-back Tortoises (Kinixys erosa) to
establish an assurance colony for this species. 4.2
Flat-Tailed Tortoises (Pyxis planicauda), 2.1 Pyxis
arachnoides oblonga, and 2.1 Pyxis arachnoides
brygooi were also acquired from a long-term
captive group and placed into existing TSA as-
surance colonies.
animal loans
Animal Management placed a total of 149
turtles and tortoises on breeding loan with mem-
bers (19 private and 4 institutional) this past year.
These include the following species: Cuora bo-
uretti, Cuora flavomarginata, Chelodina mccordi,
Heosemys annandalii, Heosemys spinosa, Kinixys
erosa, Manouria emys emys, Notochelys platynota,
Pyxis arachnoides, and Pyxis planicauda.
animal adoPtions
A total of 17 animals were transferred to
members through permanent adoption this year,
including Chelodina longicollis, Chelodina mccordi,
Geochelone elegans, and Manouria emys emys.
What does the tsa's animal manaGement
ProGram have Planned for the CominG
year?
Following up on the recommendations of two
Cuora workshops held in the U.S. (August 2010)
and China (May 2011) is of critical importance.
Developing new in-situ and ex-situ assurance
colonies for Cuora species and improving the
breeding conditions of existing ones is impera-
tive for this genus. Also, developing a breeding
loan program with the Turtle Conservation
Center in Vietnam and moving forward with a
planned Turtle Assurance Colony and reintro-
duction program for the Vietnamese pond turtle
(Mauremys annamensis) in Central Vietnam is of
high importance. The captive assurance colony
of Northern River Terrapins (Batagur baska) in
Bangladesh is beginning to produce hatchlings
and the facilities where they are kept will need
to be upgraded to accommodate safe hatchling
rearing. With all the complexities surrounding
them, some of these projects will require a regu-
lar presence, guidance, and support to achieve
expectations for these breeding programs.
A one-week-old Yellow-Headed Temple Turtle one of
the eight hatchlings produced by adults from the 2010
confiscation. Photo Credit: Cris haGen
The TSA recently acquired a group of 18 Serrated Hinged-back Tortoises from the Congo, for the development of an assur-
ance colony. African forest tortoise populations are heavily impacted by the bushmeat trade. Photo Credit: terry KilGore
A group of confiscated Yellow-headed Temple Turtles
(Heosemys annadalii) were introduced to their new
home at this secure private facility in South Florida. This
group will form an important assurance colony for this
endangered species. Photo Credit: Cris haGen
august 2011 20 turtle survival
s i g n i f i c a n t b r e e d i n g s
Significant Breedings
Scott Davis scott.davis@turtlesurvival.org
Twin Burmese Star Tortoises (Geochelone platynota) have been successfully
bred in captivity at the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Taipei Zoo. The egg with
twin embryos was laid on 9 December 2009, one of six eggs in the second
clutch laid by that female during that year. The twin embryo egg showed no
discernable difference in terms of size and shape from the other five single
embryo eggs of the same clutch. All six eggs hatched under temperature
conditions between 28C and 30C after 184-186 days of incubation. The
twin hatchlings weighed 9.8 g and 10.2g with the body sizes of 32 28 19
mm (L W H). This was approximately half the size of each of the turtles
hatched from the other five eggs in the same clutch, with average body size
43 40 24 mm (L W H) and average weight of 23g.
Photo credits: First Photo susan Lai dVM, second Photo Lu Yu Ling
Michael Ogle of the Knoxville Zoo
reports on the hatching of their first
Southern Spider Tortoise (Pyxis a.
oblonga) on 24 May 2011. This rep-
resents only the sixth known hatching
of this subspecies in the AZA/TSA
population. The sire first arrived in the
U.S. in February of 1975 and from
1983 through 2006, this animal did
not have access to a female. Thanks
to the TSA and Matt Frankel he has
been paired with a female the last
five years. For the first few years, the
eggs were incubated in the same
method used with arachnoides and
brygooi but the eggs were either
infertile or would die half way through
incubation. This past season the
Zoo followed the protocol used with
planicauda: three months at 29C,
followed by two months at 18C then
placed back into the incubator at
29C. During the last stage of incuba-
tion, the egg box is opened once per
week and lightly spray-misted. After
145 days the egg pipped!
Photo credit: PhiL coLcLough
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 21 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
s i g n i f i c a n t b r e e d i n g s
In December 2001, the Rotterdam
Zoo received a sub-adult pair of
Burmese Star Tortoises (Geochelone
platynota) from a confiscated ship-
ment in the Netherlands. After sev-
eral unsuccessful breeding attempts,
the female produced a clutch of
four fertile eggs in December 2009.
The first two eggs hatched after an
incubation period of 150 days at 31
C. A third fertile egg, which showed
no sign of a heartbeat with a Buddy
egg monitor, was opened to reveal
a living, fully grown embryo with an
unabsorbed yolk sac. This tortoise
survived although at present it is
somewhat smaller than its two clutch
mates.
In January 2011, the female laid
a clutch of five eggs, three of
which proved to be fertile. The first
offspring hatched after 152 days
of incubation at an incubation tem-
perature of 31 C. With these 2010
and 2011 offspring the Rotterdam
Zoo is significantly contributing to
the European Studbook Foundation
studbook/breeding program.
Photo credit: henk ZwartePoorte
Phil Miskimon and Dorothy Levi report the hatching of Serrated Hingeback Tortoises (Kinixys erosa). Three of four eggs hatched after an incubation of 143 days at 84F.
Photo credit: PhiL MiskiMon
august 2011 22 turtle survival
Paul Vander Schouw
reports great success in
breeding the Vietnamese
Pond Turtle (Mauremys
annamensis), a Criti-
cally Endangered species
endemic to Vietnam. This
photo (top) shows two females nesting simultaneously in
close proximity within their pen in west-central Florida. The
turtles are part of a group that have bred consistently for
the past six years. The photo was taken on 18 May 2011
at approximately 2100 EST. This was the first clutch of the
season for the front female and it contained eight eggs, and
the second clutch of the season for the rear female which
contained five eggs. A hatchling from the group is pictured,
above right. Photo credit: PauL Vander schouw
s i g n i f i c a n t b r e e d i n g s
Richard Struijk reports the hatching of second generation, captive bred Egyptian Tortoises (Tes-
tudo kleinmanni). The male was German F1 specimen from 2003 and both females were Dutch F1
specimens from 2004 and 2005. In January and February 2011, at the age of seven years, the female
produced five eggs in three clutches. The eggs were incubated on top of dry sand at 30-31C. Once
every 25 days, water was injected at the bottom of the substrate. All five eggs hatched, two of them
after 82 and 83 days. Average hatchling size was 27.9 X 23.3 mm (L x W, N=3) and average weight
was 5.9 grams. Hatchlings show the most activity at dawn and dusk. Photo credit: richard struijk
Bill Hughes at the Tennessee Aquar-
ium reports hatching four Yellow-
blotched Map Turtles, (Graptemys
flavimaculata) on 27 June 2011. This
is the third consecutive year that
this federally protected species has
reproduced at the Aquarium and
more clutches of eggs are incubating.
The Aquarium currently maintains
9.24.22 of this species. These eggs
spent most of the incubation period
in a nest box where temperatures
fluctuate between 80 and 85F.
Photo credit: BiLL hughes
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 23 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
s i g n i f i c a n t b r e e d i n g s
Cris Hagen, Thomas S. B. Akre, Kurt A. Buhlmann, and J. Whitfield Gibbons report our first captive reproduction of the Keeled Box Turtle (Cuora mouhotii) from a small captive
assurance colony maintained at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina. A single clutch of two eggs was found on 25 August
2010. Unfortunately, one of the eggs was destroyed by the female during the nesting process. The eggs were deposited in a shallow (1-2 cm) nest chamber and covered. The
nesting substrate was a mixture of top soil and shredded cypress mulch. The single undamaged egg was removed and incubated in a deli cup in moist vermiculite in a room with
fluctuating temperatures ranging from approximately 20 - 30C. The hatchling emerged on 25 December 2010. The hatchling began feeding on small crickets, diced worms, and
commercial turtle pellets within three weeks.
A collaboration between William P.
McCord, DVM, Michael G. Rapley,
and Cord F. Offermann, DVM
focusing on breeding Geoemyda
japonica produced five hatchlings
from a total of four clutches. Each
clutch contained 1-2 elongated
eggs ranging in length from 40.0-
43.3 mm. One egg successfully
hatched outdoors and was dis-
covered while cleaning the adults'
pen. The remaining four eggs were
incubated at a constant temp of
30C and hatched after an average
period of 86 days. All turtles were
robust and active upon hatch-
ing and began feeding on diced
worms, pinhead crickets, and a
commercially produced aquatic
turtle food within a few days. This
captive breeding effort is the result
of continued partnership between
members of the TSA and the Turtle
and Tortoise Preservation Group
(TTPG). Photo credit: MichaeL raPLeY
august 2011 24 turtle survival
Five of the six species of Batagur are currently
considered in the 'Top 25+ Most Endangered
Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises." The sixth
species, Batagur dhongoka, is considered en-
dangered in India and critically endangered in
Bangladesh as it has disappeared from much of
its former range. Thus, this genus of Asian large
river turtles can be considered as one of the most
imperiled genera of all chelonians, with 83% of
the species ranked Critically Endangered by the
IUCN Red List. Habitat destruction (e.g., sand
mining and conversion of mangrove forests to
shrimp farms), over hunting for human con-
sumption (both its flesh and eggs) and incidental
drowning in fishing gear have dramatically
reduced many populations of these large river
turtles. All six species are in decline, and several
face imminent risk of extinction unless urgent
and sound conservation measures are enacted.
The Northern Mangrove Terrapin (Batagur
baska) is now restricted to parts of northeastern
India, Bangladesh and possibly Myanmar. How-
ever, there are no known active nesting sites and
no population data exists for this species but it is
apparent that wild populations have crashed with
only remnant survivors remaining. The Southern
Mangrove Terrapin (Batagur affinis) has contin-
ued to rapidly decline despite several decades of
small-scale headstarting and captive breeding
programs. This could be the result of these facili-
ties producing only males as up until recently
nests were artificially incubated at relatively cool
temperatures, which produces males. The Painted
River Terrapin (Batagur borneoensis), much like
B. affinis, is showing similar declines across its
range and it too has been the focus of a number
of small-scale headstarting programs. The Red-
crowned Roof Turtle (Batagur kachuga) has only
one known breeding population on the Chambal
River with an estimated 500 nesting females
remaining. The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA)
along with San Diego Zoo Global and the Madras
Crocodile Bank Trust has been working to bolster
its numbers for the past six years via anti-poach-
ing patrols and riverside hatcheries. Lastly, the
Myanmar Roof Turtle (Batagur trivittata) is also
greatly restricted in range as it is now only found
in a short section of the Chindwin River with as
few as seven to ten females known to remain in
the wild. The TSA and the Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) have now grown this population to
nearly 400 individuals through an intensive egg
collection, hatching, and captive rearing program.
Currently there are a limited number of con-
servation programs operating independently in
the following range countries: India, Bangladesh,
A Workshop on the
Conservation of
Large River Turtles
in the Genus Batagur
Brian D. Horne | briandhorne@hotmail.com
Andrew Walde
b ata g u r w o r k s h o p
Pelf Nyok and Brian D. Horne work together to measure a female Batagur affinis that was brought to the Turtle Conser-
vation Centre by local fisherman. The turtle was weighed, measured and equipped with a PIT tag before release back
into the river. This co-operative agreement between the Turtle Conservation Centre and the local fisherman on the
Terengganu River is providing some of the best recapture data ever gather on Batagur affinis. Photo credit: Brad Poynter
Margaret Perry, a Fullbright Scholar working on Batagur
conservation joined us for the workshop, here seen
holding a young adult male Batagur affinis to show the
distinctive head coloration exhibited during the breeding
season. Photo credit: andrew walde
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 25 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and
Indonesia. Unfortunately, these programs often
exist in isolation, with little sharing of information
and comparison of successful techniques. There
also appears to be a lack of long-term planning
along with periodic evaluations for the sake of
making adjustments to the various conservation
strategies. Nor are there mechanisms in place
to evaluate these programs' successes. Unfor-
tunately, some programs have been operating
for many years and have very little quantitative
data to validate their activities. Wild populations
have continued to decline despite headstarting
and release programs often due to the programs'
failures to ameliorate high levels of hunting of
adults and removal of eggs for human consump-
tion. Over the years, we have inspected nearly all
of the ongoing Batagur conservation programs
throughout Asia. Given the critical conservation
challenges that Batagur currently face to their
survival, and the inconsistent methods used in the
various programs, it became apparent that a work-
shop to bring Batagur practitioners together was
long overdue. Because of this, a five-day workshop
bringing together 19 Batagur conservationists
from seven Asian and three western countries
was hosted in February 2011. Wildlife Reserves
Singapore, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the
Turtle Conservation Fund, and the Turtle Sur-
vival Alliance jointly sponsored the workshop.
The theme of the workshop was how
Batagur conservationists can better utilize their
individual strengths and successes to tackle the
threats to this genus' survival. The workshop
set out to identify what conservation practices
have worked well and which have not produced
desired results so that future initiatives that posi-
tively impact population growth for all Batagur
species can be generated.
The start of this workshop coincided with the
end of another workshop "The Conservation of
Asian Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles: Setting
Priorities for the Next Ten Years" thus the first
day was held at the Singapore Zoo as most par-
ticipants had also attended the earlier workshop.
The first day of the workshop included
Workshop participants took a short survey of the Terengganu River to see habitats used by Batagur affinis and Batagur
borneoensis both during the nesting season and during the remainder of the year. Photo credit: Brian d. horne
Morning discussions at Pukit Baloh centered on the importance of incorporating the eco-physiology of the turtles into
facility design as well as how to design headstarting programs that can monitor the long-term survival of the released
animals. Additional topics included the need for the group to draft a decision tree for when headstarting was ap-
propriate as compared to when best to utilize nest protection and the accompanying immediate release of hatchlings.
Photo credit: Shailendra Singh
Artwork courtesy
of Stephen Nash
and Conservation
International
august 2011 26 turtle survival
presentations on the phylogenetic relationships
within the genus and founder effects in the
creation of assurance colonies by Peter Praschag,
the reproductive physiology and sex determina-
tion in Batagur by Gerald Kuchling, and the use
of GIS to predict turtle distribution patterns by
Brad Poynter. Chan Eng Heng presented on the
status of Batagur affinis and Batagur borneoensis
within Peninsular Malaysia, Shailendra Singh
presented on Batagur kachuga, Batagur baska,
Batagur dhongoka conservation in India, and
Kalyar Platt presented on the status of Batagur
trivittata conservation in Myanmar. After the
presentations we held a round table discussion on
'best practices' for headstarting Batagur, collect-
ing pertinent life history data, and methods for
reducing adult mortality. An important point that
was stressed was the need for all projects to col-
lect data in a similar manner so that comparisons
could be made between projects. The rationale is
that if something was not working in one project,
but was working well elsewhere, we would have
the scientific analytical tools to try and assess
why this was happening.
After this first day in Singapore, we trav-
eled by bus to northeastern peninsular Malaysia
where we would visit a headstarting facility, as
well as do a night survey for nesting B. affinis
before heading over to the Turtle Conservation
Centre in Terengganu. Chan Eng Heng and Pelf
Nyok were our fearless shepherds as we set of
on this leg of the trip. We would have never been
able to navigate all the language barriers without
their help. After some difficulty getting across
the border (we found out the hard way that you
are not allowed to walk across but instead must
take a bus the approximately 100 feet, but there
are no bus stops!) and nine hours later, we made
it to a small guesthouse along the river just as the
sun was setting. The only problem was that we
were a few beds short so a number of folks ended
up sleeping on mats on the floor. But spirits
weren't dampened; as we knew that the next day
we would be seeing Batagur.
We spent the majority of the next day at the
government run Bukit Paloh B. affinis head-
starting facility. This facility proved to be an
ideal setting for discussing both the design and
management of hatcheries as well as headstart-
ing facilities. We discussed at length the proper
way to transport eggs from the field to hatcheries
to ensure the best hatching success as we were
able to directly critique what was occurring at
this facility. We were also able to critique the
headstarting facility that had been built many
decades ago before the eco-physiology of large
river turtles was more appropriately accounted
for in facility design. This was very important
as new turtle facilities are currently planned in
Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, and Indonesia.
In the evening we traveled to a nearby nesting
site of B. affinis to observe the collection of eggs
for the turtle hatchery. After being ferried across
the river as the sun set, we huddled at the far
end of the riverside sandbar waiting for it to get
dark and the turtles to emerge to nest. This was
probably the most memorable night of the entire
workshop as we were able to see eight females
come out to nest. Yet, the night was also one of
the most troubling as it was apparent that the
program was poorly managed and the turtles
were often interrupted before, during, and/or
shortly after the nesting process by the locals
who had been paid to collect the eggs. It was
frustrating to the entire group that the females
were often removed from their nests as soon as
they finished laying instead of allowing them to
complete covering the eggs. The project's staff
felt "the turtle was done so why did it matter?"
and they did this so they wouldn't have to work
so much at uncovering the eggs. Additionally, it
was distressing to see the project staff turn fe-
males on their backs shortly after nesting so they
could first collect the eggs then record morpho-
logical data on the females.
The entire group felt this disappointment
and frustration; however we were able to turn
this into a 'teachable moment' with discussions
of how things were done incorrectly, how they
should be done, and how this particular project
could be improved. In retrospect, it was an excel-
lent experience as we all remember clearly what
shouldn't be done. It also enabled group members
to share with the entire group specific tech-
niques that they had developed on their projects.
This type of information exchange is critical in
developing regional networks and partnerships
for Batagur conservation, which was one of the
primary goals of the workshop.
A beautiful setting, between the South China Sea and Terengganu River, where workshop participants discussed field
data collection and how to best conserve Batagur. Photo credit: andrew walde.
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 27 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
The following day we took a bus to Kuala
Terengganu where we were able to spend the
morning boating the Terengganu River looking
for signs of nesting B. affinis and hopefully see a
few basking B. borneoensis. This area has been the
long time research site of Chan Eng Heng and Pelf
Nyok and where they have established the Turtle
Conservation Center. We did see some nesting
crawls along the sand bars, which was exciting
after last night's field trip to see the nesting females.
As we talked, it become apparent that there is near
zero recruitment of hatchlings outside of the few
hundred or so eggs Chan and Pelf are able to buy
from the turtle egg collectors for hatching in their
small facility. Hopefully the recruitment numbers
will change soon as Malaysia passed legislation
making B. affinis and B. borneoensis protected spe-
cies. It was also revealed that things were about to
get worse, as this area was soon to be permanently
altered by the construction of a huge shrimp farm
that will pump millions of gallons of sea water into
the shrimp farm with the overflow being released
into the river. This will drastically change the salin-
ity of this freshwater river system. It is not known
how the Batagur will respond; the population may
migrate elsewhere or it may simply perish because
of the habitat alterations from the operation of this
shrimp farm. The ecological consequences on the
rest of the system are also unknown.
We ended the workshop at a small beach side
boutique hotel that offered us the use of their
rustic small pavilion. Our final discussion was on
field data collection and to what degree this can
be used in determining how conservation actions
can be more effective. We all agreed that our
first priority for all species of Batagur needs to be
research into how best to reduce adult mortality;
be it law enforcement, poacher conversion pro-
grams, and/or targeted education programs. As
conservationists we know that these dwindling
populations simply cannot stand continued hunt-
ing of adults; the life history patterns of Batagur
just cannot support it. Nor can populations
persist in areas where there is near 100% egg
collection (often in such areas consuming turtle
meat is prohibited by religious beliefs but the eat-
ing of turtle eggs is not). In areas such as these,
there must be renewed efforts to ensure that a
sufficient number of hatchlings enter the popula-
tion each year to maintain a healthy age distribu-
tion within the population. This is extremely
important as often the case in areas such as these
the remaining adult populations are quite old
and there appears to be few young sub-adults
nearing maturity. Once the old adults die these
populations may disappear quickly if we are not
careful. Secondary priorities included surveys
for additional populations that are not currently
protected as well as gaining better understand-
ings on possible long distance nesting migration
patterns. By gaining a better understanding of
how animals move between mangrove habitats
and upstream freshwater habitats we may be
able to best pin point where our enforcement and
education efforts should be addressed.
Leaving the river, we headed into town for one
more night in a hotel before early morning flights
home. That evening, we all sat around talking,
sharing stories as friends, not just as workshop
participants. We view the workshop as a great
success as it brought together many Batagur con-
servationists for the very first time. We all realized
that we were not alone in this fight. The workshop
allowed many of us to come to a better under-
standing of what challenges we all face and how
we can work together to find creative solutions to
save the last of Asia's giant river turtles.
acknowledgementS
We would like to thank the Wildlife Reserves
Singapore Conservation Fund. Many thanks
are also due to Saskia Lafebre and the staff at
Wildlife Reserves Singapore for helping with
the numerous logistics necessary for having a
successful workshop. We must also thank the
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Malaysia
office staff for all their help with hiring the buses
and purchasing airline tickets, especially Eunice.
Colin Poole of WCS is also due a great deal of
thanks for helping make all this possible. Living
in Singapore, Colin had to often answer phone
calls and emails at odd hours from the two of us
living on the west coast of the United States. We
greatly appreciate the many hours he put into
helping us develop the program for the work-
shop and helping us overcome some of the more
difficult logistical hurdles. This workshop was
generously supported by a grant from the Turtle
Conservation Fund.
(Left) Workshop attendees (Chan Eng Heng, Peter Paul Van Dijk and Shailendra Singh) debate the best methods
for managing hatcheries for Batagur affinis nests at Bukit Paloh as seen through the anti-predator fencing. Eggs are
transferred to this hatchery because left in the field it is highly likely that locals will steal them as the eggs are a much
sought after food item in this culture. Photo credit: Brian d. horne
Batagur Workshop participants gathered for a group shot outside the Turtle Conservation Center.
august 2011 28 turtle survival
Just over 10 years ago, the first workshop spe-
cifically aimed at countering the Asian Turtle
Crisis was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
This pivotal event brought together for the first
time the region's turtle experts in an attempt to
formulate a plan for countering this crisis. The
results of the gathering were staggering to all
involved. Wild caught turtles were being traded
for consumption, traditional Chinese medicines,
and as pets in quantities that caused many to
fear the worst for the continued existence of the
region's turtles. The establishment of the Turtle
Survival Alliance (TSA) was a direct response to
the Phnom Penh meeting and the 'Asian Turtle
Crisis', as were the Turtle Conservation Fund
and the Asian Turtle Conservation Network. Be-
cause of these origins, it seemed fitting that the
Turtle Survival Alliance help organize this year's
workshop "Conservation of Asian Tortoises and
Freshwater Turtles " at the Singapore Zoo. From
February 21 - 24, 2011, over 70 delegates from 20
countries- including 16 Asian nations - attended
a three-day workshop on Asian turtle conser-
vation. Wildlife Reserves Singapore and the
Wildlife Conservation Society hosted the work-
shop, in collaboration with the Turtle Survival
Alliance, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden,
San Diego Zoo Global and the IUCN Tortoise and
Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.
The overall goal of the workshop was to retro-
spectively appraise our collective turtle conserva-
tion activities over the past ten years in Asia so
that as a community we could determine which
conservation actions worked effectively and which
did not. Based on this information our priorities
and strategies could be re-evaluated and adjusted.
Day 1 Setting the Stage
With so many representatives attending from
different countries, and because of the numerous
organizations present, the first day was dedicated
to a series of country reports. It was a very dense
day with presentations from 15 countries (in
order: India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Papua
New Guinea, Philippines, East Timor, Singapore,
Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China). Each presenta-
tion was designed to first present information on
key conservation species and which key partners
were active in their country's turtle conservation
programs. The next part of the presentations
detailed historical turtle conservation activities
within their country, and how such activities
were now progressing. Presenters then outlined
the current and emerging major threats to their
country's turtles and how to best prioritize such
threats for conservation action. Lastly, the pre-
senters ended with species-specific recommen-
dations for the key species. At the end of the day
all were tired, as we had covered a lot of material,
but everyone had been educated on each other's
work and issues, which set the stage for the next
day of the workshop.
It was obvious from the first day of the
workshop that the turtle trade in Asia is still the
Conservation of
Asian Tortoises and
Freshwater Turtles:
Setting Priorities for
the Next Ten Years
Brian D. Horne | briandhorne@hotmail.com
Andrew Walde and Rick Hudson
s i n g a p o r e w o r k s h o p
Uncertain Future Projected for Asia's Chelonians
if Illegal Trade Cannot be Curbed
While at the workshop, some time was taken to view the collection of the Singapore Zoo. Here, Cris Hagen (TSA
Animal Management) is discussing care and set-up with Saskia Lafebre (Singapore Zoo). Photo creDit: anDrew walDe
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 29 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
leading factor driving this extinction crisis, both
in terms of the numbers of animals involved as
well as the vast geographic area that is being
impacted. We did not hear of a single area that
was not being negatively impacted by trade in
some manner and it became clear that unless we
more thoroughly understand how to deal with
this situation, the deterioration of Asian turtle
populations will continue on a path to extinc-
tion. To emphasis this, one market in China is
reported to sell over one million turtles a year,
with many individuals of Endangered or Criti-
cally Endangered species being amongst this im-
mense number. Furthermore, the costs of highly
sought-after species have in some cases exceeded
$25,000 USD for a single individual. There were
also numerous reports of an increasing number
of turtles being seized from the illegal trade by
law enforcement. Sadly, it was not clear if this
means that law enforcement officials are getting
better at intercepting illegal shipments or that
the number of shipments is increasing.
Day 2 the grim realitieS
During the second day of the workshop An-
ders Rhodin and Peter Paul Van Dijk led an IUCN
Red-Listing session to evaluate changes since
the initial assessments in 1999. The Red Listing
process is recognized globally as the authorita-
tive means for measuring extinction risks for
species and applies rigid criteria to determine
how imperiled species are ranked. The results
were sobering. Off the 86 Asian turtles species
assessed, 38% are now either ranked, or being
proposed, as Critically Endangered (up from
20%), a 90% increase since the 1999 workshop
in Phnom Penh. Fifty-seven species (66%) were
ranked or recommended for either Critically En-
dangered or Endangered status, a 40% increase
Rick Hudson leading the Southeast Asia Mainland working group on Day 3, trying to come up with top priority specific recommendations for this region. Photo creDit: anDrew walDe
Having the right people together in one place prompted several impromptu "sideline" meetings, this particular one
with eleven participants was to discuss the status of the Vietnamese Rafetus swinhoei in Hoan Kiem Lake and provide
a recommendation for action regarding its health status. Photo creDit: anDrew walDe
august 2011 30 turtle survival
since 1999. Only three species are now consid-
ered to be at the lowest rating of Least Concern.
It is all too apparent that the overwhelming
volume of illegal trade is still flourishing. If we
cannot find a way to more effectively combat this
trade, we will continue to see further population
declines and losses, which may eventually result
in species going extinct.
The second day also included several smaller
breakout sessions; one being for the veterinarians
to discuss advances in how to process large con-
fiscations of turtles as well as how best to provide
medical treatment to animals that are often in
poor condition when seized from illegal traders.
The other break out session was for participants
wanting to learn more about advances in facility
designs to best house Asian turtle species, many
of which have been historically considered dif-
ficult to maintain in captivity due to their highly
specific habitat requirements.
The day ended with presentations that de-
tailed current and emerging trends in the rapidly
modernizing turtle trade. Our colleagues at
TRAFFIC presented excellent, albeit depressing
data that they have been collecting. From this
set of presentations it became apparent that the
Internet is playing a crucial role in how wealthy
collectors are trading the most highly sought
after Critically Endangered turtles for the illicit
pet trade. Social media has become a predomi-
nant means for illegal wildlife traders to connect
with their clients in a clandestine manner, mak-
ing traditional law enforcement ineffective. It is
not uncommon to see wild caught Ploughshare
Tortoises, one of the rarest of all tortoises, now
being offered for sale on such sites.
This session also noted growing numbers
of farm-raised animals entering the trade. It is
now believed that over 70% of live turtles traded
for human consumption are farm raised. It was
reported that over 180 million Chinese softshell
turtles are hatched in Chinese and Vietnamese
farms annually. Although this appears to show
a shift away from China importing wild caught
turtles to meet the demand for turtle flesh, it
appears that many of the imported wild caught
animals are now going directly to large scale in-
dustrial farms to supplement their breeding stock.
Species that are proving difficult to produce in
farms, for example wild caught Cuora galbinifrons,
Coura mouhotii, and Geoemyda spengleri, are
still being sold in pet markets across China. But
perhaps the most shocking information to emerge
from the trade talks was the practice of live turtles
being indiscriminately processed in meat grind-
ers for shipment to China. Traders then mislabel
the contents as a means of circumventing CITES
regulations. It is presumed that this minced
turtle product is then used in making turtle jelly,
a highly desirable product across China as well as
Chinese communities abroad.
Day 3- glimmerS of hoPe anD
cauSeS for oPtimiSm
Day three of the workshop was crucial in that
we had to compile the information from the previ-
ous two days and synthesize that into a series of
recommendations that outlined specific prior-
ity conservation actions for the most imperiled
chelonians of Asia. Workshop participants were
divided into four major working groups by regions
representing Southern Asia (India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh), Southeast Asia Peninsula/Islands
(Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New
Guinea, Singapore and East Timor), Southeast
Asia Mainland (Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia
and Vietnam) and Northeast Asia (China, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, and Japan). Each group was chal-
lenged to address five primary themes that had
emerged from the country reports Trade / En-
forcement, Captive Facilities (Assurance Colonies
and Rescue Centers), in situ management, Aware-
ness / Demand Reduction and Research. Within
each of those categories, actions for the priority
species were identified. From this a series of over-
all workshop recommendations were generated.
The five top priorities were determined to be
the most effective means to advance turtle con-
servation within the region, and these are based
on immediate need and how broadly the action(s)
will impact turtle conservation.
The first recommendation was that there is a
greater need for enforcement of existing laws and
regulation surrounding the international trade in
freshwater turtle and tortoises. Additionally, the
removal of legal loopholes that allow CITES trade
restrictions to be circumvented must be closed.
The second recommendation is prefaced by
the recognition that there is a complete lack of
field locality data or notably limited distribution
data on a number of the rarest and most recently
described species (e.g., rare Cuora spp. from
Workshop participants at the Singapore Zoo.
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 31 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
southern China, Vietnam, and Laos that are only
known from the markets or a limited number of
locations). Field surveys are recommended to
identify new field localities so that remnant wild
populations can be safeguarded.
The third recommendation recognized that
there is an immediate need for globally integrated
assurance colonies for all Critically Endangered
species within the next five years, with the goal of
having at least three separate assurance colonies
with a minimum of 25 male and 25 female found-
ers per colony. Furthermore, these assurance
colonies should be aligned with field conservation
efforts so that captive bred offspring can supple-
ment wild populations or re-populate habitats
where turtles have been extirpated.
The fourth recommendation is that all
Critically Endangered and Endangered species
need focused in-situ conservation actions aimed
at the creation of at least one designated pro-
tected area, staffed with adequate anti-poaching
enforcement. Such an area should encompass
the necessary habitat required for the species to
complete all life stages.
The fifth recommendation is that range
state countries need to provide adequate legisla-
tion to protect their native freshwater turtles
and tortoises from illegal trade and exploitation.
Critically Endangered and Endangered species,
as well as their eggs, must be prohibited from
sale in all countries where they are currently
distributed. In addition, range countries must set
national policies that include adequate financial
support from the government for the long-term
recovery of their imperiled chelonians.
Day three ended with an impromptu session
where all the participants worked together to ad-
dress how the group should make international
policy recommendations as reflected by changes
in CITES status of species most impacted by
international trade. Thirteen species were sug-
gested to be included in Appendix II and seven
were suggested for being moved up the list to the
highest priority, to Appendix I. All the Chinese
and Vietnamese endemic Cuora species were
discussed for up listing to Appendix I but final
determination was tabled until the May 2011 Cu-
ora workshop in China. Other species considered
for up listing to Appendix I included Lissemys
punctata, Manouria impressa, Pelochelys cantorii
and Pelochelys bibroni as they are heavily traded
internationally. However, no final conclusions
could be met on these species, primarily due to
limited data about native populations, particu-
larly for the wider ranging species
Day 4 SucceSSful miSSionS
On the last day a series of presentations
were given that exemplified how far the turtle
conservation community has progressed over
the past eleven years. Model programs in India,
Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong,
and China were highlighted for their broad and
multi-faceted approach to turtle conservation as
well as their overall commitment to conservation
and species recovery. A compilation of these pre-
sentations will be the basis for a manual of 'Best
Practices' one of the key deliverables planned for
the workshop. Following these presentations, we
summarized the workshop by re-addressing all
the recommendations that had been generated
over the previous days with the goal of condens-
ing the list into the most important priorities
necessary to prevent species extinctions.
final thoughtS
Though at times frustrating and disheart-
ening, we believe the Singapore workshop
will prove to be catalytic and further serve to
strengthen the bond that our turtle conservation
community shares. It is our hope that this work-
shop will be regarded in retrospect as having an
equal impact to its predecessor in Phnom Penh
eleven years ago.
We are a small and vastly outnumbered
group, and the market forces that are aligned
against us, and Asia's turtles, are formidable. We
must continue to build new partnerships, allianc-
es, and friendships if we are to build on our past
successes. The positive spirit of the workshop
shone through on the last day when participants
were queried whether they felt more optimistic
or less optimistic about the prospects of saving
Asia's turtles and tortoises. We were encouraged,
inspired, and a bit surprised when the majority
responded "more optimistic." It is this optimism
that we have to maintain as a means of steel-
ing our resolve to see our mission zero turtle
extinctions in the 21st century - to completion.
acknowleDgementS
We would like to make a special thanks to
the Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation
Fund, as well as all the staff at Wildlife Reserves
Singapore that made this workshop possible. We
would especially like to thank Saskia Lafebre
who was instrumental as our go-to person for
all things related to the logistics of organizing
the accommodations, food, and venue. Biswajit
Guha graciously helped the workshop become a
reality after we first proposed the idea of it. Co-
lin Poole must also be thanked for his many long
hours of planning and dedication to the project.
Lastly, a huge debt of gratitude is owed to Fanny
Lai, who was a tireless supporter of the work-
shop and without her steadfast commitment to
wildlife conservation the workshop would not
have been possible.
Shailendra Singh (TSA India) and Kalyar Platt (TSA
Myanmar) let off a little steam after a grueling four day
workshop. Photo creDit: rick huDSon
august 2011 32 turtle survival
In the last twelve months, significant progress
was made in updating the Red List status of the
world's tortoises and freshwater turtles. Draft
assessments for 40 North American species were
reviewed and included in the June 2011 update
of the Red List website. Draft assessments were
prepared for all South American species, and
these were reviewed in detail by 44 regional
specialists from over 14 countries at a dedi-
cated workshop held at the Rio Trombetas field
research station, Brazil, in October 2010. Draft
assessments were also prepared for 85 species of
turtles inhabiting Asia, and these were reviewed
at the Asian Turtle Conservation workshop in
Singapore in February, and the Cuora conserva-
tion workshop in Gangkou, China, in May 2011.
The results that emerged from these different
sets of assessments are remarkable.
After (re-)assessing most North American
turtle species recently, the IUCN Red List now
ranks two of these species (Bog Turtle and Flat-
tened Musk Turtle) as Critically Endangered
(CR), six as Endangered (EN), and five as Vulner-
able (VU), with 6 included in Near Threatened
(NT) and 23 species considered of least conser-
vation concern (LC) (which is not 'no concern').
These numbers will likely increase when the
last eight species assessments are concluded, but
already such assessments as the spotted turtle
as Endangered and the Eastern Box Turtle as
Vulnerable demonstrate that threatened turtle
species are not only a problem of developing
countries or localized areas, but also affect wide-
spread species in countries with over a century of
conservation ethic and wildlife management.
At the Trombetas workshop, participants
concluded that the conservation outlook for
South America's turtles is worse than feared: of
the continent's 47 species, three were assessed
as Critically Endangered, another three as
Endangered, and ten are considered Vulnerable
to extinction, with the remaining 31 species
considered Near Threatened, Least Concern, or
Data Deficient.
That the conservation status of Asian turtle
species is dire will not come as a surprise to any-
one interested in turtles; but that it has become
still worse over the past decade is troubling.
Draft re-assessments of 66 species previously
evaluated in December 1999 indicate that 21
species probably warrant placement in a higher
threat category, two species jumped up two
categories, 41 species evaluations remain un-
changed, and only two species now qualify for a
lower threat assessment. Overall, including new
assessments for species not previously evaluated,
at least 33 species [38%] warrant Critically En-
dangered status (up from 18 [20%] in 1999, a 90%
increase), at least 20 are Endangered, and nine
Vulnerable, with only nine species qualifying for
either Near Threatened or Least Concern. A few
species assessments remain on the borderline
between threatened categories, but 57 species
most likely qualify as either CR or EN, a stunning
IUCN Red List
Documents Continuing
Decline of Turtles
Peter Paul van Dijk, Ph.D.1
r e d l i s t w o r k s h o p
92% of Asian box turtles, genus Cuora, are either ranked or recommend for Critically Endangered status, the highest
percentage of any group of chelonians.
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 33 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
66% of Asia's turtle species and a 40% increase
since the 1999 assessments. Of particular signifi-
cance are the speciose genera Batagur and Cuora,
which share the dubious honor of each having
only a single species which is NOT Critically
Endangered.
Even when some of these higher assess-
ments are due to changes in assessment criteria
and a better understanding of the field status of
species, on balance the trend in turtle status is
getting worse: very few turtle species improve
their conservation status, while more and
more species move up into higher threatened
categories. But it would be wrong to conclude
that conservation efforts for turtles are futile.
The declining trend indicates the severity and
pervasiveness of threats to the survival of turtle
populations and species; but if it were not for our
actions to address impacts and work towards
population recovery, the trend would be an even
steeper decline, and almost certainly species
extinctions would already have occurred in
recent years. They have not, and with continuing
efforts we can secure a future for turtles without
extinctions.
Completed Red List assessments of turtles
(and other species) and listing criteria can be
found at www.iucnredlist.org. Preparation
of Red List assessments for North American
tortoise and freshwater turtle species was sup-
ported by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The
Trombetas Redlisting workshop was convened
by the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle
Specialist Group, organized and co-hosted by
the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaznia
and the Reserva Biologica do Rio Trombetas, and
co-sponsored by Conservation International,
the Frankel Family Foundation, and the Pana-
phil Foundation. The Red List sessions at the
Singapore and Gangkou workshops were made
possible by the support of the Wildlife Conserva-
tion Society, the Wildlife Reserves Singapore
Group, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, San
Diego Zoo Global, the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and
Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, the Turtle
Survival Alliance, and the IUCN Red List Pro-
gramme. Preparation of draft assessments was
made possible by the Panaphil Foundation, Pieter
Borkent, and George Meyer and Maria Semple.
1 Deputy Chair & Red List Focal Point, IUCN/SSC
Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group
Director, Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle
Conservation Program
Conservation International
2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500
Arlington, VA 22202, USA
p.vandijk@conservation.org
(Left) The Bog turtle,
Glyptemys muhlenbergi,
is one of only two North
American turtle species
ranked Critically Endangered
(Below) The Eastern box
turtle, Terrepene carolina,
is now ranked Vulnerable
reflecting the impacts of
habitat loss and fragmentation
over much of their range.
Table 1
Numbers of tortoise and freshwater turtle species with finalized assessments included in the June 2011
IUCN Red List update
Number of recognized species (TTWG, 2010): 321
Number of assessed species: 221
Category
number of
species
% of
assessed
species
% of total
species
Extinct
6
3%
2%
Critically Endangered (incl. Extinct in
the wild)
30
14%
9%
Endangered
42
19%
13%
Vulnerable
57
26%
18%
Threatened (CR, EN, VU and EW
combined)
129
58%
40%
Near Threatened (incl. Conservation
Dependent)
37
17%
12%
Least Concern
39
18%
12%
Data Deficient
10
4%
3%
Not Evaluated
100
--
31%
august 2011 34 turtle survival
The history of the Madagascar Ploughshare Tor-
toise or Angonoka (Astrochelys yniphora) reads
like a Dashiell Hammett novel, except, unlike
the desperately pursued Maltese Falcon, this
tortoise is a critically endangered species and not
a figment of the imagination. It is a tragic story of
both habitat degradation, and a dark, sordid tale
of international smuggling, manhunts, imprison-
ment, and even murder. Recent books such as
Bryan Christy's The Lizard King and Jennie Erin
Smith's Stolen World have appeared document-
ing the spectacular intrigues surrounding this
species and the larger clandestine endangered
species trade in general.
The Angonoka today has the dubious distinc-
tion of being not only one of the rarest cold-
blooded animals on earth (with possibly only a
few hundred adults remaining in the wild) but
also one of the most sought after by unscrupulous
collectors, commanding prices ranging from a few
thousand dollars for juveniles to several tens of
thousands for adults. Saving this species is a truly
global problem and is a two-front war. The imme-
diate goal is both to stop poaching and to reclaim
animals from illegal collections and place them in
an accredited captive breeding program.
The enigmatic history of the Angonoka
begins in the late 19th Century when a resi-
dent of Anjouan in the Comoro Islands in the
Mozambique Channel between Madagascar
and East Africa received a strange tortoise from
Arab sailors who made vague reference to the
animal's origin from small islands to the north
near Aldabra. Forwarded to the Paris Museum,
the specimen was described as a new species,
Testudo yniphora, in 1885 by the herpetologist
Leon Vaillant. Fifteen years later, the true natu-
ral range of the tortoise was discovered by the
German biologist Alfred Voeltzkow who secured
a few specimens from the wild at Cape Sada (Baly
Bay) on the coast of northwestern Madagascar.
Over the next half-century, less than a half-
dozen Angonoka specimens found their way into
international museum collections. In 1950, the
French zoologist Raymond Decary described
the species as possibly on the verge of extinction
in his book La Faune Malagache. Encouraged by
Southern California tortoise aficionado Ronald
Beltz in the 1960s, James Juvik teamed up with
French Zoologist Charles Blanc in April 1971 to
visit the Baly Bay area to resolve the status of this
elusive species. They encountered a few Ango-
noka at Cape Sada on Baly Bay. However, cattle
grazing, dry season burning and predation by the
introduced African bush pig were seen as severe
threats to the small remaining population.
With permission of the Malagasy Govern-
ment, a total of six Angonoka (mostly secured
Turtle Conservancy (TC)
and Behler Chelonian
Center 2010-2011
Eric Goode, Director | eric@turtleconservancy.org
Ross Kiester, Chief Scientist
James Juvik, Senior Conservation Scientist
Maximilian Maurer, Research Associate
t s a pa r t n e r n e w s
turtle conservancy
The Ploughshare Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora):
a Struggle for Survival
Adult female Ploughshare Tortoise at the Behler Chelonian Center. Notice the engraved "H" and "K" on the carapace,
a form of branding now used to discourage poaching. Photo credit: eric Goode
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 35 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
from captive pets in nearby villages) were trans-
ferred to the Honolulu Zoo to launch an ex situ
assurance colony. The San Antonio Zoo secured
an additional two tortoises in 1973 and, at about
the same time, noted tortoise breeder and field
associate in herpetology for the Wildlife Conser-
vation Society (WCS) Bill Zovickian imported a
specimen from France. These nine animals are
the only Angonoka legally imported into the US
over the past 40 years. With the exception of one
offspring produced at the Honolulu Zoo in 1983
(which later died of metabolic bone disease), cap-
tive breeding of these animals has been unsuc-
cessful. Only two survive outside of Madagascar
today (one adult male at the San Antonio Zoo and
an adult female at the Honolulu Zoo). The female
was deemed sterile decades ago when part of the
reproductive tract had to be surgically removed
in association with attempted egg laying.
Meanwhile, in 1982 Juvik, Andrianarivo, Blanc
and Bour wrote the first IUCN Species Recov-
ery Plan for the Angonoka bringing worldwide
attention to its plight. Soon thereafter the Jersey
Wildlife Preservation Trust, known now as the
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT),
began to implement several elements of the Species
Recovery Plan. A captive breeding and head-
starting program was started in 1986 at Ampijoroa
in Ankarafantsika National Park. This represented
collaboration between DWCT and Madagascar's
Richard Lewis examines a Ploughshare Tortoise at the reintroduction site in Baly Bay, Madagascar. Photo credit: Maurice rodriGues
Ploughshare enclosure at the Behler Chelonian Center
appointed with natural graze and direct sunlight.
Photo credit: JaMes Liu
Ross Kiester, Eric Goode, Jim Juvik, and Saskia Lafebre examining two Ploughshare Tortoises that were recently
confiscated in Southeast Asia. Photo credit: MaxiMiLian Maurer
august 2011 36 turtle survival
La Direction des Eaux et Forts. Unlike the U.S. ef-
forts, breeding occurred from year one of the proj-
ect and to date more than 200 offspring have been
produced. In 1996, the project was compromised by
the theft of 73 juveniles and two adult females from
Ampijoroa. Only half of these animals were ever
recovered. Today this is the only legal breeding
program anywhere in the world. Durrell's 25 year
commitment working with Ploughshare Tortoises
has resulted in the introduction of 24 head-started
tortoises, with an additional 20 scheduled for
release in November 2011.
The Turtle Conservancy (TC) has made mul-
tiple trips to Madagascar in recent years and in
January 2008 participated in a workshop for the
conservation of Malagasy Chelonians, "Turtles
on the Brink," which was held in Antananarivo
to draft action plans for their conservation. This
was held, in part, due to a growing realization
between the government of Madagascar, IUCN,
DWCT, Conservation International, TSA, and
TC/BCC that all of Madagascar's chelonians
were in much more trouble than previously
thought. The Ploughshare Tortoise is facing
imminent extinction and all other Malagasy
endemics are now listed as critically endangered.
The workshop resulted in an Action Plan that
sets out the conservation priorities for the spe-
cies. The main objectives of this Action Plan are
to stop poaching and illegal traffic, to reinforce
in-country captive breeding and re-introduction
actions, and to spread out the ex situ assurance
colonies to provide a safety net for the species.
This last initiative is somewhat controversial
and was excluded from the final draft. The TC
produced a documentary on the plight of the
Ploughshare Tortoise the same year.
In 2009, conservation of the Angonoka suf-
fered a serious blow when the Malagasy govern-
ment collapsed. Without an effective central
government, protection of the tortoise sank to
new lows. With rapid advances in international
web-based communication, ploughshares can
now effectively be stolen to order from the Baly
Bay National Park. The range of the Ploughshare
Tortoise is largely coastal and unpopulated,
allowing for easy access to poachers by sea. The
region is among the poorest in the world where
the average income is less than $2USD per day.
The combination of poverty and lack of enforce-
ment creates the ideal conditions for exploita-
tion. Poaching and trafficking are the primary
threats, drawing parallels to the drug trade and
its complexities of effective enforcement. This
means that the conservation of this species
requires a multi-pronged approach: 1.) the global
collaboration and support of non-governmental,
inter-governmental and state organizations to
apprehend and prosecute wildlife traffickers; 2.)
the formation of multiple ex situ captive breeding
assurance colonies (by securing illegally held
animals); and 3.) support of in range capac-
ity building (creating tortoise villages and/or
sustainable conservation projects run by local
communities).
In 2009, Durrell and the Turtle Conservancy
received $30,000 in funding from the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service to implement more effective
local conservation efforts. Both Durrell and the
Turtle Conservancy matched this amount so that
$90,000 was focused on meeting the primary ob-
We observed these tortoises in 2010 only to return in 2011 to find them mounted. Photo credit: eric Goode (Live tortoises)
and MaxiMiLian Maurer (dead tortoise)
A new boat donated by the Turtle Conservancy for patrolling the coastal waters for poachers. Photo credit: anGeLo
raMy, dwct
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 37 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
jective of the Action Plan through the provision
of support to local law enforcement to protect
and monitor the tortoise in Baly Bay National
Park. Richard Lewis of DWCT leads conserva-
tion efforts in the field with technical guidance
provided by TC personnel who have extensive
experience working with threatened chelonians
and with field assessment of the Ploughshare
Tortoise in particular. Durrell, working with the
Madagascar Ministry of National Parks, estab-
lished a network of para-rangers, who provide a
permanent surveillance presence in the National
Park. The project established the network and
provides the essential communication equipment
and training to support the rangers in the field.
This equipment included a new boat that greatly
facilitates movement of the rangers. Some real
success has been achieved. Two poachers have
been arrested and stolen tortoises retrieved. In
the second half of 2011, plans will be made for
the expansion of the breeding and quarantine
facilities in Ampijoroa. The expansion of this in
situ facility will be made possible by the support
of the Sabin Family Foundation, Turtle Survival
Alliance, Durrell, and the Turtle Conservancy.
Over the last four years, the TC has been
studying the trade of Angonoka in Madagascar,
China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, and
the Philippines. The TC has investigated the
problem on the Internet, in animal markets, zoos,
and rescue centers, and by tracking down confis-
cated and seized tortoises many of which have
now died or disappeared. It is possible that there
are now nearly as many illegally held animals in
captivity as there are remaining in the wild. The
TC has documented over 50 confiscated Plough-
share Tortoises throughout Southeast Asia, and
many more on the Internet.
As smuggling of Angonoka has increased,
there has been a corresponding increase in
confiscations, especially by Asian governments.
Recognizing that these confiscated animals are a
critical conservation resource, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service granted a CITES Import Permit
to the TC for ten confiscated tortoises. This was
the first CITES Permit issued for this Critically
Endangered species.
In 2010, the Turtle Conservancy traveled to
Taiwan to examine four tortoises confiscated
by the Taiwanese government. Two juveniles
held at the Taipei Zoo and a subadult female and
a juvenile held at the Pingtung Wildlife Rescue
Center. Ultimately a loan agreement was negoti-
ated and in October of 2010, the two animals
from Pingtung arrived at the Behler Chelonian
Center (BCC), the first Ploughshare Tortoises to
enter the U.S. legally in nearly 40 years.
Around the same time, officials in Hong
Kong seized 30 Ploughshare Tortoises. They
were placed in the care of Kadoorie Farm and
Botanic Garden. Once the legal cases surround-
ing the tortoises were adjudicated, Kadoorie
Farm took ownership of these animals. The TC
Team visited Kadoorie Farm to evaluate the
health and care of the tortoises and to meet with
the staff. Kadoorie Farm graciously donated
seven juveniles and one adult female to the TC
in June 2011. Amazingly, we were able to meet
the quota of the CITES Import Permit in only
one year the group of Ploughshare Tortoises at
the Behler Chelonian Center now stands at 0.2.8
(no males, two females and eight individuals of
unknown sex).
For 34 years, Bill Zovickian has cared for an
adult male Ploughshare Tortoise that was loaned
to him in April 1977 by the San Antonio Zoo. Bill
and the San Antonio Zoo have arranged to send
this tortoise to the Behler Chelonian Center
to complete the breeding group. If the BCC's
success with breeding Radiated Tortoises is
any indication (having produced 136 hatchlings
over the last few years), similar success can be
expected with this species. For some of us on the
Turtle Conservancy Team this moment has been
decades in the making, and even more impor-
tantly this adult male has been waiting over 25
years for a mate.
(Left) The digital age has made it easier than ever to buy and sell illegal wildlife. Photo source: internet
(Above) On June 3, 2011, the Turtle Conservancy received eight Ploughshare Tortoises from Kadoorie Farm and
Botanic Garden in Hong Kong. The tortoises were flown to their new home at the Behler Chelonian Center.
Photo credit: JaMes Liu
august 2011 38 turtle survival
The Vietnamese Box Turtle (Cuora picturata) was
described to science in 1998, a description that
was based entirely on turtles from the markets of
southern Vietnam. Scientists had never observed
this species in the wild, and its natural where-
abouts was a mystery yet to be solved. In 2009,
Tri Ly, Huy Duc Hoang and Bryan Stuart sent a
proposal to the Turtle Conservation Fund (TCF)
outlining a plan to solve this mystery. Funds were
provided by TCF, and the search was on.
The suspected origin of this species was
southern Vietnam or adjacent Cambodia, based
on its appearance in the markets in this area. To
further define where this elusive species might
exist, the investigators utilized evidence from
phylogeny and biogeography patterns of other
Vietnamese Box Turtle species and primates.
Yes, primates! How could langurs and gibbons
help find our mystery turtle? Read on.
Molecular phylogenetic analysis told our
authors that C. picturata is most closely related to
the Indochinese Box Turtle (C. galbinifrons) and
the Bourret's Box Turtle (C. bourreti), both of
which occur in Vietnam, Laos and China. These
species occur in upland, moist, closed canopy
forest, so perhaps our mystery species may also
be found in such habitat. This helped narrow
the search, as the researchers now looking for
such habitat near the markets where the turtles
occasionally appeared. The Langbian Plateau of
southern Vietnam is just such a place.
Now for the clues that came from the primate
connection: in examining two primate clades
(lineages), a genus of Gibbons and a genus of Lan-
gurs that occur in Vietnam, each has a species
that occurs with the Indochinese Box Turtle in
the northern Truong Son Mountains of Vietnam,
and each has different species that occurs with
the Bourret's Box Turtle in the central portion
of this mountain range. Additionally, each has
an additional species in the southern end of the
mountain range, on the Langbian Plateau. Per-
haps searching where these two southern species
of primates occur within the Plateau might lead
to the mystery turtle.
Success! Searches in this area in 2010 and 2011
located several Cuora picturata: three males, four
females and one unsexed juvenile. Excitement
reverberated throughout the turtle conservation
community with this critical discovery. However,
the challenge of conserving this species in its
natural habitat now begins. Large areas within
the habitat are being converted to coffee planta-
tions and other agricultural uses. Additionally,
residents continue to collect and sell the turtles to
commercial traders. Stay tuned for the next chap-
ter in the story of the Vietnamese Box Turtle.
This is the story behind only one of the 112
proposals TCF has funded since its inception in
2002, providing a total of $536,000 in support of
turtle conservation to date. All funded projects
carry their own tales that not only address
the challenges of conserving turtles, but also
exemplify the passion of those working to save
these magnificent creatures about which we all
care so deeply.
Turtle Conservation
Fund Report: A
Mystery Unfolds and
a Challenge Begins
Hugh Quinn | doublehq@aol.com
Anders Rhodin
Turtle Conservation Fund Co-Chairs
t s a pa r t n e r n e w s
turtle conservation fund
Cuora picturata Photo credit: torsten Blanck
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 39 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
The Taipei Zoo Wildlife Rescue Center (the
"Center") was established in 1995 with the sup-
port of the Forestry Bureau under the Executive
Yuan Council of Agriculture, to provide shelter
for animals that had been confiscated by local
law enforcement agencies and customs authori-
ties. This came as a result of crackdowns on the
illegal wildlife trafficking that was rampant in
Taiwan during the 1990's. From its inception, the
Center has taken in many wild animals, mostly
reptiles, as well as birds, cats and primates. Of
the approximately 1000 wild animals currently
residing in the Center, 80% are reptiles. In fact,
there are more than 200 specimens of Radiated
Tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) and more than
100 African Spurred Tortoises (Centrochelys
sulcata) currently residing in the Center.
With Taiwan's liberalization of the pet trade
in 2003, the focus of wildlife traffickers shifted
to the import of valuable and rare wild animals,
which were in high demand among exotic pet
owners. In recent years, the Center has seen
a fair number and varieties of valuable and
rare wildlife specimens, again mostly reptiles,
confiscated and brought to the Center, includ-
ing Spotted Pond Turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii),
Angonoka or Ploughshare Tortoise (Astrochelys
yniphora), Spider Tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides)
and Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle (Cuora
trifasciata).
Today, the Center is a task force unit under
the auspices of the Taipei Zoo Conservation &
Research Center (CRC), and its role has evolved
from merely providing shelter to confiscated ani-
mals to playing a more extensive role in Taiwan's
wildlife conservation efforts to help chelonian
species. As part of an effort to find ways of
extending the conservation value of the Center's
wildlife residents, the Center's CEO at the time,
Frank Hwa-Ching Lin ("Frank"), launched a
conservation breeding program focusing on the
Burmese Star Tortoise (Geochelone platynota).
Due to widespread collection for the internation-
al pet trade, this species is now considered func-
tionally extinct in nature and is ranked Critically
Endangered (CR) by the IUCN Red List. In 2003,
the Taipei Zoo Wildlife Rescue Center achieved
a significant breakthrough when they recorded
their first successful hatching of G. platynota in
captivity, believed to be the first captive breeding
of this species among zoos worldwide.
During these years, the Center has continued
its work on the conservation breeding program
for G. platynota independently as well as in
Turtle Conservation
in the Taipei Zoo
Wildlife Rescue Center
Jeffrey Chen1, Yu-Ling Lu2, Yi-Chun Chang3, Ming-Hsung Chang4
t s a pa r t n e r n e w s
taipei zoo
A Burmese Star Tortoise hatchling in the Taipei Zoo Wildlife Rescue Center. Photo Credit: Yu Ling Lu, taiPei Zoo
august 2011 40 turtle survival
cooperation with other organizations around the
world. In 2008, the Center's then-CEO Frank
contacted William ("Bill") Holmstrom, then of
the Wildlife Conservation Society, to commu-
nicate the Center's wish to participate in other
G. platynota conservation programs. As a result,
Bill introduced us to Maurice Rodrigues of the
Behler Chelonian Center (BCC) in California,
an institution with the largest collection of G.
platynota outside of Myanmar. This led to the
beginning of a long-term cooperation for turtle
conservation between the Taipei Zoo and the
Turtle Conservancy/ Behler Chelonian Center.
In 2007, the Center launched a genetic
management program for both ex- situ cap-
tive breeding programs and in- situ Species
Recovery Plans involving G. platynota. To avoid
a loss of genetic diversity, and avoid the negative
effects of inbreeding depression both potential
consequences of captive breeding programs
with small populations - it was decided that
genetic paternity analysis would be a focus of
this program. In cooperation with the Taiwan
Normal University, the Center developed five
microsatellite DNA loci markers for use in
genetic paternity analysis, in order to construct
pedigrees of G.e platynota. The genetic pater-
nity analysis derived from those microsatellite
markers yielded some very interesting results.
While we did find a clutch laid by a single dam
with eggs that had been fertilized by two sires
(multiple paternity), the most interesting find-
ing derived from this research was the presence
of an alpha male specimen in each breeding
group. In fact almost 80% of the hatchlings
belonged to the same sire, notwithstanding the
fact that the sex ratio in each breeding group
was evenly balanced. This unexpected phenom-
enon served as a warning for us to take care in
the separation of breeding groups to ensure the
involvement of more sires in the contribution
of offspring to prevent any reduction of genetic
variability in the captive population from gen-
eration to generation.
As part of our ongoing genetic research
conducted by the Center's molecular genetics
laboratory to compare mitochondrial and nuclear
DNA, we tried to collect all available G. platynota
DNA samples. We analyzed the mitochondrial
DNA cytochrome b (cytb) gene of G. platynota
extracted from wild-caught specimens at Taipei
Zoo, BCC and Myanmar. We were able to detect
seven distinct mitochondrial haplotypes from
the 95 samples taken in this study. The objec-
tive is to establish appropriate captive breed-
ing guidelines to improve our management
techniques that will, in turn, help us make better
decisions for selecting breeding pairs and deter-
mining which specimens would be suitable for
future reintroduction in Myanmar.
At the end of 2008, we paid a visit to the
Behler Chelonian Center in California, where
we met with Peter Praschag and Lukasz
Pogorzelski. Peter and Lukasz generously and
unreservedly shared with us their knowledge
and expertise on the improvement of chelonian
reproductive techniques. This information
exchange was very useful to us and brought tre-
mendous dividends to our work. For a number of
years, the Center had successfully bred fourteen
species of tortoises and freshwater turtles, but
had only been able to hatch one to five offspring
from 60 G. platynota eggs each year, or 8% or
less. After certain breeding techniques (learned
from the experts at the Behler Chelonian
Center) were introduced to the Center, we saw
significant improvements in the hatchling sur-
vival rate among clutches of eggs laid between
2008 and 2009, i.e., a yield of 40 hatchlings from
a total of 80 eggs, or 50%.
In conjunction with our 2008 visit to BCC,
we also visited Robert ("Bob") T. Zappalorti who
lived in Ocala, Florida at the time. Bob is the
Executive Director of Herpetological Associates,
Radiated Tortoises in the Taipei Zoo Wildlife Rescue Center. Photo Credit: JeffreY Chen, taiPei Zoo
Directors of the Taipei Zoo and Forestry Bureau presenting check to TSA. From Left, Fu Feng-Chi (Curator of Taipei
Zoo/Conservation Area) Inside Turtle Costume , Peter Praschag, Rick Hudson, Jason Yeh (Director of the Taipei Zoo),
Li-Hao Kuan (Director of Conservation Division, Forestry Bureau), Ming-Hsung Chang (CEO of the Taipei Zoo/CRC)
Photo Credit: JeffreY Chen, taiPei Zoo
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 41 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
Inc. and a long term cooperative partner with
the Taipei Zoo who has worked with us since
the summer of 2000. Bob took us on a tour of the
Ocala National Forest and the Withlacoochee
Wildlife Management Area to show us the habi-
tat and ecology of the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus
polyphemus) in Florida's sandhills. This was in
preparation for our work on an upcoming project
relating to the Horsfield's or Central Asian Tor-
toise (Agrionemys horsfieldii) to be conducted in
cooperation with the Huocheng county govern-
ment in the People's Republic of China.
On September 12-13, 2009, the Center hosted
a workshop on the "Links Between In-Situ and
Ex-Situ Conservation Activities for the Endan-
gered Tortoises in Asia." Workshop attendees
included experts from Kadoorie Farm & Botanic
Garden (KFBG), the Turtle Conservancy/Behler
Chelonian Center and Herpetological Associates,
as well as renowned Taiwan turtle expert, Chen
Tien-hsi. Chen provided an overview and intro-
duction of turtle species that are indigenous to
Taiwan for our foreign guests. This was followed
by extensive discussions on how the Center
could contribute to and work together with other
stakeholders to achieve a common goal of ensur-
ing future survival of Asian chelonians. At the
end of the workshop, the Center and the Turtle
Conservancy/Behler Chelonian Center signed an
agreement for the establishment of a co-opera-
tive partnership dedicated to advancing the work
of conserving chelonian species.
In late September of 2009, we traveled to
Huocheng Municipality of the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region in China for a project relat-
ing to A. horsfieldii. Huocheng, which borders
Kazakhstan on the west and lies north of Ili
River, had been part of the historical range of
this species. We are currently working with the
Huocheng County Government to determine the
feasibility of allocating protected land for the
purpose of reintroducing A. horsfieldi to the area.
In October, 2010, we paid a visit to Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS) office in Yangon,
Myanmar, where we met with Than Myint
and Win Ko Ko, who gave us an opportunity to
witness firsthand the impressive long-term con-
servation programs that WCS had established in
Myanmar. We also visited Lawkananda Wildlife
Sanctuary and Mandalay Zoo and discussed the
possibility of sending G. platynota back to Myan-
mar as a first step towards returning this species
to its natural habitats.
In early February 2011, our friends from
Turtle Conservancy/Behler Chelonian Center
paid a short visit to the Center, during which
we discussed potential cooperative projects
to conduct scientific research on temperature
dependent sex determination (TSD) and disease
control in an effort to improve the survival rate
of juvenile turtles born and raised in captivity.
Later in the month, we also invited TSA Presi-
dent Rick Hudson and Peter Praschag to the
Center for further discussions on future proj-
ects for turtle conservation. To commemorate
the TSA visit, the Taipei Zoo Animal Adoption
Programs and Forestry Bureau Conservation
Grant jointly contributed $10,000 to TSA in
support of its work with the Lawkananda Star
Tortoise Facility in Myanmar.
1 Assistant Curator, Wildlife Rescue Center, Taipei Zoo
dwx26@zoo.gov.tw
2 Research Associate, Conservation & Research Center,
Taipei Zoo dwy113@zoo.gov.tw
3 Research Associate, Conservation & Research Center,
Taipei Zoo crz19@zoo.gov.tw
4 C.E.O. Conservation & Research Center, Taipei Zoo
tgx18@zoo.gov.tw
Address: No.30 Sec.2 Hsin-Kuang Rd., Taipei City
11656, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Taipei Zoo Team visits the Lawkananda Wildlife Sanctuary From Left, Win Ko Ko, Yu-Ling Lu, Shwe Htay Aung (Park
Warden of Lawkananda Wildlife Sanctuary), Ming-Hsung Chang, Lay Lay Khaing, Yi-Chun Chang, Jeffrey Chen.
Photo Credit: JeffreY Chen, taiPei Zoo
400 Indian Star Tortoises hidden in suitcases that were being trafficked by a passenger in the Taipei Airport.
Photo Credit: CarL hsieh, taiPei Zoo
august 2011 42 turtle survival
This course was taught for the 21st time at the
Trombetas River Biological Reserve from 26
September to 8 October 2010. In addition to 14
Brazilian graduate students, one Portuguese
student, an Australian student and two Australian
women working in turtle conservation partici-
pated in the course. Funding for the course was
provided by the TSA, Turtle Conservation Fund,
Conservation International, Brazilian Institute of
the Environment (IBAMA), and The National In-
stitute of Amazonian Research (INPA). Students
and project managers are taught how to conduct
field research with turtles and how to analyze
conservation and management measures that
are being taken. In addition, they are provided
with an awareness of the problems facing turtle
conservation. The course trains people who will
eventually be working in research or conservation
with turtles either in the field or administrative
positions throughout the world. The purpose is
to prepare students for the understanding of the
general biology and ecology of freshwater turtles
and the methods used in conducting field and
laboratory research such that they will be capable
of designing and implementing field or laboratory
projects to determine management plans, conser-
vation strategies, and basic research.
In 2011, the participants will leave Manaus
aboard the research vessel The Enigma in the
early morning hours of October 3; all students
and crew must be on board the day prior. During
the two day journey from Manaus to the Trom-
betas River field station, the time will be spent
in lectures on turtle biology and delving into the
literature of turtle biology to prepare seminars.
Once at the station, the day will be divided be-
tween field work, laboratory work, and lectures.
It will be the nesting season for three species of
Podocnemis, so students will have the opportuni-
ty to participate in nesting surveys both at night
and in the early morning to mark nests, transfer
eggs to protected areas when necessary, mark
and measure post-nesting females, attach sonar
and vhf transmitters to females that have nested,
egg biometry, and implanting temperature data
loggers in nests and turtles.
Turtles will be captured using various tech-
niques, and students will learn different marking
and measuring techniques, how to flush stomachs,
collect blood, obtain eggs through the use of
oxytocin, attach transmitters and follow turtles
with transmitters attached. The first few days
will be spent on the nesting beaches of Podocne-
mis expansa and P. sextuberculata near the main
channel of the Trombetas River. Later The Enigma
will take us into a large lake, Erepecu, where we
will observe and work with a nesting population
of Podocnemis unifilis. The more adventurous in
the group will be assigned the task of maneuver-
ing up a jungle stream in search of Peltocephalus
dumerilianus with transmitters.
During free time, students will prepare as-
signed seminars on specific turtle topics, and
then present them on the return trip to Manaus.
After leaving the Trombetas Reserve we will
visit another turtle conservation project site
where we are working with local communi-
ties. The course will arrive back in Manaus on
October 14. The fees for the course are paid for
registered graduate students at INPA. Students
from Latin America are requested to make a
$500 USD donation to the course to offset food
and transportation costs; those from the rest of
the world pay $1000 USD. The course provides
four college credits.
Course Announcement
Field Methods for Studying
Freshwater Turtles: Research,
Management and Conservation
Richard C. Vogt | vogt@inpa.gov.br
Students from the 2010 course Field Methods for Studying Freshwater Turtles aboard The Enigma.
t s a pa r t n e r n e w s
course announcement
Virginia Bernardes lifts a female giant Amazon River
Turtle during the 2010 field course at the Trombetas
River Biological Reserve
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 43 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
In October 2010, Richard Vogt's research group
received a $2 million (USD) grant from petroleum
giant Petrobras, from their Petrobras for the Envi-
ronment Program to promote the conservation and
management of endangered Amazonian turtles.
The grant is for two years and will be automati-
cally renewed for an additional two years if we are
successful with our program. The project is now
broader in its conceptual base, and while we are
continuing to conduct basic ecological research
to be able to define the ecological and habitat
requirements of Amazonian turtles and training
graduate students, we now also include a program
of environmental education for the inhabitants of
riverine communities along the Trombetas River.
The project, Amazonian Turtles: Conservation for
the Future, aims to attack the chain of exploitation
of these species from the bottom up (the riverine
communities, to the river boats that transport the
turtles) and the top down (the consumers in the
big cities of Manaus - population 2 million - and
Oriximina). Ten people are working full time on the
project, including persons trained in environmen-
tal education and working with social problems.
We are continuing our full time research in the
Trombetas River Biological Reserve, but addi-
tionally we are including the river communities
in hands-on beach and nest protection as well as
implementing courses to explain the life histories of
these turtles and the need for their sustainable use.
The beneficiaries of the project will be the riverine
people, a combination of Portuguese descendents,
indigenous people, and quilombolos, who live
in small villages along the Trombetas River and
eventually other tributaries of the Amazon Basin as
well. The basis of the project is to provide alterna-
tive income sources for these people such that they
will abandon the destructive non-sustainable sale
of endangered species of turtles, particularly the
giant Amazon River Turtle (Podocnemis expansa).
Our project will also train them in managing the
resource so that it can be used on a sustainable
basis. Another beneficiary will be the population
of turtles, which if managed properly will be able
to recuperate and continue to fulfill their function
in the ecosystem: transforming plant material
(leaves, fruits and seeds) into animal protein that is
important in the diet of many other animals (fish,
mammals, birds, as well as humans). If managed
properly, this resource will be available for the
benefit of future generations. There have been
many attempts to try and convince rural riverine
people to not harvest turtles or their eggs. Mainly
these projects have failed because the govern-
ment officials only protected the nesting beaches,
prohibiting the local people from collecting eggs or
turtles while nesting. They failed to offer the local
people a positive incentive for not collecting eggs
or turtles to eat, only fines if caught doing so. No ef-
fort was made to provide protection for the turtles
throughout the year during their migrations or in
their feeding areas. In addition, the local people
were not integrated into the project. Our project
will integrate the communities into the conserva-
tion and management of the nesting beaches. We
will conduct courses in the communities showing
them how to protect the nesting beaches and why
it is important for them and future generations.
Members of the community will be hired to work
on the nesting beaches. Courses will be given to
these people training them in other livelihoods that
they can practice in their native communities to
make a living rather than illegally poaching turtles.
An entirely novel idea in this project is that we will
also be giving environmental education classes in
the large cities. These classes will highlight the
need to use the turtle resource on a sustainable
basis and educate consumers to purchase legally-
raised farmed turtles rather than those poached
from nature. Besides protecting the nesting
beaches, we will study the entire life cycle of these
turtles to make sure that their feeding areas are
protected as well. By working with both ends of the
cyclethe collector and the consumer - we hope to
diminish the demand for wild caught turtles and
create a native pride in recuperating populations of
endangered animals both at the level of riverside
inhabitants as well as city dwellers.
The impact of the project will be an increase
in nesting female turtles, an increase in the
survivorship of hatchling turtles, an overall in-
crease in the biomass of the population of turtles,
and a decrease in nests and females predated
by humans. These impacts will be monitored
by marking and counting nesting females, and
the number of eggs laid, monitoring survivor-
ship of the eggs to hatching and monitoring the
hatchlings to document the percent surviving to
Amazonian Turtles: Conservation
for the Future, Implementing a
New Strategy for Turtle Conservation
in the Brazilian Amazon Basin
Dr. Richard C. Vogt | vogt@inpa.gov.br
t s a pa r t n e r n e w s
NatioNal iNstitute of amazoNiaN ReseaRch
- c 0 / m 0 / y 0 / k 100
- c 0 / m 0 / y 0 / k 0
- c 20 / m 0 / y 100 / k 0
Dick Vogt's turtle research group at the gala celebration kicking off the $2 million US grant from Brazilian petroleum
giant Petrobras for Amazonian Turtles: Conservation for the Future
august 2011 44 turtle survival
maturity. Initial interviews with the local com-
munities will be made to document their ideas
about conserving turtles and using turtles. After
a two year period of integrating the communities
into the conservation program and administering
environmental courses, the same interviews will
be applied to determine if our program has had
any effect on the way the people think. We will
also continue monitoring the nesting beaches
to see if after our courses there are fewer nests
and adults poached. We know who some of the
major violators are, and intend to employ them in
the project so that they will not be free to poach
turtles and will be able to use their knowledge
about turtles to help manage them.
In addition we are developing courses to train
them in alternative ways to make a living rather
than a scorched earth use of natural resources.
Alternatives include raising bees for honey,
woodworking, crafts, and raising cash crops that
are not harmful to the soil, river or forest.
In Manaus, we are constructing a two story
building that will be known as the Center for the
Study of Amazonian Turtles. The Center will
serve as a base for the project at The National
Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) in
Manaus, built on the edge of a small lake and
open to the public for scientific education tours.
It will have large display aquaria with all 17 spe-
cies of Amazonian turtles, laboratories, library,
offices, gift shop, snack bar, and a lecture room
for 60 people. In addition to providing guided
tours to the visiting public, we will use the Center
as a base for indoctrinating the school children
of Manaus into the chain of turtle conservation,
and the problems involved in the conservation
and management of these species. We are hoping
to stimulate the population of Manaus to be more
conscious of the problem they create by purchas-
ing black market turtles, and make them aware
that turtles can be purchased from farms that are
legally raising them. Finally, there are farms that
are not simply growing turtles from hatchlings
to sell, but are getting reproduction from both
Podocnemis expansa and P. unifilis in captivity.
Thus the cycle is completed in captivity, with the
increase in production of these farms the black
market could be squeezed out of existence if the
consumers can be convinced to do their part.
Parallel to the program of environmental
education for the city people regarding the effect
of illegal commercialization of turtles, we will be
working directly with the river people who cap-
tured turtles in the past in the Trombetas River,
localities where the populations of turtles were
much larger decades ago. Our major objective is
to increase the collective spirit of turtle conser-
vation in these communities, to increase their
interest and respect for nature. In the Trombetas
Reserve we will continue with a diverse research
plan with the family Podocnemididae (Podocne-
mis expansa, P. sextuberculata, P. unifilis, and
Peltocephalus dumerilianus).
Even though we have yet to begin the con-
struction of the building, we are functioning in
our new role both in Manaus and in the Trombe-
tas Reserve. In Manaus, over 1000 children have
attended seminars about turtle conservation and
have participated in environmental education
activities. In May we organized a workshop on
nesting beach protection with the participation of
researchers, environmental agents and students
from throughout the state of Amazonas who
fight for the conservation of freshwater turtles.
The official party to inaugurate the beginning of
the project was held the evening of 3 June 2011,
and was a salute to Petrobras, the sponsor of our
project. Dignitaries from Petrobras, INPA, the
Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM), the Uni-
versity of Amazonas State (UEA), the Brazilian
Institute of the Environment (IBAMA) and poli-
ticians at the municipal, state, and federal level,
as well as researchers and students participated
in the event. The evening featured the cuisine of
Chef Paulo from the research vessel The Enigma
and live music. Since Dr. Vogt was recovering
from hip replacement surgery, the event began
with a video of his presentation. The evening went
on without a hitch as he directed the event from
home in bed, thus only five barrels of beer were
consumed before the event closed at 3 a.m.
In the Trombetas Reserve, activities of our
research group continue to increase and diver-
sify. At the moment we are tracking two species
of turtles with VHF transmitters: P. expansa sub-
adults to define their movements and habitat use,
and P. sextuberculata to define their post nesting
movements and habitat use. Other research
projects include:
Dietary studies of three species of Podocne-
mis including seed dispersal.
Population dynamics of Podocnemis unifilis
and P. sextuberculata through intensive
mark and recapture studies
Bioacoustics of all species of turtles.
Tracking adult and hatchling Podocnemis
expansa with sonar tags during their migration
from the nesting beaches to the flooded forests.
The activities of the environmental education
group have also begun. More than 500 people, pri-
marily secondary and primary education school
teachers, have received lectures and participated
in a workshop aimed at the importance of study-
ing the biology of turtles in order to manage and
conserve them, and the importance of turtles in
the environment. Recently a group of 30 school
teachers participated in a workshop directed at
capacity building in techniques of eco-agriculture,
where alternatives for income and nutrition apart
from consuming and selling turtles were outlined.
We expect to gain a foothold in the process of re-
generating populations of turtles doing these first
two years, with the project living on to see popula-
tions of turtles reach levels of pre-European colo-
nization. This will perhaps take less time than the
200 years it took to destroy those populations.
Curador de Repteis e Anfibios/CPBA
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaznia
Caixa Postal 478
Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil cep 69083-000
tel 55 92 36433394
Environmental education instructor Adriana Kulaif gives a talk on turtle conservation to elementary school children at
INPA, to make them more aware of the plight of Amazonian turtles
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 45 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
Blue-steel, powerfully built, and magnificent,
the Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi)
is the king of the forest. Captivated, respectful, and
sympathetic, a young girl named Orianne sets in
motion a plan to save it from extinction. From little
things big things grow: The Orianne Society was
established in 2008 to ensure the survival of the
Eastern Indigo Snake across its range through land
protection and management, captive breeding, re-
introduction to the wild, environmental education,
and scientific research.
Today the challenges to wildlife conserva-
tion are greater than ever. The preservation
of animals, especially threatened species, and
their habitats has never been more critical.
The demands of a growing population and the
pressures of habitat loss, over-exploitation,
emerging diseases, and now climate change are
driving species to near extinction. About 30% of
all reptiles and amphibians are considered to be
at risk, and 22 reptile and 39 amphibian species
have now disappeared completely from the wild
(IUCN, 2009). The Orianne Society envisions
healthy and sustainable populations of reptiles
and amphibians in nature living harmoniously
with human societies that value them. We aim
to achieve this by using scientific research and
community outreach and education programs
to direct on-the-ground conservation initia-
tives for these organisms. The Orianne Society's
conservation model for reptiles and amphibians
is species-based and includes genetic, demo-
graphic, behavioral, and ecological factors within
ecosystem, landscape, and human perspectives.
The Eastern Indigo Snake is the flagship
species of our Society; it is vulnerable to extinc-
tion and represents the struggle of threatened
species globally. Its charismatic nature makes it
effective at engendering support for reptile and
amphibian conservation. The Orianne Indigo
Snake Preserve (OISP), which is located along the
Ocmulgee River in southern Georgia, provides
protected natural habitat for this species and a
suite of others including the threatened Gopher
Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). Moreover, the
newly established Orianne Center for Indigo
Conservation in Lake County, Florida will facili-
tate captive breeding and reintroduction efforts
for reptiles and amphibians. The complex will
include a breeding center, quarantine facility, in-
door and outdoor enclosures, a veterinary clinic,
and research laboratory.
Since the inception of the Eastern Indigo
Snake Conservation Initiative, two more have
emerged: the Viper Conservation Initiative
and the Turtle Conservation Initiative. The
Viper Conservation Initiative is focused on
four species: Eastern Diamondback (Crotalus
adamanteus), the world's largest rattlesnake
that is restricted to the coastal plain in the
southeastern United States; Timber Rattlesnake
(Crotalus horridus), one of the few remaining
top predators in the Appalachian Mountains;
Midget Faded Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus
concolor), a diminutive species that is mostly
restricted to the Green River formation of the
The Orianne Society
Strengthens its
Commitment to Turtle
Conservation Worldwide
Dr. Christina M. Castellano | ccastellano@oriannesociety.org
Dr. Christopher L. Jenkins
pa r t n e r n e w s
the orianne society
Christopher Jenkins, CEO and Executive Director, participating in the Gopher Tortoise monitoring program at the
Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve in southern Georgia. Photo credit: dirk StevenSon
august 2011 46 turtle survival
Colorado Plateau and that manufactures one of
the most lethal rattlesnake venoms known; and
the Black-headed Bushmaster (Lachesis melano-
cephala), a symbol of the wildness of the Latin
American rainforest. Timber and Midget Faded
Rattlesnakes are dependent on rocky outcrops
for shelter from predators, dens for overwinter-
ing, and birthing sites in late spring and sum-
mer. Likewise, the Eastern Diamondback uses
the burrows of other species like the Gopher
Tortoise for the same reasons. The loss of these
natural habitat features has caused a reduc-
tion in the abundance and distribution of these
species. Similarly, the Black-headed Bushmaster
is declining as its lowland rainforest habitat in
Central and South America is being lost to log-
ging and agriculture.
Vipers are often persecuted by people who
fear them or do not understand the essential
roles they play in their environments. Scientists
and conservationists throughout the world are
combining their efforts to preserve rapidly-
declining viper populations. The Orianne Society
has recently formed a partnership with the
International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) to bring together viper experts from
around the world to form the Viper Specialist
Group (VSG). The VSG will serve as a global voice
and force for implementing viper conservation
programs.
In 2011, the Turtle Conservation Initia-
tive (TCI) was established in order to advance
the Society's strategy for turtle conserva-
tion, expand the number of target species and
programs, generate a roadmap to implement
the strategy, and ultimately achieve significant
conservation outcomes for endangered che-
lonians. Our mission through this initiative is
science-driven conservation action for turtles,
which is being achieved through a portfolio of
projects that address seven key action areas:
ecology, community conservation, habitat
protection and management, captive breeding
and reintroduction, environmental education,
professional training, and public awareness.
Each TCI program is underpinned by applied
science in order to fill knowledge gaps and
aid in decision-making for the conservation
of threatened turtles. Research projects focus
on the ecology and biology of little-known
species, monitoring demographic properties of
small populations, assessment of threatening
processes (e.g., overharvesting, habitat loss, and
climate change), improvement of captive breed-
ing and re-introduction techniques, evaluation
of land management practices, and determining
the effectiveness of community conservation
and environmental education programs. These
priority research areas are being addressed by
incorporating experimental designs into field-
based projects and captive breeding programs,
partnerships and collaborations with research
institutions, and supporting and mentoring
students.
Through the TCI, we are applying the
Orianne Society's species-based model to turtle
conservation. We are currently in the process of
selecting a suite of threatened species to target
for multi-faceted conservation programs. Target
species are selected according to their conserva-
tion status, level of threat, and characteristics
as a flagship species that include endemism,
rarity, size and appeal. There is also a geographic
emphasis on North America and the potential
to protect other turtle and wildlife species that
live in the same habitat and experience the same
threats. We are seeking opportunities for col-
laboration and partnerships with like-minded
organizations that will allow us to add value to
specific conservation efforts.
In addition, our level of expertise and experi-
ence with a particular species and its country of
origin are also important considerations in our
species selection process. The Orianne Society's
TCI is presently focused on four species: Radi-
ated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata), an endemic
species of Madagascar that is being heavily
collected for bushmeat and the international pet
trade; Spider Tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides), a small
habitat specialist that has been lost from most
of its range in southern Madagascar due to un-
sustainable land use practices; Gopher Tortoise
(Gopherus polyphemus), a native of the southeast-
ern United States that has declined primarily due
to the urbanization of its longleaf pine habitat;
and Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii), the
Christina Castellano, Director of Turtle Conservation, examining a pile of shells from illegally harvested Radiated
Tortoises in Madagascar. Photo credit: riana rakotondrainy
Riana Rakotondrainy, Research
Assistant, investigating the ecol-
ogy of Radiated and Spider Tor-
toises at the Cap Sainte Marie
Special Reserve, Madagascar.
Photo credit: chriStina caStellano
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 47 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
smallest North American turtle species that has
nearly vanished from most of its range mainly
due to habitat loss but also predation and illegal
collection.
The Madagascar Tortoise Conservation
Program (MTCP) is the focal program of The
Orianne Society's TCI. The MTCP aims to
secure the long-term survival of Critically En-
dangered Radiated and Spider Tortoises in the
wild. The Radiated Tortoise is being decimated
by the illegal harvest for bushmeat with some
22,000 to 250,000 individuals being harvested
each year. Consequently, harvesting pressure on
the Spider Tortoise has increased as Radiated
Tortoise populations have become depleted
(Randriamahazo et al., 2007). In addition, thou-
sands of tortoises are traded illegally each year
as both species are openly sold in pet markets
in Asia (Sheppard and Nijman, 2007). Habitat
destruction through forest conversion for agri-
culture, charcoal production, human-induced
wildfires, and invasive plants - especially sisal
(Agave sp.) and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia
sp.) - further exacerbates the problem (Harper
et al., 2007). Through the MTCP we are work-
ing on the long-term monitoring of populations
that are critical to the survival of these species,
and we are supporting and mentoring students
who are investigating the spatial ecology and
habitat preferences of the tortoises at the Cap
Sainte Marie Special Reserve. We are also find-
ing strength in numbers through new partner-
ships and growing collaborations with other
dedicated organizations working on the ground
in Madagascar, including the Turtle Survival
Alliance, Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership,
World Wildlife Fund, Conservation Fusion,
and Emerging Wildlife Conservation Lead-
ers. In collaboration with these groups, we are
moving forward with environmental education,
outreach, and public awareness projects to gain
support, foster awareness, and mitigate threats
to these declining species.
The Gopher Tortoise and Bog Turtle con-
servation projects allow us to be the stewards
of threatened species that occur as near to us
as in our own backyards. The OISP provides a
safe haven for a healthy population of Gopher
Tortoises in Georgia. In 2010, we initiated a
long-term monitoring program for this species
on the preserve in order to identify popula-
tion trends, measure recruitment, and gather
information that will allow us to actively manage
important habitat features. We will also use the
tortoise project on the preserve as an education
and outreach venue to raise awareness of the pro-
cesses that threaten this species in the wild and
to involve people in conservation actions. We are
undertaking a similar project for Bog Turtles in
partnership with a local school. The Rabun Gap
Nacoochee School and The Orianne Society have
teamed up to undertake a bog restoration project
that will provide students with an outdoor class-
room and a hands-on opportunity to learn about
habitat restoration and the preservation of Bog
Turtles and other species that depend on these
wetlands. At the same time, we are working with
the Georgia Department of Natural Resources
to determine the occurrence of Bog Turtles in
north Georgia.
The Orianne Society's TCI will be expand-
ing over the next several months and years. We
are committed to turtle conservation especially
in these times when more species are at risk of
extinction than ever before. Through strong
partnerships, science, and public participation
we aim to help conserve these ancient creatures.

acknowledgementS
We thank our partners and colleagues for
their support, generosity, eagerness to share
information, and overall team spirit especially
the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, Andrew Sabin
Foundation, Turtle Survival Alliance, World
Wildlife Fund, Conservation Fusion, Madagascar
Biodiversity Partnership, Conservation Interna-
tional, Durrell Institute, Emerging Wildlife Con-
servation Leaders, University of Antananarivo,
Nautilus Ecology, University of Georgia, Georgia
Department of Natural Resources, Rabun Gap
Nacoochee School, Riana Rakotondrainy, Sean
Doody and William Ronto.
The Orianne Society, 579 Highway 441 South, Clayton,
GA 30525, USA
Christina Castellano holding a wild Radiated Tortoise during population surveys conducted with the TSA earlier this
year. Photo credit: rick hudSon
referenceS
Harper, G.J., Steininger, M.K., Tucker, C.J., Juhn, D., and Hawkins, F. 2007. Fifty years of deforestation and
fragmentation in Madagascar. Environmental Conservation 34: 1-9.
IUCN. 2009. Extinction crisis continues apace - international news release. http://www.iucn.org/about/work/
programmes/species/red_list/?4143/Extinction-crisis-continues-apace.
Randriamahazo, H., Traylor-Holzer, K., Leus, K., and Byers, H.O. 2007. Population and Habitat Viability Assess-
ment Workshop for Endemic Tortoise Species in Madagascar Geochelone radiata (Madagascar Radiated Tor-
toise) Pyxis arachnoides (Spider Tortoise). IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Apple Valley, MN.
Sheppard, C., and Nijman, V. 2007. An overview of the regulation of the freshwater turtle and tortoise pet trade
in Jakarta, Indonesia. TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.
august 2011 48 turtle survival
Situated in the center of Europe, Vienna Zoo
was founded in 1752 and thus is known to be the
worlds oldest zoo. Today it is also famous for its
high standard in animal husbandry, its continu-
ing breeding success with various endangered
species, and its efforts in nature and species
conservation projects. For several years Peter
and Reiner Praschag have been co-operating
with zoologists from the Vienna Zoo and have
launched a turtle conservation program for
endangered Asian turtle species.
Over the years the Praschags placed 2.2
Northern River Terrapins (Batagur baska),
1.1 Black Softshells (Nilssonia nigricans), 1.1
Flapshell Turtles (Lissemys punctata ander-
soni) and 1.1 Spotted Pond Turtles (Geoclemys
hamiltonii) from their private collection into
the Asian House of the Vienna Zoo. In February
2010, upon the arrival of the B. baska at the zoo,
a series of veterinarian and radiographic tests on
all individuals was performed which confirmed
that both females were gravid. After several
careful attempts to make the turtles lay their
eggs naturally had failed, the zoo team eventu-
ally used hormonal stimulation (Oxytocin 10
u/kg + Prostaglandin 1.0mg/kg) to which both
females responded. To minimize the risk of dam-
age to the eggs, sump trays with mesh grate were
placed in a water basin and both turtles smoothly
dropped their eggs into them. The next step was
to develop a strategy to create suitable incuba-
tion conditions. Due to the fact that neither
data from natural nests, nor from any captive
breeding was available, we based our incubation
parameters from data available from the closely
related Southern River Terrapin (Batagur affinis)
and placed the two clutches in Vermiculite with
a humidity level of 90%. The eggs were divided
into 3 groups and exposed to different tempera-
ture regimes (29.5C, 31.5C, 33.5C). After a
few days it was evident that all 17 eggs from one
of the females - and none of the 13 eggs of the
other one - were fertile. During the first month
all 17 eggs developed well, but in the course of
the second month most of the eggs suddenly died
within a few days. At that moment, the zoo team
guessed that the cause of death was the high
humidity of the substrate and decided to replace
the Vermiculite for another substrate known to
work better with high humidity levels - a mix of
Cocopeat and Seramis, a plant substrate made of
clay. Eventually, after 63 days, two turtles (both
from the 29.5C group) hatched the first suc-
cessful breeding of B. baska in captivity. During
the next months the two hatchlings responded
well to the nutrition and conditions offered by
the zoo, and today one year later both seem to
be in good health.
The enormous international media response
that followed the zoos press announcement of
the hatching success was unexpected; a largely
unknown and highly endangered species had
suddenly become "famous" to a broad public.
The zoo management subsequently decided to
join the support team of conservation work for
B. baska that already consisted of among other
partners - Peter Praschag, the TSA, World Wild-
life Fund (WWF) Canada, CARINAM and Rupali
Ghosh. Rupali has been working closely with Pe-
ter Praschag in Bangladesh and Northeast-India
for several years and must be seen as a key figure
when it comes to finding remaining individuals
most of them kept in village ponds buying them
and transferring them to the State Forest Depart-
ment of Bangladesh. An important step was the
meeting of Rupali and the management of Vienna
Zoo, resulting in a binding declaration of the zoo
to support her work during the next few years.
For Vienna Zoo the conservation of B. baska has
become one of its most important projects. Dur-
ing the zoos most popular conservation event
the "Conservation Days", which were held at the
beginning of August 2010, facts about B. baska
were presented to an audience of more than
30,000 visitors. Furthermore, the zoos scientific
staff has already proposed a number of funding
t s a e u r o p e
vienna zoo
Anton Weissenbacher1 | a.weissenbacher@zoovienna.at
Peter Praschag2
Vienna Zoo Makes International
Headlines with First Hatching of the
Northern River Terrapin (Batagur
baska) Outside Their Natural Range
Hatchling Northern River Terrapin. Photo credit: Peter Praschag
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 49 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
applications to various national and international
organizations and received positive resonance.
The ZGAP (Zoologische Gesellschaft fr Arten-
und Populationsschutz e.V.) was among the first
to financially support the project. Even IUCN has
agreed to support in-situ conservation activi-
ties and WAZA has decided to list the project as
one of the official WAZA conservation projects
(http://www.waza.org/en/site/conservation/
waza-conservation-projects/overview/project-
batagur-baska).
The same exhibit is shared by the only cap-
tive pair of Black Softshell Turtles (Nilssonia
nigricans) outside their countries of origin. With
an age of 12 (male) and 14 (female) years and a
carapace length of more than 40 cm, both speci-
mens reached maturity in 2010. After leaving the
water first on 26 April, the female finally laid a
clutch of 23 round eggs, six meters from water,
on 27 April. The eggs have an average diameter of
35.8 mm and at least 10 look fertile, but have not
yet started to develop. The zoo team is just going
to try to stimulate development by providing a
temperature diapause period.
At this early stage it can already be said that
the conservation project of Asian turtle species,
in particular of B. baska, is off to a good start.
The scientific data that the team of Vienna Zoo
has collected until now as well as the zoos PR
activities will hopefully contribute to continued
success.
1 Vienna Zoo, Maxingstrasse 13B, 1130 Vienna
2 Am Katzelbach, 8054Graz, Austria, peter@praschag.at
A beautiful underwater view of a juvenile Northern River Terrapin. Photo credit: Norbert PoteNsky
In the absence of a suitable nesting area in the zoo's quarantine area, a PVC grate was set up to prevent the female
from crushing the eggs after laying. Photo credit: daNiel ZuPaNc
Dagmar Schratter (Zoo Director), Rupali Ghosh, Anton
Weissenbacher (Curator), and Peter Praschag in the
Vienna Zoo's Asia House with male B. baska in the
foreground. Photo credit: daNiel ZuPaNc
august 2011 50 turtle survival
The genus Cuora
During the 1980's and 90's there were a num-
ber of importations of Chinese and Vietnamese
Cuora species into Europe with the majority of
those turtles being sold to private keepers. Only a
few zoos acquired those species for their collec-
tions in those years. Over the past two decades,
however, zoos became more aware of the critical
status of the majority of Cuora and now appreciate
the extinction risk of wild populations. Some spe-
cies are likely already gone from nature.
Although almost all Cuora species are
represented in European Association of Zoos
and Aquaria (EAZA) collections only a limited
number of those institutions are really involved
in the conservation of the genus. The numbers
kept are still not significantly high. Within
EAZA just one European Studbook (ESB) for
Cuora amboinensis is managed.
Therefore, husbandry and reproduction of
Cuora species within the European private sector
is a high priority now and cooperation with the
private sector, organized within the European
Studbook Foundation (ESF), was established.
This will be stipulated in a respective Memo-
randum of Understanding as requested by both
EAZA and the ESF this year.
The International Center for Turtle Conserva-
tion (IZS) at Mnster Zoo and several other EAZA
Members (Rotterdam Zoo, Chester Zoo, London
Zoo, Whipsnade Zoo, Cologne Zoo, Tierpark
Hagenbeck and Amsterdam Zoo) as well as the
ESF have already established specific breeding
programs (since the early 1990's) for these criti-
cally endangered species, involving both engaged
private turtle breeders and several European zoos.
In order to establish genetically viable,
healthy captive populations we must rely on
the private sector and a handful of special-
ized and dedicated zoos such as the Mnster
Zoo including the International Centre for the
Conservation of Turtles (IZS), the Rotterdam
Zoo and the Bristol and Chester Zoos in the UK.
Exchange of animals between the EAZA and
ESF parties as well as placing zoo-born animals
at private ESF locations on breeding loan will
require a contract. Sometimes the high costs for
individual housing and management of Cuora
specimens is a matter of financial concern for
zoos. At the IZS center in Mnster the efficiency
of the operation could be increased by 50-100%
if funding for a part-time position were secured
on a long term basis.
All Cuora species can be bred ex situ reliably
and on schedule if appropriate methods are used
and adequate conditions provided. This is also
true for aggressive and stress-sensitive species,
given that the social behaviour, requirements
for food and climate and simulation of a natural
habitat are taken into consideration. The appro-
priate methods for breeding have been adapted
and improved continually over the past years by
IZS/Mnster Zoo and Rotterdam Zoo.
Due to the persistent pressure on the wild
populations combined with ineffective protec-
tion, it is necessary to establish ex situ breeding
populations of all Cuora species as well as subspe-
cies and even local morphs. The species Cuora
aurocapitata, C. cyclornata, C. mccordi, C. pani, C.
trifasciata, C. yunnanensis and C. zhoui are sold
for high prices in the illegal wildlife trade and are
therefore critically threatened, but their natural
habitat still persists. All Cuora species need to be
genetically analysed (mtDNA and nDNA) in order
to determine how many genetically different vari-
ants exist and if these subspecies can be assigned
geographically. Nowadays local forms and not
Important Actions for Cuora species:
Position of the European Zoos and
an Overview of the Current Cuora
holdings in the European Studbooks
t s a e u r o p e
europe
Elmar Meier (IZS) | Martina Raffel (Mnster Zoo) | Henk Zwartepoorte (Rotterdam Zoo)
In close communication with Torsten Blanck (ESF)
Cuora mccordi juvenile. PhoTo crediT: TorsTen Blanck
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 51 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
yet fully described or recognized thus "subspe-
cies" are mixed during breeding attempts - mostly
unintentionally. These genetic mixes pose serious
challenges to species conservation programs.
The IZS plans to provide 50-70% of the off-
spring of the respective species to in-situ breed-
ing projects given that the necessary require-
ments, as stated below are met. The remaining
30-50% shall be used to establish further safety
populations in other institutions. The distribu-
tion of the offspring into different subpopula-
tions at various locations minimizes the risk of a
catastrophic loss due to disease or epidemic.
Proposed actions for the various species
and current holdings/efforts in the ESF/IZS/
EAZA
Cuora auroCapitata
In 2010, 12 Cuora aurocapitata hatched at the
IZS, the largest annually produced number so
far. The International Center for Turtle Conser-
vation (IZS) at the Mnster Zoo currently holds
13.11.45 Cuora aurocapitata.
For this species, the establishment of an
official government breeding station located in
the province Anhui should be realized as soon
as possible. Detailed in situ field research is ur-
gently required to understand the species natural
history, to identify suitable remaining sites as
protected areas and possibly find remaining
specimens in the wild. We regard the collecting
and transfer of the last wild individuals to the
proposed breeding station a necessity. Linking in
situ to ex situ captive management is a very im-
portant component and exchange of knowledge
and skills is very important to setup husbandry
and breeding guidelines. Education and aware-
ness raising programs for the local people have to
be initiated. Additional back up colonies in zoos
and private facilities need to be established and
the management of captive specimens in Stud-
books like the ESF needs to be improved.
Cuora galbinifrons comPlex
Since the three former subspecies Cuora gal-
binifrons galbinifrons, Cuora (galbinifrons) bour-
reti and Cuora (galbinifrons) picturata are recog-
nized and accepted as separate species, studbook
management became easier and reproduction
increased. Though still not in high numbers, a
growing number of breeders in Europe have now
been successful. ESF studbook keeper Richard
Struijk has published several accounts on those
successes in this publication over the years.
The current living ESF studbook population
counts are:
Cuora bourreti 4.9.11 specimens kept by
seven participants in four EU countries,
Cuora galbinifrons 22.33.24 specimens kept
by 17 participants in seven EU countries
Cuora picturata 10.17.30 specimens kept by
14 participants in seven EU countries.
In our view, detailed genetic studies on this
complex, as well as habitat conservation, are the
two key priorities for these species at the mo-
ment along with ex situ captive management.
Cuora mCCordi
The ESF-studbook population, based pri-
marily with the initial Mnster Zoo collection,
has seen its successes increase to 61 specimens
since 2004 and now has 6.17.38 specimens. With
the recent pledges for participation this number
will increase to 90 very soon. Worth noting here
is the exchange of captive born specimens in
2010 and 2011 between the zoos of Atlanta and
Mnster; two captive-hatched animals acquired
by TSA were exchanged for two Mnster
hatched stock. The first exchange between two
continents will hopefully be continued in the
near future with respect to other rare Cuora
species!
The breeding program is lacking sufficient
males, although the first males have been bred
in the last few years. Egg incubation has to be
improved and in particular lower temperatures
(down to 23 C) must be used in order to hatch
males. Endoscopy of young animals should be
performed in order to transfer unrelated animals
earlier to new locations.
Since this species is likely extinct in the wild,
the current focus has to be set on maintaining
a high level of genetic diversity in the captive
populations and to protect and study the remain-
ing habitat.
Cuora pani
The studbook numbers are still low. The Eu-
ropean studbook keepers are doing their best to
find new additional keepers of this species. The
International Center for Turtle Conservation
(IZS) at the Mnster Zoo currently holds 1.4.2
Cuora pani. The first priority for this species is to
identify possible remaining wild populations and
create protected areas.
Cuora trifasCiata and C. CyClornata
Over the past few years the studbook popula-
tion of C. trifasciata increased and nearly doubled
in size. Since both C. trifasciata and C. cyclornata
are regarded by many to be two separate species,
the studbook populations are separately managed
as well. During 2010, 17 hatchlings of both species
were reported to the studbook, six of them being
Cuora trifasciata and eleven Cuora cyclornata.
Cuora zhoui
The first priority is to locate the species in the
wild. In case this is successful, the recommenda-
tions will be the same as for C. aurocapitata. The
basis for the conservation breeding program is
the captive population of the Mnster Zoo where
six founder animals have produced more than
40 hatchlings so far. This offspring have served
to establish eight different breeding groups in
different institutions (among them London and
Rotterdam zoos) or private collections, although
males have not yet been hatched with certainty.
The studbook, managed by IZS lists 2.6.20 ani-
mals. So far only IZS Mnster Zoo is reproducing
this species in Europe.
Within Europe, there are five additional wild
caught founder animals and in the United States
approximately 15 adult wild caught specimens
exist, which could altogether form a sufficient
basis for a successful conservation breeding
Cuora zhoui. PhoTo crediT: TorsTen Blanck
august 2011 52 turtle survival
Hatchling Cuora picturata. PhoTo crediT: chris TaBaka
Cuora trifasciata at Munster Zoo. PhoTo crediT: henk ZwarTePoorTe
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 53 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
program. However, breeding success is low. It is
important to collaborate with the owner of the
remaining founder animals to increase breeding
success and not to lose this valuable gene pool.
As can be seen above, the ESF-Studbooks for
Cuora are becoming fairly successful; however,
cooperation between EAZA zoos and ESF stud-
books could still be improved.
remaining ProBlems and Tasks
1. Genetic variability vs. Morphology
Several specimens within the studbooks for
C. trifasciata, C. cyclornata, C. aurocapitata and
C. pani show significant morphological varia-
tion, however we were not able to make a clear
taxonomic assignment based on mtDNA analysis.
For this reason both the Mnster and Rotterdam
zoos, in close cooperation with the respective
ESF-studbook keepers, decided to carry out more
sophisticated DNA analysis as explained below.
Studying the genetic variability and
phylogeny of the critically endangered Cuora
trifasciata, C. aurocapitata and C. cyclornata
using micro satellite markers
Within the European captive populations,
Cuora trifasciata and Cuora aurocapitata are
known to exhibit more phenotypic diversity than
previously assumed. Delineation of species and
subspecies has so far been conducted on the basis
of various methods, i.e. morphological differ-
ences as well as analyses of mitochondrial DNA
sequences. However, different opinions about
the species/ subspecies status of several forms
persist and cannot be resolved using the methods
available to date. Numerous genetic hybrids
without any value in regard to conservation
(may) thus have been produced already. For the
successful implementation of captive breeding
programs, animals need to be assigned to groups
that correspond to known natural populations.
Therefore, further analyses of the phylogenetic
and biogeographic patterns found within the
genus Cuora are urgently needed.
As the preparatory work has already been
done by the involved zoos and organizations it is
fundamental to clarify the uncertainties regard-
ing phylogenetic and biogeographic relation ships
immediately to continue conservation breeding
in the proper way for "pure" assurance colo-
nies and potential reintroduction or restocking
projects. This basic groundwork will then also be
available for use in captive breeding programs of
other regions.
Total costs for the research are 15,000 EUR
($19,000 USD) to conduct this study; additional
funds amounting to approximately $5,500 USD
has already been earmarked by other donors.
From the Shellshock campaign money the
Turtle Conservation Fund awarded a grant of
$6500 USD in 2009. At present another 3,000
EUR are needed.
The first results of 168 samples have already
led to respective recommendations for speci-
men exchange within several studbooks which
led to appropriate breeding results, in particular
with respect to C. trifasciata reproduction. It
is advised that unknown or morphologically
different types and possible hybrids should be
separately housed pending conclusive species
identification.
2. Uplisting Cuora species to CITES Appendix I
Several people and organisations aim for
upgrading most species of the Genus Cuora to
CITES Appendix I, this is especially true for
Cuora trifasciata. We think that this is not the
adequate measure, as there is no longer any in-
ternational trade of these critically endangered
species in species such as Cuora aurocapi-
tata, C. cyclornata, C. mccordi, C. pani, Cuora
trifasciata and C. zhoui the trade collapsed 10-20
years ago. The illegal trade in East Asia with
these species will not be influenced by CITES
upgrading though. Transferring captive bred
offspring from one institution, not to mention
from a private breeder to another, however, will
be considerably impeded by upgrading. Only
international trade of C. amboinensis is still
proceeding and will be intensified in the years
to come. Law enforcement on this species and
its subspecies has to be improved. Upgrading
may also be justifiable for the Cuora galbinifrons
complex but needs to be evaluated carefully.
In case of confiscations within Europe,
priority species must be registered and reported
directly after confiscations and legal procedures
should be as brief as possible. These animals then
have to be placed directly into studbooks/breed-
ing programs. An EAZA policy statement is in
progress at present.
currenT esF Cuora trifasCiata and C. CyClornata sTudBook numBers.
Note: non sampled trifasciata are counted to Clade A currently
Cuora trifasciata/cyclornata Studbook
Holdings as of 14.06.2011
Studbook Keepers: Torsten Blanck/elmar meier
clade a (g) clade B (h)
clade c
cyclornata
clade c cf
cyclornata
clade c
meieri
clade d
"zhoui"
hybrids
Total
Male
24
8
2
7
2
1
7
51
Female
30
15
2
6
3
0
11
67
Juv
11
13
0
17
3
0
3
47
New 2011
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
CB 2010
3
3
0
6
5
0
0
17
Eggs 2010
15
0
0
16
7
0
0
38
Losses
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Exchanges in Studbook 2010
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
USA
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
Total Holdings M/W/JU
24.30.14
8.15.16
2.2
7.5.23
2.3.10
0
7.11.3
50.66.68
Total Numeric
65
36
4
30
8
1
21
164
august 2011 54 turtle survival
The IZS currently houses 282 specimens of 19
species and 22 subspecies and is a joint project
managed by the Mnster Zoo, the Zoological
Society for the Conservation of Species and
Populations (ZGAP) and the German Herpeto-
logical Society (DGHT). Remarkably, this highly
successful program is managed by the co-
author, his wife and a few friends in their spare
time. A total of 54 offspring hatched in 2010 (see
table 1), while eggs of Chinemys nigricans and
Mauremys annamensis were either incubated
in part or not at all due to lack of interest from
other institutions. The focus was on breeding
Asian box turtles of the genus Cuora and a total
of 44 hatchlings were produced this year.
Up until now, a total of 297 specimens hatched
since the start of operation in 2003. An internation-
al network of assurance colonies has started being
established with surplus wild-caught specimens.
More than 150 offspring from IZS have been trans-
ferred to other institutions and private breeders
on breeding loan. After long preparations, the first
exchange of McCord's Box Turtle (Cuora mccordi)
succeeded: two specimens were transferred from
Muenster to the TSA and Atlanta Zoo at the begin-
ning of December 2010. In exchange, two unrelated
specimens arrived in Muenster at the beginning of
February 2011, one of which was given to Rotter-
dam Zoo. Further exchanges of specimens would
be highly beneficial to increase the genetic diversity
of the founder population.
To further the establishment of assurance
colonies in captivity, the exchange of knowledge
on biological aspects and reproduction of the man-
aged species is a high priority. This was also the
aim of the 2nd International Chelonian Congress
at Mnster Zoo which took place in April 2010
and attracted chelonian experts from all over the
world, including several Chinese participants.
Breeding data at Mnster Zoo to date again
suggests that 2011 will be a highly successful year.
Besides numerous Cuora eggs being incubated, the
first fertilized eggs of the Tricarinate Hill Turtle
(Melanochelys tricarinata) have been laid.
Dr. Martina Raffel1 and Elmar Meier2
Allwetterzoo Muenster, Sentruper Strasse 315, 48161
Muenster, Germany
1Curator for in situ Conservation, Allwetterzoo Muenster
2Volunteer Project Manager IZS
t s a e u r o p e
IZS/MnSter Zoo
Update from the International
Centre for the Conservation of
Turtles (IZS) at Mnster Zoo
Elmar Meier (IZS)
Martina Raffel (Mnster Zoo) | raffel@allwetterzoo.de
No. of
hatchlings
English name
Scientific name
Comment
12
Yellow-headed Box Turtle
Cuora aurocapitata
one malformed
1
Bourret's Box Turtle
Cuora bourreti
2
Golden Coin Box Turtle
Cuora cyclornata cyclornata
Central Vietnamese form
5
Meier's Golden Coin Box Turtle Cuora cyclornata meieri
Northern Vietnamese form
10
McCord's Box Turtle
Cuora mccordi
one malformed, died later
2
Southern Vietnam Box Turtle
Cuora picturata
9
Golden Coin Turtle
Cuora trifasciata spp.
3
Zhou's Box Turtle
Cuora zhoui
1
Arakan Forest Turtle
Heosemys depressa
2
Sulawesi Forest Turtle
Leucocephalon yuwonoi
7
Vietnamese Pond Turtle
Mauremys annamensis
TablE 1: OffSpriNg haTChEd aT iZS iN 2010
The two McCord's Box Turtles shortly after their arrival in Muenster. phOTO CrEdiT: MarTiNa raffEl
Curator Dr. Dirk Wewers unpacks the two McCord's Box
Turtles which just arrived from Atlanta. phOTO CrEdiT:
MarTiNa raffEl
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 55 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
TSA's Myanmar Program
underwent a significant
expansion in 2011 with the
addition of key personnel
and major investments in
assurance colony infra-
structure. This expansion was made possible by
an investment of over $60,000, the result of two
years of successful fundraising. In January 2011,
Dr. Kalyar Platt assumed the position of country
coordinator responsible for overseeing all TSA
projects in Myanmar. Kalyar is working closely
with Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS)
Myanmar Program based in Yangon. In addi-
tion to Kalyar, Daw Me Me Soe joined the TSA/
WCS Turtle Team as a field assistant in March
2011. Me Me Soe will be conducting fieldwork
throughout Myanmar, and also supervising the
construction and operation of a planned Turtle
Rescue Facility in Lashio. TSA's conservation
efforts in Myanmar continue on many fronts
with a strong emphasis on the country's endemic
chelonians, all of which are critically imperiled
by unsustainable exploitation to supply the seem-
ingly insatiable food, medicinal, and pet markets
of southern China.
Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone
platynota): Significant improvements were
made to the facility housing the assurance colony
at Lawkanandar Wildlife Sanctuary (near the
world renowned archaeological site in Bagan)
during 2011. This is the second largest captive
breeding colony of star tortoises in Myanmar,
and the largest of the government-run facili-
ties. The breeding pens were enlarged, overhead
vegetation trimmed to allow greater exposure to
sunlight, and a high security fence topped with
concertina wire now surrounds the compound.
A double mesh predator proof juvenile rearing
facility was also constructed, along with a sub-
stantial quarantine area to house tortoises trans-
ferred from Griffin Enterprises, a commercial
breeding facility. Under a cooperative agreement
with the Myanmar Forest Department, Griffin
Enterprises is required to transfer 20% of their
annual production to the Lawkanandar facility.
Outstanding reproductive success was achieved
during the 2010-11 nesting season at Lawkanan-
dar Wildlife Sanctuary. Females began laying in
November 2010 and continued depositing clutches
through March 2011; each clutch averaged about
seven eggs. By the end of the nesting season, 20
nesting females had laid 269 eggs, which are
expected to begin hatching in late May and early
June 2011. To date this has been the most success-
ful nesting season since the facility was established
eleven years ago. Additionally, 12 adult Manouria
emys were transferred from the Mandalay Zoologi-
cal Gardens to Lawkanandar Wildlife Sanctuary
in early May. These tortoises are being housed in a
separate enclosure within the star tortoise facility.
Nesting material was provided to the tortoises
shortly after their arrival, and almost 70 eggs were
deposited in May and early June. Although some
eggs were laid without being covered and later
trampled by females, 58 are currently being incu-
bated. We expect nesting success to improve as the
tortoises settle into their new enclosure.
Because captive assurance colonies (in addi-
tion to Lawkanandar Wildlife Sanctuary, other
colonies are housed at Shwe Settaw and Minzon-
taung Wildlife Sanctuaries, and the Mandalay
Zoo) are enjoying considerable success and
producing relatively large numbers of hatchlings,
these facilities are expected to reach maximum
capacity in the near future. Recognizing the need
to initiate reintroductions of captive-bred tortois-
es into suitably protected habitat, the TSA/WCS
Turtle Team plans to conduct an assessment of
potential release sites in September 2011, and de-
velop a comprehensive reintroduction plan for G.
From Assurance Colonies
to Field Research:
TSA's Rapidly Expanding
Turtle Conservation
Program in Myanmar
K alyar Platt | kalyarplatt@gmail.com
Me Me Soe, Win Ko Ko, Khin Myo Myo, Kyaw Moe, and Steven Platt
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
myanmar
The recently constructed Myanmar star tortoise (Geochelone platynota) breeding facility at Lawkanandar Wildlife
Sanctuary near Bagan. Note the inner predatorproof building to house hatchlings surrounded by pens for adults.
The entire facility is surrounded by a high fence topped with razor wire to discourage theft. Photo credit: rick hudson
august 2011 56 turtle survival
platynota in Myanmar. Planned site visits include
Minzontaung and Shwe Settaw wildlife sanctuar-
ies, and Mya Leik Taung, a mountain where star
tortoises were abundant as recently as 2001 and
protected by strong local religious beliefs.
Rakhine Forest Turtle (Heosemys depressa):
A new enclosure to house Rakhine Forest Turtles,
an enigmatic species endemic to western Myanmar,
was completed in April 2011 at the Rakhine Yoma
Elephant Sanctuary in Gwa. The enclosure includes
a spacious land area and two shallow pools separat-
ed by a wooden divider. Six turtles confiscated from
illegal traders and held briefly at the Mandalay Zoo
were transferred to the new facility in late April.
These six turtles joined seven others confiscated
earlier by the Myanmar Forest Department from
traders near Gwa. The group appears to be doing
well, and apparent mating behavior was observed
Lay Lay Khaing with some of the hundreds of juvenile
Star Tortoises that are produced at the Lawkanandar
facility annually. Photo credit: rick hudson
Permanent pools for soaking are featured in each of the four separate enclosures and provide a cool respite from the
heat during the dry season. Photo credit: rick hudson
In May 2011, 100 captive-reared Burmese roof turtles
(Batagur trivittata) were transferred from the Yadanabon
Zoo in Mandalay to this 3.5 acre pond at Lawkanandar
Wildlife Sanctuary near Bagan. Two artificial nesting
beaches are visible to the right and left of the photo-
graph. These turtles are expected to begin breeding
within the next few years. Photo credit: rick hudson
This Burmese Peacock Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia for-
mosa) is one of the targeted species for this new facility.
Photo credit: rick hudson
Members of the TSA Board visit the new tortoise facilities at the Lawkanandar Wildlife Sanctuary in February 2011.
From left to right: Rick Hudson, Pat Koval, Colin Poole, Chuck Landrey and John Mitchell. Photo credit: kalyar Platt
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 57 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
on several occasions.
In December-January Daw Khin Myo
Myo, a member of the TSA/WCS Turtle Team,
conducted a survey of the eastern side of the
Rakhine Yoma Elephant Sanctuary, the only
protected area known to harbor H. depressa.
Unlike the western side of the sanctuary, which
remains relatively pristine, Khin Myo Myo
found considerable evidence of human activity
in the eastern region and it appears that turtles,
including H. depressa are being harvested in
significant numbers. Moreover, cutting of the
extensive bamboo brakes that cloak hills in
this region is underway to supply a paper pulp
factory constructed in 2005 and this activ-
ity undoubtedly deprives H. depressa of its
preferred habitat. Khin Myo Myo recommended
an increase in patrolling by sanctuary staff to
curb this illegal harvest of turtles. Nonetheless,
the interior of the sanctuary remains difficult to
access and is thought to be at minimal risk from
turtle hunters at least for the time being.
Myanmar Roofed Turtle (Batagur trivit-
Adult Rakhine Forest Turtles (Heosemys depressa), part of a recently established assurance colony at the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Sanctuary headquarters in Gwa, avidly devour
papaya shortly after being released into the spacious breeding pen. These turtles were originally confiscated from illegal wildlife traders by Myanmar Forest Department officials.
Photo credit: kalyar Platt
The survivors of a confiscation of Big-Headed Turtles (Platysternon megacephalon) were transported to the
Kyeikhteeyo Wildlife Sanctuary and released into some of the many swift-flowing streams in this area.
august 2011 58 turtle survival
tata): Conservation efforts for the endemic and
Critically Endangered B. trivittata continue to
focus on in situ propagation at the Yadanarbon
Zoo in Mandalay, an ex situ head-start program
on the Upper Chindwin River, and field surveys
of the Dokthawady River, a drainage now heavily
impacted by the recent completion of a large
hydropower dam. The ex situ headstart program
enjoyed excellent success during the 2010-11
nesting season; six to nine females deposited 179
eggs in sandbanks along the Upper Chindwin
River. These eggs were collected by the TSA/
WCS Turtle Team and returned to the field camp
for incubation; 93 eggs had hatched by late May.
These hatchlings will be held for several years at
the field camp before being returned to the river.
Because apparently infertile eggs have repeat-
edly been found in B. trivittata nests deposited on
three sandbanks, males are thought to be lacking
among the small population remaining along this
stretch of the river. Therefore the decision was
made to augment the existing population with
seven young male turtles from the head-start pro-
gram. After being held in a temporary facility on
the riverbank, and following an educational cam-
paign among local villagers and fishermen, the
turtles were released in late December 2010. The
males are believed to be reproductively mature
and it is hoped fertile eggs will be forthcoming in
the 2011-12 nesting season.
A permanent head-staring facility has been
proposed for the nearby Htamanthi Wildlife Sanc-
tuary, although construction has yet to begin due to
funding constraints. Field surveys of several creeks
in Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary are planned for
late 2011 and early 2012. If successful in locating
hitherto unknown populations of B. trivittata,
protection of nesting beaches will be implemented
and the head-starting program extended into these
areas. Furthermore, hatchlings will be reared to
diversify the genetic base of the existing assurance
colonies, which are currently descended from a
relatively small number of founders.
A second assurance colony was established in
early May when 100 captive-reared B. trivittata
(approximately 4-5 years old) were transferred
from the Yadanarbon Zoo to a new breeding pond
at Lawkanandar Wildlife Sanctuary. A small-mesh
fence was erected around this 2.5 acre pond in
early 2011; an island in the pond provides seem-
ingly suitable nesting habitat which was enhanced
with the addition of a new sandy beach. It is hoped
the turtles will begin laying here as they attain
sexual maturity within the next few years.
Field surveys for B. trivittata were conducted
in the Dokthawady River, a major tributary of
the Ayeyarwady River during April 2011. It was
in the Dokthawady River that a WCS Team
"rediscovered" B. trivittata in 2001, after it was
long-presumed extinct. A remnant population
of B. trivittata is thought to persist in the river,
although completion of a hydropower dam in
October 2010 makes survival of this population
tenuous. The TSA/WCS Field Team visited the
Dokthawady River upstream from the rapidly
filling impoundment to investigate the effect of
the dam on the remaining turtles. Their findings
were not encouraging and paint a grim picture
with regards to the continued survival of B.
trivittata in the Dokthawady; encampments of
fishers, tree-fellers, and charcoal makers now
occur throughout the area and illegal harvest-
ing of fish and wildlife is rampant. One wildlife
trader recently claimed to have purchased three
B. trivittata in breeding coloration that were later
sold to a dealer in Mandalay. Other B. trivittata
have apparently been eaten by local villagers
rather than being sold; the high cost of trans-
porting large, hard-shelled turtles makes them
difficult to sell to wildlife dealers. These findings
Win Ko Ko and officials from the Myanmar Forest Department conduct a ceremony to mark the successful return of
headstarted Batagur trivittata to the Chindwin River.
The captive husbandry of Myanmar's two endemic softshells will be the focus of this new facility. Three new ponds at
the Yadanabon Zoo will provide space for rearing juvenile softshells on a trial basis. Photo credit: rick hudson
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 59 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
highlight the ongoing threats faced by wild B.
trivittata and the urgency of TSA/WCS efforts on
behalf of this critically endangered species.
Big-headed turtle (Platysternon mege-
cephallum): In July 2010, Forest Department
officials confiscated almost 200 Big-Headed
Turtles destined for markets in southern China
at the border crossing near Lashio. The confiscat-
ed turtles, most in poor and rapidly deteriorating
physical condition were held briefly in Lashio
and then transferred to the Mandalay Zoo. By
the time the turtles reached Mandalay, only 50
remained alive. These turtles were rehabilitated
at the Mandalay Zoo under the supervision of
zoo veterinarian Dr. Tint Lwin. In August, the 50
surviving turtles were released by the TSA/WCS
Turtle Team at Kyeikhteeyo Wildlife Sanctuary,
a site of great religious importance situated in
the rugged mountains of eastern Myanmar. The
numerous swift-flowing streams descend from
Kyeikhteeyo Mountain are expected to provide
excellent habitat for the repatriated turtles.
Expansion of assurance colony infra-
structure at Yadanarbon Zoological Garden:
In September 2011, the Yadanarbon Zoological
Garden in Mandalay received a grant of $30,800
from TSA to undertake a major expansion of
their assurance colony infrastructure. As part
of this project, a new facility was constructed
to house the breeding group of Manouria emys
phayrei. Seventy-nine of these big tortoises were
being kept in an overcrowded pen after being
seized by Forest Department officials from illegal
wildlife traders in 2007. The new facility (4536
ft2) triples the space available to the tortoises and
is subdivided into six separate enclosures; each
is surrounded by a low brick wall and has a shal-
low concrete pool that will allow the tortoises
to remain cool during the hot weather typical of
Mandalay. A food preparation building was con-
structed adjacent to the new breeding enclosure.
Facilities for the highly successful Batagur
trivittata breeding program were also upgraded
in the infrastructure expansion program. Four
fiberglass tanks were set on an elevated platform
for rearing hatchlings outside full time; this was
previously done in large plastic pans that had to
be moved outside during the day. As hatchlings
increase in size they will be transferred to one of
four new rearing ponds, each measuring 10 20
ft and completely enclosed in heavy mesh fence
to deter predatory birds (such as crows) that are
common on zoo grounds. Another rearing pond
choked with water hyacinth and used to filter
water for the breeding pond- was modified to ac-
commodate sub-adult B. trivittata, thereby reliev-
ing overcrowding in the existing grow-out facility.
A pond divider was installed to separate the
turtles from the water hyacinth so as to maintain
a source of food for the turtles - and a perimeter
fenced was built to prevent young turtles from es-
caping. Finally, three grow-out ponds (each 18 6
ft) were constructed to house the rapidly expand-
ing population of captive-bred endemic softshell
turtles (Nilssonia formosa) at the zoo.
Turtle Surveys of National Parks: Turtle
surveys of two national parks in Myanmar were
completed during the previous year. In June-July
2010, Mount Popa National Park in central Myan-
mar was surveyed. This park is located in the dry
zone (a natural desert-like region noted for high
levels of endemism) and encompasses an extinct
volcano, which rises over 2,000 feet above the sur-
rounding arid lands. Although no evidence for the
occurrence of G. platynota was found in the park,
significant populations of Indotestudo elongata in-
habit the arid lands surrounding the volcano, and
the lush evergreen forest in the central crater was
deemed suitable as an experimental reintroduc-
tion site for repatriated Manouria emys. During
May-June 2011 a turtle survey was conducted of
Natma Taung (Mount Victoria) National Park.
Located in the southern Chin Hills, the park
encompasses a diversity of habitats ranging from
lowland valleys clad in deciduous forest to high el-
evation montane evergreen forest, and even alpine
meadows. Although much of the park is too high
and cold to support turtles, significant popula-
tions of Indotestudo elongata, Cyclemys spp., and
Amyda cartilaginea occur in southern regions of
the protected area. Little evidence of commercial
harvesting was found except with regards to A.
cartilaginea; this species is imperiled throughout
Myanmar owing to high demand from Chinese
wildlife markets and the exceptionally large
amount of money (often the equivalent of their
annual income) traders are willing to pay villagers
to collect these large softshell turtles. Training
workshops were conducted at the conclusion of
each survey in which Forest Department staff was
briefed on turtle conservation and the specific
objectives and results of the TSA/WCS survey.
Site-specific conservation recommendations were
also provided to each park warden and the Nature
Conservation Division of the Myanmar Forest
Department, the entity responsible for overseeing
management of the national parks.
Turtle Rescue Center in Lashio: Funding
is currently being raised for construction of a
turtle rescue center in Lashio, a town astride the
Myanmar-China border and the terminus of a
major trade route for wildlife moving illegally into
China. Major confiscations of illegally harvested
turtles have occurred near Lashio in the past, but
owing to the lack of proper holding facilities, many
confiscated turtles perished while being stored
at a warehouse until a decision could be made
concerning their disposition. Others were released
without consideration of their origin or appropri-
ate natural habitat. The planned rescue center will
rectify many of the problems that have plagued
past turtle confiscations. The facility is designed
to include spacious enclosures for tortoises such as
Indotestudo elongata and Manouria emys - which
comprise the majority of confiscations as well
as H. depressa and M. impressa, two species now
being seen in significant numbers in Chinese food
markets and believed to pass through Lashio. Four
large ponds designed to provide multiple basking
opportunities for aquatic species are also planned
with water to be supplied by a stream flowing
through the property. Construction of this facility
is slated to begin in December 2011.
acknowledgements
For their steadfast and generous support of
TSA's Myanmar Turtle Conservation Program
we wish to recognize the following donors:
Andrew Walde, the Batchelor Foundation, the
Beneficia Foundation, Chuck Landrey and Taste
of Thai, the Detroit Zoological Institute, Los
Angeles Zoo, Nature's Own, Patricia Koval and
WWF Canada, Taipei Forestry Bureau, Taipei
Zoo, Toronto Zoo, and the Woodland Park Zoo.
Three young male Batagur trivittata prior to their release in the Chindwin River. Photo credit: win ko ko
august 2011 60 turtle survival
Only a century ago the Northern River Terrapin
(Batagur baska) was a very common turtle in
rivers and river mouths of East India, Bangladesh
and Myanmar (Annandale 1912, Guenther 1864,
Maxwell 1911), and in winter hundreds of females
could be observed basking along the river banks.
Having a reputation for providing the most
tasteful meat and eggs of all south Asian turtle
species, the Northern River Terrapin was over-
harvested and exploited throughout its range.
Today B. baska is at the very brink of extinction,
listed as number four in the document Turtles
in Trouble: The World's 25+ Most Endangered
Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles - 2011. Deal-
ing with such a depleted wild population, both
in range and ex situ captive breeding programs,
with the last remaining specimens, are the only
chance for the survival of the species (Magin
et al. 1994, Schnyder et al. 1996). In general, a
minimum effective population size (reproduc-
ing specimens) of 25 males and 50 females is
suggested, but experience shows that even with
fewer than ten females a viable population can
still be established (Yamada and Kimura 1983).
A carefully considered breeding strategy, with
studbook management, and rapidly expanding
the population size will be essential.
After failing to locate any B. baska in the East
Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal in the win-
ter of 2008, we decided based on anecdotal stories
from local fishermen - to focus on the mangrove
areas of Bangladesh. Following up on every single
piece of encouraging information such as "for sure"
captures of river terrapins, or "for sure" terrapins
kept in village ponds, the search turned quickly into
a nerve-racking and arduous quest for a very elusive
species. Changing the vernacular name for B. baska
from region to region, countless "river terrapins,"
either freshly caught or kept in village ponds,
turned out to be Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepido-
chelys olivacea). One owner offered us a wondrous
specimen, which emerged exactly on the day of our
arrival with flippers. But he ensured us that on the
next day the turtle will show up again with four
claws on her front legs. Covering the entire south
of Bangladesh we slowly identified the key persons
in the illegal turtle trade and gathered more and
more data about possible occurrences in the wild.
But what proved to be the most important was the
information that we received on captive specimens
in fish breeding ponds.
In November 2009, we finally saw our first
specimens. In February of the following year we
settled a deal with the pond's owner who handed
over the first specimen (a male) to Dr. S.M. A.
Rashid from the local NGO CARINAM (Centre
for Advanced Research in Natural Resources &
Management). The forest department of Bangla-
desh, in consultancy with CARINAM, turned
out to be interested in and supportive of efforts
to assemble a breeding group for placement in a
protected location. They agreed to provide ponds
in the Bhawal National Park, north of Dhaka. Two
ponds are situated in an animal park open for visi-
tors, but fortunately the turtle ponds are not ac-
cessible to the public. With initial funding support
from Patricia Koval / WWF Canada, the ponds
have been renovated and modified, increasing the
depth in the smaller pond to two to three meters.
Since we began our work in Bangladesh, our
efforts have been fraught with frustrations and
heartbreak. We arrived too late by only a couple of
days for one gravid adult female, as she had been
recently slaughtered at a local market. We had
Frustrations and First
Successes with Efforts
to Save the Northern River
Terrapin (Batagur baska)
in Bangladesh
Peter Pr aschag1 | peter@pr aschag.at
Rupali Ghosh 2
A pair of B. baska about to be released in one of the breeding ponds in January 2011. Photo credit: ruPali Ghosh
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e s
bangladesh
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 61 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
This large female surveys her new surroundings
after being released into the breeding pond.
Photo credit: Mr. Morshed
august 2011 62 turtle survival
references
Annandale, N. 1912. The aquatic chelonia of the Mahanaddi and its tributaries. Records of the Indian Museum
7(3):261-266.
Gnther, A.C.L.G. 1864. The Reptiles of British India. London: Robert Hardwicke, 452 pp.
Magin, C.D., Johnson, T.H., Groomgridge, B., Jenkins, M., and Smith, H. 1994. Species extinctions, endan-
germent, and captive breeding. In Olney, P.J.S.,G.M. Mace and A.T.C. Feistner (eds.), Creative conservation:
Interactive management of wild and captive animals, 3-31, London: Chapman and Hall.
Maxwell, F.D. 1911. Reports on inland and sea fisheries in the Thongwa, Myaungmya, and Bassein Districts and
the turtle-banks of the Irrawaddy Division. Rangoon: Government Printing Office, 57 pp.
Snyder, N.F.R., Derrickson, S.R., Beissinger, S.R., Wiley, J. W., Smith, T.B., Toone, W.D., and Miller, B. 1996.
Limitations of captive breeding in endangered species recovery. Conserv. Biol., 10(2), 338-348.
Yamada, Y. and Kimura, K. 1983. Survival probability in small livestock populations. FAO Animal Production and
Health Paper 44/1, pp 105-111.
finalized a deal for another female with a local fish-
erman, but she was lost when he carried her out of
the fish pond on his head and she was dropped and
eventually died. On 3 November, at Kali Puja (every
year vast numbers of turtles gets slaughtered at this
event), Rupali and Brian Horne arrived a couple of
minutes too late at the market and had to witness
the butchering, already in progress, of a wild caught
male B. baska on the street.
After all these frustration and disappoint-
ments we finally acquired five male and two fe-
male B. baska in June/July 2010 from private fish
breeders who kept them in their breeding ponds
as talismans. In October of the same year we ob-
tained three additional males. None of the turtles
had been caught during the last 10 years, and
some of them had been in captivity for at least 30
years. By improving our network of informants
we learned that nearly all of the turtles kept in
the ponds are males and the number of females is
very limited. Luckily, we were able to acquire an
additional two males and one female specimen
in January 2011. The last river terrapin that was
obtained was a gravid female in April 2011, but
due to improper temporary holding conditions
the female had to release her eggs in water.
Currently the breeding group consists of ten
males and four females, and we are still working
hard to acquire more females to prevent loss of
genetic diversity and inbreeding depression in
future generations. Creating a studbook to track
bloodlines and ancestry will be crucial in our
efforts to develop a long-term breeding strategy.
Genetic studies will also aid in the selection of
breeding pairs by identifying those specimens
that are most unrelated, and known to be car-
rying rare alleles. Therefore, the big breeding
ponds will have to be divided into smaller water
bodies to avoid herd breeding, so that known par-
entage offspring are produced.
In the very first year of this program all three
females produced eggs, and all three nested on the
night of 1 April 2011. Only one clutch was found and
it was translocated to the artificial sand bank of
the breeding pond and surrounded with protective
mesh to deter predators. We are seeing promising
signs of development and are extremely optimistic
for a successful hatch this first year. Although the
project is off to an encouraging beginning despite
some setbacks and angst - we still have a long way
to go to prevent B. baska from near extinction.
The project has been supported through the
generosity of the following donors: Patricia Koval
and WWF Canada, Ed Louis, the Beneficia Founda-
tion, Chuck Landrey, Andre Gaudette, The Fagus
Foundation, Columbus Zoo, Toronto Zoo, Omaha's
Henry Doorly Zoo AAZK Chapter, and Zoo Vienna,
which initiated "Project Batagur baska". Addi-
tional funding is necessary to cover local keepers,
acquire more specimens, rebuild the hatchery for
the expected hatchlings, genetic studies (create
microsatellite primers for parental studies), divide
and modify the breeding ponds and lease the ani-
mal park for better control of any activities on site.
Please join us in our efforts to save this spectacular
river turtle, which deservedly is called "the royal
turtle" in several areas of its distribution.
1 Am Katzelbach 98, 8054 Graz, Austria.
2 Shant Kamal Kunj, 1, Shakti Colony, Rajkot 360001,
Gujarat, India. Email: rupali2001in@hotmail.com
Dr. S.M.A. Rashid and Rupali Ghosh, the driving forces
behind the B. baska recovery program in Bangladesh.
Photo credit: Mr. Morshed
The provisional mesh protection for the translocated B. baska clutch on the sand beach. The improved cage protects
the eggs against predators like mongoose and monitor lizards. Photo credit: ruPali Ghosh
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 63 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
In March 2011, Christina Castellano, newly
appointed Director of Turtle Conservation
Programs for The Orianne Society, and Rick
Hudson (TSA President) traveled to Madagascar
to try and identify possible solutions to the ongo-
ing Radiated tortoise crisis. Based on numer-
ous discussions and first-hand experiences, we
have launched a strategic partnership that we
hope will be able to save this iconic symbol of
Madagascar's southern spiny forest. This crisis
was described in detail by Rick and Brian Horne
in the 2010 TSA publication, Troubled Times
for Radiated Tortoises, and since that article
appeared, the situation has only grown worse.
Christina and Rick were accompanied by Herila-
la Randriamahazo, Director of TSA's Madagascar
Tortoise Program, and a field consultant, Sylvain
Mahazotahy, who is familiar with the customs
and dialects of rural southern Madagascar. The
following article was prepared by Herilala and is
interspersed with clips from the travel blog that
Rick wrote upon his return in April 2011, and
those will be highlighted. They start their trip in
Antananarivo on a somber note:
Day 1, March 16
We return to the hotel for a meeting with
Ryan Walker (Nautilus Ecology) who has just
returned from a month in the south, doing field
surveys of the Southern Spider Tortoise (Pyxis
a. oblonga). Ryan and his team worked east
from Cap St. Marie to document the diminishing
extent of the range of this tortoise, while concur-
rently studying the dramatically shrinking
range of the Radiated Tortoise. Ryan admitted
that he had not fully appreciated the extent of
the crisis until he began looking at populations
in the east, closer to Ft. Dauphin, a major center
of tortoise consumption. He describes the work
of well-organized bands of poachers who are
dropped off in an area and then very efficiently
clean out the tortoises. In Ryan's words we are
witnessing the "systematic extermination of
the Radiated Tortoise across its range" and
predicts that soon we could find ourselves trying
to protect small populations of tortoises such
as we are now faced with in the northwest with
Ploughshares. He believes that our prediction
last year of 20 years to extinction may be, in his
words, a "bit generous."
The Malagasy Decree 60-126 promulgated in
1960 by the Republic of Madagascar offers full
protection for the Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys
radiata). At that time, this species - also known
locally sokake or kotroke - was widely distributed
in southern Madagascar and highly abundant
in some areas despite hunting pressures. It
is unclear what factors went into decision to
protect Radiated Tortoise at that time, when
there were many tortoises left in the wild. Plus,
two of the four tribes that share habitat with this
species - Tandroy and Mahafaly do not collect
or eat tortoises by tradition. However, our recent
observations explain how important the sokake-
related tradition is for some villages.
Within the current range of Radiated Tor-
toise's distribution, there is little running water
except for the Menarandra River; two other
rivers - the Linta and the Manambovo - flow only
during the rainy season. The Menarandra splits
the two brotherhood tribes into Mahafaly on the
western side and the Tandroy on the eastern side.
Food insecurity is common, owing to droughts
and other factors. Tandroy are mainly farmers
but practicing the hunter-gatherer tradition from
time to time in the spiny forest. On the other
hand, the Mahafaly - living on the limestone pla-
teau - are dedicated farmers but those inhabiting
the coastal area are able to do farming and fish-
ing depending upon the weather. Zebu cattle are
considered the most important source of wealth
for men in Mahafaly or Tandroy society and they
are sacrificed to invoke ancestors in traditional
ceremonies. However, zebu can rarely be sold to
address family problems such as food shortages,
health problem, schooling of children, or social
obligations. These needs must wait for cash
earned from other means - such as sale of crops,
chickens or goats - to be resolved.
Eating sokake was commonly practiced in
Radiated Tortoises
and the Fading Taboo
Herilala R andriamahazo | herilala@turtlesurvival.org
Rick Hudson, Sylvain Mahazotahy and Soary R andrianjafizanaka
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
madagascar
This exceptionally patterned Radiated Tortoise is one of 13 confiscated in Beloha and then released into the sacred
forest around the village of Ampotoka. Tortoises are depleted in this area and the TSA will begin working to restore
tortoises in this forest as a protected population. Installing a communications network here will enable villagers to
report poaching activity. Photo creDit: rick huDson
august 2011 64 turtle survival
This large adult female was found in the sacred forest around Ampotoka, and represents hope that this population
can recover after being heavily poached. Large females such as this will be important to ensure natural recruitment.
Photo creDit: rick huDson
the ancient time for both Mahafaly and Tandroy
traditions. But there was a significant change in
their traditions and it eventually became taboo
to eat sokake for Tandroy people and likewise
it is now prohibited for the Mahafaly people
as well. For unknown reason, all lemur spe-
cies are also taboo for both tribes. Nonetheless,
there are different stories reported by villagers
about their tortoise beliefs. Three out of the
five villages where the Turtle Survival Alliance
(TSA) is actively involved in conserving tortoises
have a very strong and well-respected taboo.
Antsakoamasy, a Tandroy village near Cap Sainte
Marie Special Reserve, is one of them.
Day 5, March 20
In the afternoon we drive to the village of
Antsakoamasy to discuss the upcoming festival
and to see the zebu that we are buying for the
occasion. The zebu is trotted out, we approve, the
price is agreed upon and a celebration ensues.
The village erupts into displays of traditional
dancing and singing in what is to be a prelude to
the real festival five days later. With my receipt
for one zebu in hand, this could likely the be
first of many that I present for reimbursement,
as zebu and rum celebrations are the standard
means of sealing a deal with villages in the rural
south. And given the situation with rampant
tortoise harvesting in this difficult to patrol and
enforce environment, creating incentives for
protecting tortoises at the community level will
almost assuredly become an important strategy
for us. Antsakoamasy was selected as a site for
this pilot program because of the strong fady
(taboo) that protects tortoises here where, it is
believed, the tortoises are the embodiment of
their ancestors.
Here, Radiated Tortoises are considered
among their ancestors. It remains customary to
allow tortoises to move freely in and out of the
village. Tortoises entering their fenced cropland
are not killed. Therefore, in order to engage in
a Memorandum of Understanding for tortoise
conservation with TSA, the Antsakoamasy com-
munity had to sacrifice a zebu through a ritual
tradition invoking the ancestors. This experience
demonstrates that the Radiated Tortoise has an
important social value for Antsakoamasy people.
It is also an indication of a sincere agreement
from the local community to contribute to our
goal to conserve tortoises in their village and
surrounding areas. To illustrate the concrete
collaboration between the two parties, TSA has
agreed to construct a school allowing children to
receive a basic education in their home village.
Sealing the deal in Ampotoka: TSA President Rick Hudson with one of the village leaders celebrate the beginning of
what we hope will become a model for tortoise population recovery in southern Madagascar.
Photo creDit: christina castellano
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 65 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
Even though water availability is such a vital
issue for their well-being and survival, the Ant-
sakoamasy people determined that the schooling
of their kids was their priority. This school will
be the first to be built based on an agreement
focused purely on Radiated Tortoise conserva-
tion in Madagascar. This accord will lead to the
development of a curriculum on environmental
education that highlights the role and plight of
the tortoise.
Day 10, March 25
We check out of Lavanono early and drive
to Cap St. Marie headquarters. We pick up the
MNP warden in addition to tables, chairs, and
a portable generator to power the sound system
for the celebration. These are dropped off at
Antsakoamasy then on to Marovato to pick up
the mayor and other officials for the ceremony.
The road is crowded with people walking to the
festival site and we arrive to a lively and antici-
patory crowd with loudspeakers already blaring
music. We estimate that roughly 500 people are
there. Visitors and guests are seated up front
in a shaded area and the ceremony begins with
Sylvain welcoming the crowd and explaining the
reason for the celebration. We are here to recog-
nize the village for their strong efforts to protect
the sokake and sign an agreement between the
TSA and Antsakoamasy to build them a primary
school. Herilala reads the terms of the agree-
ment out loud to the crowd and then a huge
banner is unfurled that will be used to seal the
accord. Over the next hour selected villagers,
including men, women and children, come for-
ward and trace their hand print on the banner to
signify their commitment to the agreement and
sokake protection.
A series of speeches follows the hanging of
the ceremonial banner, with a particular rous-
ing one by the Maravato mayor who extols the
crowd to embrace sokake protection as a means
to a better future for their village. We look
around and realize that the size of the crowd has
more than doubled to over 1,000 people, making
it the largest crowd I have ever addressed.
The zebu has been sacrificed and is cooking,
the rum starts to flow, and the dancing, singing
and celebrating begins. We join in the tradi-
tional dancing as long as the midday heat will
permit, then repair to the village president's
house to share zebu and rice.
We believe that the significance of the
agreement between Antsakoamasy and TSA
(and building the much needed school) will be
far-reaching. Word will travel fast and we hope
A robust population of Radiated Tortoises thrives around the village of Antsakoamasy and is well protected due to a
strong cultural taboo related to their ancestors. Providing incentives to honor and strengthen this tradition will help
ensure the survival of some populations of tortoises. Photo creDit: rick huDson
our primary challenge is to
identify healthy populations of
tortoises that are in close proximity
to villages that practice a strong
protective fady, and then work with
those communities to provide
incentive for protecting tortoises.
By the time the zebu festival got underway at Antsakoamasy an estimated 1200 people were on hand, most of them
children. Madagascar's human population is growing rapidly with the majority of the population under the age of 12.
The importance of conveying the tortoise protection message to this demographic cannot be over emphasized.
Photo creDit: rick huDson
august 2011 66 turtle survival
that other villages will begin to understand the
connection between protecting their local tor-
toise populations and seeing positive outcomes
in their communities. We must be willing to
provide incentives and reward tortoise protec-
tion locally, else we will surely loose the battle
to save the sokake. This is a first step, but one
that we believe can be catalytic throughout the
region. Our challenge is to continue the process
of identifying key tortoise populations that have
nearby villages with a strong tradition of pro-
tection. This strategy, we believe, may hold the
key to the survival of the sokake in the wild.
In addition, villages surrounding the Cap
Sainte Marie Special Reserve [CSM] will benefit
from the collaboration between TSA, The Orianne
Society (TOS) and Madagascar National Parks
(MNP) at CSM by establishing a communication
network using two-way radios. It is expected that
park agents and villagers will be able to commu-
nicate more effectively, and villagers will not have
to walk long distances sometimes up to two days
- to report tortoise poaching activity.
Although Ampotaka is a village in the Androy
Region, inhabitants are essentially Mahafaly
whose territory lies just across the Menaran-
dra River. This village was exposed to several
tortoise harvests in the last 40 years accord-
ing to Mister Ralay, a village elder. Our visit
in March 2011 witnessed the scarcity of adult
tortoises but a few juveniles in a nearby sacred
forest known as Sirempo. The Ampotaka com-
munity would like to improve the outlook for the
Sirempo forest by strengthening its protection
using a community-managed forest system. It
was a great opportunity for TSA to work with
Ampotaka village given their conservation
interests. In collaboration with Mosesy Valisoa,
the forestry agent based in Beloha, TSA and TOS
helped reintroduce four adult and nine juvenile
Radiated Tortoises into the Sirempo forest.
These tortoises were seized in Beloha when a car
from the "Orange Money" cell phone company
attempted to smuggle them. We measured and
identified them individually with a visual notch
and red paint mark before releasing them in front
of village representatives. Ampotaka village
and TSA agreed to try and put a stop to tortoise
harvesting in the village vicinity including the
forest of Sirempo. In order to do so, all heads of
household will wear a Radiated tortoise T-shirt
on Independence Day, June 26, while the entire
"commune rurale" of Marolinta will perform a
parade. TSA provided 260 T-shirts to the village
to wear on that day using a grant from Conserva-
tion International. The impact of this awareness
Herilala Randriamahazo (left) inspects a pot of cooked tortoise meat being offered for sale in Tsiohombe. The seller was
nervous about having his picture taken and it is obvious that he is aware that this practice is illegal. Photo creDit: rick huDson
Herilala Randriamahazo records GPS data on another pile of discarded Radiated Tortoise shells in Tsihombe. Through-
out the towns of southern Madagascar tortoises are consumed with increasing frequency, and meat is now available
every day rather than just on special occasions. The situation has finally reached crisis proportions and is not sustain-
able. Photo creDit: rick huDson
Christina Castellano and Herilala
preparing Radiated Tortoises
for release in the forests around
Ampotoka. Both shell notches
and red paint marks are used for
identification.
Photo creDit: rick huDson
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 67 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
campaign against tortoise harvesting is expected
to be huge. Moreover, TSA offered to provide a
cell phone with credits to Ampotaka village to
allow them to alert Mr. Mosesy Valisoa in Beloha
of tortoise poaching activity using "Airtel", a
cell phone company. This action contributes to
the improvement of communications among
stakeholders aimed at a rapid response involving
local communities, gendarmes and the forestry
service. None of these three entities are able to
carry out the investigation and prosecution of
poachers without help from the others. Poaching
takes place in remote areas where a communica-
tion network does not often exist. However, the
number of cell phone towers continues to grow
in southern Madagascar, and increasingly rural
people have access to cell technology, making
them less isolated. We hope that the use of cell
phones will contribute to the improvement of the
tortoise poaching alert system.
Tortoise beliefs are fading in Tandroy and
Mahafaly towns like Beloha, Tsihombe, Ejeda and
Ambovombe despite the continuous appeals from
conservation groups seeking respect for the taboo.
Local authorities seem to ignore the infractions,
which are visible and known to almost all people
in town. Tortoise meat is available on a daily basis
upon request using the word "special" in these
towns. In March 2011, a TSA team posed as tour-
ists in Tsihombe and sent our driver to look for a
"special" while we had a drink at a well-known
restaurant "Paradis du Sud" in Tsihombe. Half an
hour later, our driver came back followed by two
men, one of them Tandroy. They presented us with
a bowl of tortoise meat, asking 5,000 Ariary, or
$2.50 in US! We reflected on the sad fact that such
a remarkable animal was rapidly facing extinction
for such a paltry fee. The grim reality of this situa-
tion was "driven home" when Sylvain Mahazotahy,
our Tandroy guide and facilitator, showed us some
of the many dump sites in town with the accumu-
lated remains of tortoise shells and bones, both
from old and freshly killed tortoises. Tsihombe is
a confirmed tortoise-consuming center, and this
practice is growing and spreading, not only here
but in other cities in the south. Tortoise meat is now
eaten every day, not just on special occasions as was
previously the case.
Once arrived back in the capital of Antanana-
rivo, we reported our findings to the Minister in
charge of the environment and forests. He took
our recommendations very seriously and planned
to conduct an awareness campaign against tor-
toise hunting in Tsihombe in the weeks to come.
The following four points were suggested by the
Minister to be the main focus of the workshop in
Tsihombe: (a) assessing of the social conventions
or "Dina" and their effectiveness in relation to
the framework of the justice system; (b) mobiliz-
ing regional and districts authorities to meet
their obligations to protect tortoises; (c) disman-
tling the "tortoise mafia" network; and (d) estab-
lishing an action plan for Radiated Tortoises. We
also shared our findings with other conserva-
tion organizations such as World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) Madagascar and Durrell and pressed
them to formalize an MOU focused on urgent
actions for Radiated tortoise conservation.
Actions to be considered in the MOU include
mobilizing a rapid response to reports of poacher
activity, a media campaign that can be activated
utilizing WWF's extensive network of workers
in the south, and empowering local communities
through training and education. The following
organizations, all sharing similar goals with
respect to tortoise conservation but with very
different strengths, include Conservation Fusion,
Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, TSA, TOS
and WWF. This MOU will become an important
tool as we move forward together, and help foster
a spirit of cooperation and understanding.
We believe that the taboo is an important
component that could save this tortoise species
but it is no longer sufficient to protect it on its
own. The political crisis has influenced the
respect of the taboo, especially in cities, and a
general sense of civil disobedience now pervades
the country. Southern Madagascar has suffered
greatly for it. A huge investment of resources will
be required to reverse the current trend given the
high rate of illiteracy here, but the stakes are sim-
ply too high not to make this commitment. We
will likely only get one chance to save the Radi-
ated tortoise, and if we fail to at least secure some
important populations for future generations to
see, then history will likely judge us harshly.
Blog suMMary
The Radiated Tortoise shares its range with
four tribes two that eat tortoises and two
that do not. The Vezo tribe in the west and the
Antanosy in the east have been eating tortoises
for generations hence populations in the regions
around Tulear and Ft. Dauphin are mostly
cleaned out. In between are the Mahafaly and
the Tandroy, the more numerous of the two.
Together their practice of fady (taboo to harm
tortoises) is largely responsible for the fact that
the Radiated Tortoise still survives today. If all
four tribes in the south ate tortoises, they would
almost certainly be gone by now.
But tortoise consumption has increased
dramatically in recent years and they are eaten
now every day in some towns rather than just for
special celebrations. This has resulted in a rapid
reduction in population numbers, and the rate of
Herilala (left) and Sylvain Mahazotahy talk with the leaders of a small village that values their tortoises. When we
stopped along the road in this village to photograph tortoises, a little girl told us "don't take our tortoises" so we
stopped to learn more. Understanding the basis of this tradition could be critical in identifying important sites for
building partnerships for tortoise protection. Photo creDit: rick huDson
august 2011 68 turtle survival
decline is downright scary, certainly unsustain-
able, and the reason that the species was elevated
to Critically Endangered status in 2009.
So with Vezo poachers invading from the
west and the Antanosy coming in from the west,
the strength of the protective fady is being put
to the test. In some villages it is very strong and
they will go out of their way to confront poach-
ers, believing that the tortoises harbor their
ancestors' spirits. In other villages the fady may
be weak and benign, and though they may not
eat or harm tortoises, they do not mind if others
come in to take them. This is why we must create
a strong connection between having tortoises
in your village with an improved community.
Antsakoamasy is the example that we hope will
carry this idea forward. Our primary challenge is
to identify healthy populations of tortoises that
are in close proximity to villages that practice a
strong protective fady, and then work with those
communities to provide incentive for protecting
tortoises. However this could be fraught with
challenges as well because - increasingly - poach-
ers are growing bolder and more aggressive.
There are reports of bands of tortoise collectors
being dropped off in an area for two weeks and
effectively cleaning out the forests. Both adults
and juveniles are often taken, leaving little poten-
tial for population recovery.
The Radiated tortoise may be on its last legs,
but the battle to save them is not over yet, and
we (TSA, The Orianne Society, Nautilus Ecol-
ogy, Henry Doorly Zoo's Madagascar Biodiver-
sity Partnership and WWF) are approaching
this challenge with a renewed sense of vigor. The
period of disbelief following last year's shock-
ing visits is over and now we must roll up and
sleeves and re-commit ourselves to the survival
of this remarkable species. We cannot allow
this tortoise to become relegated to piles of shell
fragments in trash heaps.
acknowleDgeMents
The TSA's Madagascar Tortoise Program
is growing rapidly and in complexity, and must
continue to expand given the current levels of
threat. We benefit from several strategic partner-
ships in Madagascar, including Conservation
International and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo's
Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, which pro-
vides office support to Herilala Randriamahazo.
We would also like to acknowledge local partners
DREF Androy and Atsimo Andrefana for allow-
ing us to work in their respective regions. For
their generous donations and various other forms
of support over the past two years we thank Na-
ture's Own, San Diego Zoo Global, Brian Bolton,
Sedgwick County Zoo, Toronto Zoo, Knoxville
Zoo, Chelonian Research Foundation, Cleveland
Zoo and Houston Zoo AAZK Chapters, Robert
Krause, Frank Slavens, Ab Abercrombie, Her-
petofauna Foundation, Oregon Zoo's Future for
Wildlife Grants, HATZH Donation Fund, AZA
Chelonian Advisory Group, Los Angeles Zoo, and
Bill Sawey. The donation of carved onyx tortoise
sculptures by Nature's Own provides a steady
source of income to this program and Sheena
Koeth is commended for her unexcelled ability
to consistently sell these products. We also thank
the many zoos that sell these sculptures for us,
all of the proceeds from which benefit the Mada-
gascar tortoise program.
The celebration that followed the signing of the agreement was lively and spirited and men, women and children of all
age classes participated. The turnout was remarkable and we believe that word will travel fast and hopefully raise the
profile of the tortoise in nearby communities. Photo creDit: rick huDson
The zebu festival in Antsakoamasy began with a ceremony whereby local officials and 150 villagers of all ages had
been selected to seal the agreement with TSA. Each person traced their handprint and signed their name on a large
banner that was later raised. The TSA agreed to build a primary school here as a means of strengthening their com-
mitment to protecting Radiated Tortoises. Photo creDit: rick huDson
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 69 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
The critically endangered Madagascar Spider Tor-
toise (Pyxis arachnoides) and Radiated Tortoise
(Astrochelys radiata), endemic to the coastal dry
forests of southern Madagascar, face a significant
risk of extinction within the next 20-50 years as
a result of habitat loss and poaching. On account
of the dire situation facing these two species, the
TSA and TCF have made these species a focus of
their Madagascar program, with the authors and
colleagues embarking on a three year field pro-
gram to assess the biogeography of the remnant
populations of these two threatened species.
This field program involved selecting areas of
suitable, remaining dry forest habitat within the
region of southwest coastal Madagascar using
remotely sensed imagery and visiting these, often
quite remote, sites and surveying them for rem-
nant populations of tortoises. The team visited 131
sites over the course of three field seasons, during
February and March of 2009, 2010 and 2011. Field
operations included the use of Distance Sampling
(Thomas et al., 2010) to estimate the current popu-
lation size and status for both species, in addition
to thorough time dependent searches for tortoises
to establish presents or absence for a population
within a region (Walker, in press).
The historical ranges of the two species was
established by obtaining all available published
maps detailing the range of both species at any
given point in history. These maps were scanned,
geo-referenced and range digitized, with result-
The Precarious Conservation Status of
the Critically Endangered Madagascar
Spider Tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides) and
Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata);
What We Now Know Through Three
Years of Field Operations
Ryan C.J Walker 1,2 | ryan@nautilusecology.org
Tsilavo H. R afeliarisoa 3,4
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
madagascar
A hatching P. arachnoides, photographed in the dunes of southwest Madagascar. Hatchlings are susceptible to trampling by livestock grazed by local communities within the spe-
cies coastal, dry forest habitat. Photo credit: tsilavo h. rafeliarisoa
august 2011 70 turtle survival
ing shapefiles added to a GIS database. Following
this shapefiles detailing current and proposed
protected areas and proposed mineral extraction
sites for southern Madagascar were also added to
the database. Finally, the current ranges of both
species, derived from the results of the three year
field program were added to the GIS database.
Results allowed us to establish an accurate,
real time duplication of both species' range.
Sadly, the current biogeographical status of both
species is of great conservation concern and only
confirms the species' Critically Endangered (CR)
status. P. arachnoides' range has contracted by as
much as 70.7% and the species is now confined to
eight fragmented populations occupying a total
of 2,464 km2, of which 18.3% of this remaining
population is threatened by proposed mineral
extraction (Walker, 2010; Walker et al., in press).
A. radiata has undergone range contraction of 65%
to 15,019.8 km2. A conventional distance sampling
model produced global, wild population estimates
of 664,980 (95% CI; 492,680-897,550) (Walker
and Rafeliarisoa, in press) and 6,307,900 (95%
CI 4,028,500-9,877,000) for P. arachnoides and
A. radiata respectively. Of greatest concern is the
population crash of 47.4% suffered by A. radiata
subspecies
current
range
(km2)
suspected
area of
occurrence
(km2)
reduction
in range
(km2)
% reduction
in range
current
range in
Protected
areas (km2)
% of
current
range in
Protected
areas
current
range in
proposed
extrac-
tion areas
(km2)
% current
range in
proposed
extraction
areas
Protected areas
Proposed
resource to be
extracted
No. of
potential
extraction
sites
P. a. brygooi
499.59
2438.76
1939.17
79.51
499.59
100.00
0.00
0.00
Zone 1 - Mikea Forest Na-
tional Park, Mangoky Ihotry
Protected Area Complex,
Zone 2 Velondriake Com-
munity Managed Protected
Area
Zone 3 Mikea Forest
National Park
N/A
0
P. a. brygooi / P. a.
arachnoides intergrade
99.71
-
-
-
55.10
55.26
37.80
37.91
PK32-Ranobe Protected
Area
Zircon,
Ilmenite
2
P. a. arachnoides
1029.09
3177.70
2148.62
67.62
795.50
77.30
205.47
19.97
Tsimanampesotse
National Park Exten-
sion, Tsimanampesotse
National ParkD, Tsinjoriake
Protected Area, SAPM
Unnamed/Unpromoted
Protected Area
Calcaire,
Ilmnite, Mo-
nazite, Zircon,
Granite
26
P. a. arachnoides/ P. a.
oblonga intergrade
266.97
-
-
-
186.48
69.85
10.66
3.99
Southwestern Coastal
Wetlands Protected Area,
Mahafaly Plateau South,
Unnamed/Unpromoted
Protected Area
Ilmnite,
Granite, Cal-
caire, Zircon
3
P. a. oblonga
568.45
2865.48
2297.03
80.16
268.00
47.15
196.94
24.64
Cap Sainte Marie Special
Reserve, SAPM South Un-
promoted Protected Area
Ilmnite,
Zircon
1
Total
2463.81
8481.94
6018.13
70.75
1804.67
73.52
450.87
18.30
32
table 1
Current range displayed against the suspected range of occurrence documented by Bour (1981) and Pedrono (2008) , in addition to the extent of these
ranges for each population of tortoise that fall within existing or proposed protected areas or sites of proposed mineral extraction (Walker et al., in press).
The majestic Madagascar Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) captured by photograph walking along the edge of a
dirt road close to Cap Sainte Marie on the extreme south coast of Madagascar. Photo credit: tsilavo h. rafeliarisoa
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 71 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
The team research vehicle, supplied to the project by
the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership. The terrain in
southern Madagascar during the wet season was often
challenging, with the team exploring some remote parts
of the region. Photo credit: tsilavo h. rafeliarisoa
august 2011 72 turtle survival
(unpublished data) in just 11 years from the 12
million described by Leuteritz et al. (2005), mostly
attributed to the local bush meat trade (O'Brian
et al., 2003). The authors propose that targeted,
community based conservation initiatives such as
those currently being implemented by the Mada-
gascar Biodiversity Partnership (Rafeliarsoa et al.,
2010), World Wildlife Fund (WWF, 2010) and TSA
are expanded and developed within the remaining
core areas of both species' range, in an effort to
prevent the extinction of these iconic species.
ackNowledgmeNts
This work was supported financially by the
following organizations: EAZA/Shell Shock,
Turtle Conservation Fund, Turtle Survival Al-
liance, The Royal Geographical Society, British
Chelonia Group, Mohamed Bin Zayed Species
Conservation Fund, Leicester Tortoise Society
and Chelonian Research Foundation. Logistical
support and assistance with field work were pro-
vided by Inge Smith, Solonombana Vitantsoa, Al-
ice Ramsay, Al Harris, Eddie Louis, Brian Horne,
Julien Brchard, Richard Razafimanatsoa, Jean
Caude Rakotoniaina and Herilala Randriama-
hazo. Blue Ventures Conservation, Madagascar
Biodiversity Partnership, Madagascar Institut
pour la Conservations des Ecosystmes Tropi-
caux, Ministere de'l Environnement et de Forets,
Madagascar National Parks and the University
of Antananarivo. Thank you to the coastal forest
Adult Madagascar Spider Tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides oblonga) photographed in the windswept, coastal dunes of the
Faux Cap region of southern Madagascar. Photo credit: tsilavo h. rafeliarisoa
Suspected historical area of occurrence of the three
subspecies of Spider Tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides) as
described by Bour, (1981) and Pedrono (2008) with veg-
etation cover data and survey point location data overlaid.
(Left) Eight areas of forest known to be occupied by
P. arachnoides as described by Walker et al, in press
and Walker (2010). A= three sub populations of P.
a. brygooi, B= 1 sub population of P. a. brygooi/P.
a. arachnoides intergrades, C= 1 sub population
of P. a. arachnoides D= 1 sub population of P. a.
arachnoides/P. a. oblonga intergrades, E= 2 sub
populations of P. a. oblonga. (Below) Range of P. a.
oblonga, showing very narrow area occupied to the
east of the range as a result of habitat loss forcing
tortoises to occupy coastal sand dunes.
communities of southwest Madagascar for al-
lowing us access to community-owned land.
1 Nautilus Ecology, Oak House, Pond Lane, Greetham,
Rutland, LE15 7NW, United Kingdom
2 Department of Life Sciences, The Open University,
Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, United Kingdom
3 Dpartement de Biologie Animale, Universit
d'Antananarivo, BP 906, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
4 Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Omaha's Henry
Doorly Zoo, Grewcock's Center for Conservation and Re-
search, 3701 South 10th Street, Omaha, NE 68107, USA
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 73 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
The suspected range of A. radiata during 1865 as
documented by Vinson (1865) from observations or
recovered of sub fossilized tortoise remains. Suspected
range depiction by Juvik (1975). Range during 1995
from results presented by Lewis (1995). Range during
2000 documented by Leuteritz et al. (2005). Results
of field operations undertaken during 2010/11 by the
authors including, specific survey points.
Total range of A. radiata in km2 throughout
time as documented by Vinson (1865);
Juvik (1975); Lewis (1995); Leuteritz et al.
(2005) and the authors (2011).
august 2011 74 turtle survival
refereNces
Bour, R. (1981) Etude systmatique du genre endmique Malagache Pyxis Bell,
1827 (Reptilia,Chelonii). Bulletin Mensuel de la Socit Linnenne de Lyon, 50 (5),
154-176.
Leuteritz, T.E.J., Lamb, T. & Limberaza, J.C. (2005) Distribution, status and
conservation of Radiated Tortoises (Geochelone radiata) in Madagascar. Biological
Conservation, 124, 451461.
O'Brien, S., Emahalala, E.R., Beard, V., Rakotondrainy, R.M., Reid, A., Raharisoa,
V & Coulson. T.(2003). Decline of the Madagascar Radiated Tortoise (Geochelone
radiata) due to overexploitation. Oryx. 37, 338343.
Pedrono, M. (2008) The Tortoises and Turtles of Madagascar. Natural History Publi-
cations (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
Lewis, R., 1995. Status of the Radiated Tortoise (Geochelone radiata).Unpublished
Report, World Wildlife Fund, Madagascar Country Office.
Rafeliarsoa, T.H., Shore, G.D., McGuire, S.M. and Louis Jr, E.E. (2010) Innovative
Solutions to conservation challenges for the Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata)
project at Lavavolo Classified Forest, Madagascar. Turtle Survival Magazine, August
2010, 64-66.
Thomas, L., Buckland, S. T., Rexstad, E. A., Laake, J. L., Strindberg, S., Hedley, S.
L., Bishop, J. R., Marques, T. A. & Burnham, K. P. (2010). Distance software: design
and analysis of distance sampling surveys for estimating population size. J. App.
Ecol. 47, 514.
Vinson, A. (1865) Voyage a Madagascar. A La Librairie Encyclopedique de Roret,
Paris, France.
Juvik, J.O. (1975) The Radiated Tortoise of Madagascar. Oryx, 13, 145148.
Walker, R.C.J. (2010) The decline of the northern Madagascar Spider Tortoise (Pyxis
arachnoides brygooi). Herpetologica. 6(4), 411417.
Walker, R.C.J & Rafeliarisoa, T.H (in press) Status of the relict population of the Criti-
cally Endangered Madagascar Spider Tortoise Pyxis arachnoides. Oryx.
Walker, R.C.J., Gardner, J.C., Rafeliarisoa, T.H., Smith, I & Razafimanatsoa, R. (in
press) Conservation of the Madagascar Spider Tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides) amid
changing land use policy: Assessing the spatial coincidence of relict populations
with protected areas and mining concessions. In Turtles on the Brink in Madagascar;
Proceedings of Two Workshops on Status and Conservation of Malagasy Tortoises
and Freshwater Turtles (eds Castellano, C.M., Randriamahazo, H., Lewis, R.E.,
Mittermeier, R.A., Hudson, R. & Rhodin, A.G.J.). Chelonian Research Monographs,
Lunenburg, MA, U.S.A.
WWF. (2010) Programme d'actions de WWF sur les tortues terrestres endmiques
du sud-ouest de Madagascar: Astrochelys radiata et Pyxis arachnoides 2010-2015.
Antananarivo: WWF Madagascar.
The survey team photographed in the field in February 2011 and comprised of members from the TSA, The Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Madagascar National Parks and
the UK's Open University. The authors RW (back row, right) and TR (front row, right). Photo credit: tsilavo h. rafeliarisoa
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 75 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
The Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) once
abundant in the dry, spiny forests of southern
Madagascar with an estimated total population
of over 4 million individuals in 2001, is rapidly
nearing extinction with less than 200,000
individuals remaining. This tortoise, known lo-
cally as sokake, is threatened by illicit pet trade,
habitat loss, harvesting for international food
markets and domestic consumption. This dras-
tic decline has been intensified by Madagascar's
current political instability, compounding
conditions in the poorest region of the island. At
the current rate, wildlife authorities predict the
sokake may become extinct in the wild within
the next five years.
In response to this perilous situation, several
organizations have teamed up to implement a
multi-faceted approach of research, sustainable
alternatives and education. Education is the key
component of conservation. At Conservation Fu-
sion (CF), our mission is to engage communities
in education about their unique biodiversity to
instill knowledge, understanding, and owner-
ship, all of which ultimately lead to responsible
actions for a sustainable future. Furthermore, to
help spread a global conservation message, we
are connecting kids living in areas of high biodi-
versity with youth in the United States because
we are all connected, sharing one world. To
achieve conservation objectives, we must think
outside the box, forming collaborative alliances
on a local and global scale to address threats that
might seem insurmountable such as the plight of
the Radiated Tortoise in southern Madagascar.
Building multidisciplinary teams to include
diverse professions and backgrounds allows us
Creating Conservation
Champion's for Madagascar's
Critically Endangered
Radiated Tortoise (Astrochelys
radiata) Through Local and
Global Education Programs
Susie M. McGuire1 | conservationfusion@gmail.com
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
madagascar
Radiated Tortoise or sokake. Photo Credit: tsilavo hasina rafeliarisoa
august 2011 76 turtle survival
to envision creative, innovative solutions from
new perspectives to achieve our conservation
goals. CF has partnered with the University of
Nebraska at Omaha's (UNO) Service Learning
Academy to produce educational materials for
children in Madagascar. During Global Youth
Service day, over 500 student volunteers colored
and cut thousands of 3D tortoises, assembled
vegetable seed packets for school lunch pro-
grams in Madagascar, and constructed booklets
translated into Malagasy with simple tortoise
conservation messages. Additionally, youth cre-
ated a giant interactive game to engage Malagasy
students to learn about clean water, alternatives
to habitat destruction and the economic benefits
of protecting the sokake. Students also painted
paper plate "tortoise shells" and cut tortoise body
parts to be made into tambourines by Malagasy
children to celebrate their biodiversity. These
service projects create awareness amongst
American students regarding conservation
challenges threatening tortoise populations in
Madagascar and empower them to educate their
peers, parents and teachers.
Education is the basis for another unique CF
partnership with Omaha North High School's
Engineering and Technology Magnet. A great
deal of remaining tortoise habitat has been
infested with the Opuntia cactus, an invasive
species. To address this, students are currently
working on a three pronged approach to provide
the Malagasy communities with alternatives to
habitat destruction and empower local people
to create economic engines through sustain-
able biofuel enterprise. Youth have adopted the
name "Telo Hevitra", the Malagasy translation
is "Three Ideas". The three prongs consist of a
grinder and press to make biofuel briquettes uti-
lizing the cactus and a fuel efficient Rocket Stove.
The team of twelve students has won numerous
awards and recognition for their project, increas-
ing awareness on a local scale and the team will
be one of four in the nation to present this June
During Global Youth Service Day, American students created a giant interactive game to engage Malagasy students
to learn about clean water, alternatives to habitat destruction and the economic benefits of protecting the Radiated
Tortoise. Photo Credit: susie MCGuire
A great deal of remaining tortoise habitat has been
infested with the Opuntia cactus, an invasive species.
Photo Credit: susie MCGuire
Students at Omaha North High School's Engineering and Technology Magnet are currently working on a three
pronged approach to provide the Malagasy communities with alternatives to habitat destruction and empower local
people to create economic engines through sustainable biofuel enterprise. This grinder and press are used to turn
invasive Opuntia cactus into biofuel briquettes. Photo Credit: susie MCGuire
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 77 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
in Boston, as part of the Lemelson Invent Team
Program, which supported the project. These
student driven conservation initiatives offer new
ways to educate, empowering youth through
hands on, inquiry-based education to find inno-
vative solutions to real world problems, affecting
us all. A liaison between these distant cultures,
people and ideas, CF helps foster ways we can all
conserve and live sustainably for our future.
Wildlife films serve as a popular way to dis-
seminate conservation messages to large groups
of people and help promote positive conservation
behavior. Malagasy children, teachers and com-
munity members are often surprised to know
that their home is so special. Since they have
always lived in remote villages, they see these
animals everyday and don't realize the value they
hold. By learning the treasures their country pos-
sess, they are more likely to protect them. CF is
collaborating with talented film production crew
at Torchwerks. By creating a video showcasing
this unique tortoise, in tandem with other edu-
cational outreach, we will spark a change in how
the Malagasy people view the Radiated Tortoise
and empower the people to spread the message
of conservation. The video will create a feeling
of national pride around the Radiated Tortoise
in the same way people in the United States feel
pride for the Bald Eagle as a national symbol.
This is done in an educational style on four
points, which relate tortoise conservation to the
people. These include clean water, food alterna-
tives, enterprise and eco-tourism. The film will
convey the idea that Madagascar harbors unique
biodiversity found nowhere else on the planet.
It promotes a positive message to the Malagasy
people who may not know that Madagascar is
in need of conservation now, and that what is
done now will affect everyone, as well as future
generations yet to come.
Conservation objectives to distribute the
educational materials will be carried out in
Lavavolo Madagascar during July 2011. CF has
also created unique mascot costumes to encour-
age pride in the Radiated Tortoise, the flagship
species, and conservation branded T-shirts to
serve as a daily reminder that engages the entire
community. The results from this initiative will
be shared as an emergent network among the
working partners in five recently designated
regional centers established across the remain-
ing Radiated Tortoise populations. By producing
conservation messages tied to community based
efforts, education ultimately functions as the key
component in creating a united and therefore
sustainable tortoise conservation program
throughout the region. The Fall Semester activi-
ties will conclude with a "festival of tortoises"
involving the local community called "Sokake-
O-Rama". This education program will conclude
with dissemination in the form of reports and
presentations to each of the partners working to
protect the Radiated Tortoise. The conservation
plan for the Radiated Tortoise is more than just
a battle of numbers. It is a story of hope for the
people of Madagascar.
Editor's note: The TSA asked Susie to submit
this article to introduce the work that Conserva-
tion Fusion is doing. We believe that community
outreach and education is critical to successful
conservation in Madagascar and look forward to
partnering with them in the future.
aCknowledGeMents
Special thanks to the Madagascar Biodiver-
sity Partnership for their guidance and infra-
structural support, the University of Nebraska at
Omaha's Service Learning Academy for support-
ing our conservation initiatives and orchestrat-
ing thousands of volunteer hours dedicated to
Radiated Tortoise awareness and the staff and
students at Omaha North High Magnet for their
tireless dedication and passion. Additionally, we
would like to thank the Turtle Survival Alliance
and the Orianne Society for their commitment
to tortoise conservation. Financial support was
provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology's Lemelson Inventeams, and Zoos and
Aquariums Committed to Conservation.
1 CEO/Program Director
5820 Spring Street
Omaha, NE 68106
Conservation Fusion, Inc.
Students cut and colored thousands of 3D tortoises during Global Youth Service Day. Photo Credit: susie MCGuire
American students helped paint paper plate "tortoise
shells" and cut tortoise body parts to be made into
tambourines by Malagasy children to celebrate their
biodiversity. Photo Credit: susie MCGuire
august 2011 78 turtle survival
Success in the form of hatchlings may again
elude the Rafetus swinhoei breeding program
at Suzhou Zoo in China. The last known female
of its kind (originally from Changsha Zoo) de-
posited her first clutch overnight on 07/08 June
2011. We incubated the eggs in various media
and at various temperatures and candled them
after one and after three weeks of incubation, but
all (100%) appear to be infertile (not fertilized).
In 2010, the estimate was about 93% infertile
and in 2009 about 75% infertile (unfortunately
all other presumably fertilized eggs then died
at early stages of development). A possibility is
that the pair did not copulate properly and that
the female has not been inseminated in 2010 and
2011. The female laid a second clutch overnight
on 27/28 June 2011, but even though we have not
yet candled those eggs by the time of writing this
note, chances are slim that their fertilization rate
is better.
This disappointing result follows some major
improvements in the breeding project: last
summer, Emily King developed a method to fill
sausage skins with a mixture of fresh, high qual-
ity minced food and supplements. These sausages
are readily eaten by both the female and the
male, ensuring good nutrition. The second glass
barrier around the large breeding pond (built
with funds from the Chinese government fol-
lowing the TSA-funded glass barrier around the
smaller breeding pond) was completed during
the summer of 2010. Since 24 August 2010 both
the male and the female Rafetus roam together in
a pond area about four times the size of the small
breeding pond. For the first time the male and
the female were together throughout fall, winter
and spring. Abrasions on the neck and front limbs
of the female when she emerged from hiberna-
tion indicated several mating attempts (the male
grabs the neck of the female with his jaws prior
to mounting). A much larger beach area is now
available which the female already used to nest
in 2011. An improvement which we still have to
implement is a filtration system (reed bed filters)
to improve the water quality.
Artificial insemination, in particular semen
collection, may well be dangerous for the evi-
dently very old Rafetus male and TSA rejected AI
as preferred breeding strategy in 2007 (see TSA
The Fourth Year
of Rafetus swinhoei
Breeding Attempts
in China
Ger ald Kuchling1 | Ger ald.Kuchling@uwa.edu.au
Lu Shunqing2, Emily H. King3
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
china
Suzhou Zoo, male Rafetus eating a sausage. Photo credit: Gerald KuchlinG
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 79 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
Newsletter, 2008). However, since the preferred
strategy of natural mating still does not show
success after four years of attempts, AI is again
being discussed as a possible option. Very little is
currently known on semen collection techniques,
sperm quality criteria, and semen preservation
for turtles. In May 2011, Dr. Gerald Kuchling
started a preliminary investigation together with
Dr. Wachira Kitimasak (Kanchanaburi Inland
Fisheries Development Center, Thailand) and a
veterinary team headed by Dr. Nantarika Chan-
sue (Aquatic Animal Disease Research Center,
Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn
University, Thailand) to collect and evaluate
sperm from large male softshell turtles Amyda
cartilaginea. These investigations will continue
as pilot studies for a possible future artificial
insemination of Rafetus.
Discussions also started with Team Rafetus in
Vietnam regarding future cooperation between the
Chinese and Vietnamese conservation programs.
With still only four live Rafetus swinhoei specimens
known in the world the situation is close to desper-
ate and this cooperation will be essential for the
long term conservation of the species. A first step
will be to jointly compare the genetic makeup of
the Yangtze specimens (the two in China) and the
Red River specimens (the two in Vietnam). We also
plan a new Rafetus survey in China (Yunnan) to try
again to find wild specimens.
We thank Suzhou Zoo, Changsha Zoo, and the
China Zoo Society for facilitating the breeding pro-
gram and for their collaboration. The 2011 breeding
attempt was again funded by the Turtle Survival
Alliance, with a generous grant from Kadoorie
Farm and Botanic Garden. Additional financial
support was provided by the Jacksonville Zoo,
Nanjing International School, and John Iverson.
1 Chelonia Enterprises, 154 Bagot Road, Subiaco, WA
6008, Australia
2WCS-China Program
3TSA assistant project manager, Rafetus Program
(Right) Preparation of sausages as food for Rafetus swin-
hoei at Suzhou Zoo. Photo credit: Gerald KuchlinG
(Below) Live spermatozoa of Amyda cartilaginea under
the microscope. Photo credit: Gerald KuchlinG
(Above) Dimin, primary keeper for the Rafetus at Suzhou
Zoo (foreground) and Emily King add vitamin supplements
to the diet prior to feeding. Photo credit: ricK hudson
august 2011 80 turtle survival
On 27 May 2011, along with a few fellow Cuora
workshop participants (see article p. 15), we
visited the primary food and pet markets in
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, namely the
famous Qingping Market and the Huadiwan
Yuentu pet market where live wild-caught and
farm bred turtles can be observed openly for sale.
We arrived late in the day, just before closing, so
we didn't get to see everything, but even in the
final business hour of the day we were able to see
thousands of turtles. Just one quick look and it
was obvious that many wild-caught endangered
and protected turtle species were being traded
internationally and offered for sale as food and
"throw-away" pets. The conditions were very
poor, with many ill and dead turtles observed.
In the Qingping food market, wild-caught
stock has almost ceased with 90% of the former
shops closed or changed into different business
areas, the main species there are captive bred
Trachemys scripta and Mauremys sinensis. In the
Huadiwan pet market, an estimated 75% of the
specimens offered are still wild-caught and many
traders there are former Qingping traders. The
following wild-caught species were noted (1=
Qingping, 2= Huadiwan): Carretochelys insculpta
(2), Chelodina rugosa (2), Cuora amboinensis (1,2),
Cuora bourreti (2), Cuora flavomarginata (1,2),
Cuora galbinifrons (1,2), Cuora mouhotii (1,2), Geo-
emyda spengleri (2), Heosemys annandalei (1,2),
Heosemys depressa (1,2), Heosemys grandis (1,2),
Hydromedusa tectifera (2), Indotestudo elongata
(1,2), Malacochersus tornieri (2), Malayemys mac-
rocephala (1,2), Malayemys subtrijuga (2), Mela-
nochelys tricarinata (2), Melanochelys trijuga (1,2),
Mesoclemmys gibba (2), Manouria emys phayrei
(2), Manouria impressa (2), Morenia ocellata (2),
Platysternon megacephalum (2), Pyxis arachnoides
(2), Sacalia bealei (2), Sacalia quadriocellata (2),
Testudo graeca (2), Testudo kleinmanni (2). A shell
of a dead juvenile Ploughshare Tortoise (Astro-
chelys yniphora) (2) was also seen. It was reported
that there were a few juvenile Philippine Pond
Turtles (Siebenrockiella leytensis) in one shop
at the Huadiwan market just days before we
arrived. We were also informed by farmers that
they had purchased larger quantities of adult
Melanochelys tricarinata, Chelodina mccordi and
Chelodina gunaleni a few weeks prior to our visit.
Blanck had the opportunity to visit the Dong-
men market in Haikou, Hainan, China on 3 June
2011 and found a large quantity of wild-caught
Cuora mouhotii and Lissemys scuttata among
A Visit to Some Food
and Pet Markets
in Southern China
Cris Hagen | chagen@turtlesurvival.org
Torsten Blanck, Rick Hudson
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
china
Large numbers of Cuora mouhotii continue to be offered for sale in Chinese pet shops, basically as "throw away pets" that will languish and die in captivity. Photo credit: rick hudson
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 81 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
captive bred Pelodiscus sp., Amyda cartilaginea,
Trachemys scripta and Mauremys sinensis. Blanck
also visited Tung Choi Street, better known as
Goldfish Street in Hong Kong, on 20 May and 3
June 2011. More than 65 species of turtles and
tortoises were observed, notably among them six
Cuora trifasciata (some probably wild-caught),
wild-caught Cuora galbinifrons, Cuora mouhotii,
Emys orbicularis, Geoemyda japonica, Geoemyda
spengleri, Mauremys rivulata, Platysternon
megacephalum, and Siebenockiella leytensis (on
3 June only, probably the individuals mentioned
earlier from the Huadiwan pet market). Large
quantities of hatchling size Carretochelys ins-
culpta, Malayemys macrocephala, and Podcnemis
unifilis were observed as well as tortoise species
like Aldabrachelys gigantea, Pyxis arachnoides,
Testudo hermanni, Testudo marginata, and many
more. In addition, the Bird and Flower Market in
Kunming, China and the Pet Market on Pi Si Jie
in Suzhou, China were visited and wild-caught
Cuora flavomarginata, Cuora galbinifrons, Cuora
mouhotii, Geoemyda spengleri, and Platyster-
non megacephalum were all observed in both
markets. Clearly, the illegal trade in endan-
gered turtles and tortoises has not ceased in
any of these cities despite strict protection in
many countries the species are documented to
originate from and most of them being listed on
CITES Appendices I and II.
The TSA continues to be concerned about
the number of wild-caught turtles that are con-
sistently offered in markets throughout much
of China, particularly those ranked Critically
Endangered (CR) and known to be in seri-
ous decline. These populations simply cannot
sustain this level of constant removal of adult
turtles, especially those with low reproductive
output such as Cuora galbinifrons, C. bourreti, C.
mouhotii, Platysternon, Geoemyda spengleri, and
Sacalia sp. If one considers the weekly turn-
over of these species in pet markets, and the
associated high mortality due to poor care, and
then multiplies that by all the cities in south-
ern China with pet markets, then the drain on
wild populations becomes even more daunting.
We have been asking ourselves this question
for years: "How much longer can populations
sustain this level of collecting?" and we wonder
when this will end. No doubt as populations
crash, collectors move farther afield to locate
turtles, and use extensive collecting networks
and children to cover more ground.
We believe the time has come to get serious
about finding a way of moving market turtles into
captive assurance colonies. This transition will
require a facility with experienced staff, veteri-
nary assistance and considerable financial re-
sources to become a reality. Should we look for a
partner in China to hold and rehabilitate market
turtles prior to import? Taking the long view, this
is no doubt our best option (and most expensive)
as opposed to an occasional importation of fresh
market animals. We will continue to explore our
options but we realize that we may have a finite
window of opportunity to accomplish this before
wild stocks crash completely. Those interested in
supporting or participating in such a project are
urged to contact Cris Hagen.
Impressed Tortoises (Manouria impressa) and three
species of Cuora can be seen in this photo taken at a
pet market in Guangzhou. How much longer can wild
populations survive this insatiable exploitation?
Photo credit: cris hagen
(Above) Farm bred species
such as Mauremys sinensis,
Mauremys reevsei, Trache-
mys scripta, and Macrochel-
ys temminckii seen here,
are available in astounding
numbers. The conditions
these turtles have to live in
are deplorable
(Left) The Burmese
endemic Arakan Forest
Turtle another Critically
Endangered species
is showing up in large
numbers in Guangzhou's
pet and food markets.
Photo credit: cris hagen
WE HAvE BEEn AskInG oursELvEs THIs quEsTIon For yEArs: "HoW
muCH LonGEr CAn popuLATIons susTAIn THIs LEvEL oF CoLLECTInG?"
and we wonder when this will end.
august 2011 82 turtle survival
The Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys
mawii) was historically found in the coastal low-
lands of southern Mexico, northern Guatemala
and Belize. Due to years of intense harvesting
for its meat, Dermatemys has been virtually
eliminated from much of its former range in
southern Mexico, while its status in Guatemala
remains unclear. In 2010, the Turtle Survival
Alliance (TSA) conducted a country-wide survey
in Belize to assess the current conservation
status of Dermatemys in what is believed to be its
last stronghold. Results of the survey indicated
that Dermatemys (locally known as "hicatee") is
heavily depleted in most of Belize, but healthy
populations remain in a few remote areas. This
trend was similar to that observed in previous
Dermatemys surveys in Belize during the 1980s
and 1990s, but the current findings were of par-
ticular concern because the number of localities
where turtles were observed and the number
of turtles observed at those localities were both
much reduced compared to the earlier investiga-
tions. In addition, we learned that large turtles
(reproductive adults) continue to be targeted
during harvests, significantly reducing the most
demographically important segment of the
population. Further, interviews with fisherman
and hunters indicated that laws and regulations
enacted for the protection of Dermatemys in Be-
lize are largely ignored by locals, as broad-scale
enforcement is difficult to impossible to achieve.
Despite this gloomy outlook, however, there
is good news to report. The 2010 Dermatemys
surveys generated much interest and support
from the Belizean government (Belize Fisheries
Department, Belize Forestry Department), as
well as several Belizean non-governmental or-
ganizations (NGOs), individual conservationists,
scientists, students, guides, and general citizens.
This momentum resulted in a TSA-sponsored
Hicatee Conservation Forum and Workshop held
at the University of Belize in December 2010,
during which a National Hicatee Conservation
and Monitoring Network (NHCMN) was formed.
The NHCMN quickly sprung into action with
Dermatemys conservation initiatives on multiple
fronts and established three primary focal areas
for Dermatemys conservation in Belize: educa-
tion and outreach, legislation and enforcement,
and science.
In March 2011, as part of NHCMN efforts in
the focal area on science, the TSA, in collabora-
tion with the University of Belize's Environ-
mental Research Institute (ERI) and Lamanai
Field Research Center, sponsored two Hicatee
Survey and Monitoring Workshops in Belize.
The primary purpose of these workshops was to
teach Belizean NHCMN members standardized
methods for surveying and monitoring Dermate-
mys throughout the country so the species' status
can be examined on a broader scale and a more
consistent basis.
The first workshop was conducted on the
Rio Grande in southern Belize, near the town of
Punta Gorda. A diverse and enthusiastic group
of attendants representing several key groups in
Belize participated in this workshop, includ-
ing the Belize Fisheries Department, the Belize
Foundation for Research and Environmental
Education (BFREE), the Community Baboon
Sanctuary (CBS), ERI/University of Belize, the
Toledo Institute for Development and Environ-
ment (TIDE), and Ya'axch Conservation Trust
(YCT). For two and a half days, trainees learned
netting and spotlight survey techniques, as well
as methods of determining gender, collecting
morphometric measurements, and marking
captured turtles before release. Importantly,
the trainees also learned how to record data on
standardized data sheets so that information
from surveys conducted around the country can
be stored in a central database and compared.
Forging Partnerships
in Belize to Protect the
Hicatee: A Team Building
Approach to Conservation
Thomas Rainwater | trrainwater@gmail.com
Jacob Marlin, Rick Hudson, Steve Platt1
Close-up of an adult female Dermatemys captured on the Rio Grande in southern Belize during the 2011 Dermatemys
Survey and Monitoring Workshop. Photo credit: thomas rainwater
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
belize
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 83 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
During the workshop, several Dermatemys were
captured, examined, and released, and others
were encountered during surveys. It was telling
that the only people in the group that had ever
actually seen a live Dermatemys prior to the
workshop were three of us that had conducted
surveys in 2010 and an older gentleman with the
Fisheries Department that was once a Dermate-
mys hunter in his younger days. Everyone was
elated to finally see the turtle up-close that they
are working so hard to protect.
The second workshop was conducted in
northern Belize on the New River Lagoon
and associated tributaries. Like the southern
workshop, the northern workshop was at-
tended by an outstanding and diverse group of
participants, including representatives from the
Belize Audubon Society, the Belize Fisheries
Department, the Belize Forestry Department,
BFREE, and Lamanai Field Research Center.
Over the ensuing two and a half days, trainees
learned net and spotlight survey techniques,
as well as the methods for processing captured
turtles and recording data on standardized data
sheets. Similar to the southern workshop, none
of the trainees in the north had ever seen a live
Dermatemys before. Thus, the entire group was
quite excited and inspired when we landed the
first turtle of the workshop, an adult female.
During the course of the training, the group
engaged in numerous in-depth conversations
regarding Dermatemys status and exploitation
in Belize. Trainees from different backgrounds
and representing different groups exchanged
information on the threats to Dermatemys in
Belize and provided ideas on how to address
these threats. Conversations like these under-
scored the critical knowledge that Belizeans
have regarding the realities (including politics)
of Dermatemys conservation in their country
and the importance of a united effort by differ-
ent stakeholder groups to effectively address
Dermatemys declines. Indeed, perhaps the most
valuable component of both training workshops
was bringing these groups together in the field,
allowing them to see wild Dermatemys up-close,
and providing a forum for discussion and net-
working.
In parallel with our efforts to improve
monitoring of natural Dermatemys populations,
the TSA has advanced the concept of develop-
ing a captive program that could meet several
long-term goals including building an assurance
colony and providing headstarted turtles for
restoring depleted wild populations. Unfortu-
nately, we believe that Hicatee populations will
continue to decline across their range and in ten
years may only exist as isolated populations in
remote areas. Eating Hicatee is too culturally
ingrained to simply go away. Restoration efforts
will be needed and potential for recovery could
likely depend on head-starting and release or
translocations, and this effort will need to be
done to scale. Small breeding efforts will not be
sufficient. We contend that we should develop
the basic captive techniques now and begin to lay
the foundation for what may be inevitable.
However, given the rather dismal history
that Dermatemys has experienced in captivity,
we recognize the need to better understand
the reproductive biology of this species under
artificial conditions. In response to this the
TSA launched a partnership with the BFREE, a
non-profit with 18 years of experience conduct-
ing conservation work in Belize. The goal of
this collaboration is to build the Hicatee Con-
servation Research Center (HCRC) at BFREE
where we can address some basic questions
about Dermatemys in captivity (for example,
when and where they lay their eggs), and to
test the feasibility of large-scale captive man-
agement. After a number of site visits by Rick
Hudson and consultants Dave Manser (Ponds
and Plants) and Rob Crook (Floating Islands
Southeast), plans for the facility were well
underway by the beginning of the year. With
start-up funds provided by the Batchelor Foun-
dation, construction of the HCRC began in
February 2011. The site is located on two acres
of tropical broadleaf rainforest within the 1,153
acre BFREE private reserve in southern Belize,
and is under the direction of Jacob Marlin.
BFREE staff member Thomas Pop, a local
Mayan and field assistant to Thomas Rainwa-
ter during the 2010 surveys, was hired to assist
with the construction of the facilities. BFREE
Participants of the 2011 Dermatemys Survey and Monitoring Workshop in northern Belize with two female "hicatee"
that have just been examined and are ready for release. Similar to the workshop conducted days earlier in southern
Belize, this was the first time most trainees had ever seen a live Dermatemys. Like the Rio Grande in southern Belize,
the New River Lagoon and its tributaries in northern Belize provide critical habitat for Dermatemys, but increasing
human presence in these areas has led to escalating pressure on Dermatemys populations, primarily through com-
mercial exploitation. Thomas Rainwater (front left) served as primary instructor for the field courses.
Tom Pop, who supervised
the breeding facility
construction, stands with
the solar panels that will
power the well pump.
Photo credit: Jacob marlin
august 2011 84 turtle survival
resident biologist Dan Dourson oversaw the
digging of the ponds by a local contractor.
Since breaking ground in February, three
large ponds have been installed: two breed-
ing ponds, 100' x 80' and 120' x 60', and one
bio-filtration/food pond, 50' x 40'. A freshwater
well has been dug and reinforced, a pump house
has been constructed over the well, and a solar
system has been installed to power the submers-
ible solar water pump. Fresh water is pumped
automatically into the ponds when the sun rises
each day and turns off at dusk. Overflow from
the breeding ponds flows into the bio-filtration
pond where semi-aquatic food plants will be
grown. Currently, the ponds are being kept full
and are being allowed to settle and find equi-
librium. When finished, the HCRC will house
close to 50 adult breeding Dermatemys and all
of their food plants will be raised on site. To
protect turtles from natural predators living in
the area (jaguars, pumas, ocelots, coatimundis,
etc.), a ten-foot chain-link electrified fence will
encircle the ponds. TSA and BFREE hope to
procure the breeding stock from the illegal meat
trade, either directly from hunters or confiscat-
ed turtles, in Belize in early 2012. Completion
of the HCRC is planned for December 2011, and
we hope the facility will be fully operational by
March 2012. The HCRC is expected to become
an important part of the BFREE biological
research and educational field station facilities.
Currently, BFREE is accepting interns to assist
with this innovative and exciting program.
Interested individuals should contact Jacob
Marlin at bfree@hughes.net or Heather Lowe at
hlowe@turtlesurvival.org.
Conservation efforts on behalf of Derma-
temys are occurring on multiple fronts, by a
range of Belizean environmental NGOs, and
in concert with the Belize Fisheries Depart-
ment and the University of Belize. These local
organizations are joined by TSA, and work col-
laboratively under the umbrella of the NHCMN.
The group's first attempt to mount an awareness
campaign aimed at Dermatemys hunters and
consumers, and targeting area festivals where
Dermatemys meat is openly served, was met
with resistance, and often hostility. It is obvious
that eating Dermatemys meat is a deeply and
culturally engrained practice that will not go
away easily, and recent government actions
confirm that the political will simply does not
exist to more strenuously enforce Dermatemys
hunting regulations. Old habits die hard and if
we are to be successful over time we must be
patient and work to engage stakeholder groups.
We are seeking support to conduct a series
of community meetings to better understand
what the consumer/hunter groups are willing
to accept in terms of regulation and enforce-
ment. We believe that engaging this group as a
partner, rather than as an adversary, will likely
be more productive than legislating without
their involvement. We recognize, at least for
the near future, that we will have to accept the
limited harvesting of Dermatemys, especially in
the months leading up to Easter holiday celebra-
tions. It is difficult to determine if this level of
hunting is having a significant negative impact
on wild populations, but we do know that com-
mercial hunting does have an adverse impact,
and local Dermatemys population extinctions
have been documented following observed
large scale harvests. In other words, a local
family consuming several Dermatemys a year
may be a sustainable practice, but harvesting
truckloads of Dermatemys to supply a festival is
not. It is this latter level of harvest that we must
confront, and fortunately the law is clear in its
regulation of such activity.
We believe the answer lies in increased
enforcement activity, particularly during the
five months leading up to the Easter harvest
and associated festivals when Dermatemys
consumption peaks. However, patrolling
rivers is expensive and the agency charged
with Dermatemys protection, Belize Fisheries
Department, lacks the personnel and transpor-
tation to conduct regular excursions. The local
environmental NGOs (TIDE, SATIIM, YCT,
Belize Audubon Society) also have constabu-
lary status and can patrol and monitor illegal
hunting activity; however, they are limited by a
lack of funding for fuel and other expenses. In
order to provide economic incentives for these
authorities to increase their patrol activities,
One of the two large Dermatemys breeding ponds beginning to fill at the Hicatee Conservation Research Center at
BFREE; both will be 9 10 feet deep, providing cool water so the turtles can avoid overheating.
Participants of the 2011
Dermatemys Survey and
Monitoring Workshop in
northern Belize use cali-
pers to carefully measure
the shell depth of a fe-
male "hicatee." For each
turtle captured, gender,
body weight, and multiple
shell measurements were
recorded prior to release.
(Left to right: Derick
Hendy, Neri Bol).
Photo credit:
thomas rainwater
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 85 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
the TSA established a fund, managed through
the University of Belize, to cover the costs
associated with additional patrols. The TSA is
also seeking funding to hire and outfit a Hica-
tee Protection Officer that would work under
the Belize Fisheries Department, and whose
sole responsibility would be to patrol well-
known Dermatemys collecting sites to monitor
turtle hunting.
Since the TSA first became involved with
Dermatemys conservation in Belize, our stated
goal has been that we want to be catalytic and
help move Dermatemys to the conservation fore-
front. We believe that we can develop a captive
technology, in partnership with BFREE that
can be passed on, not only within Belize but to
Mexico and Guatemala as well. Good conserva-
tion work is already occurring with Dermatemys
in Guatemala under the Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) Program, and it is important that
we link these programs to foster better commu-
nications and exchange of ideas and techniques.
Ya'axch Conservation Trust Launches
Hicatee Awareness Campaign in Belize
Lee McLoughlin | lee.mcloughlin@yaaxche.org
Following Dr. Rainwater's confirmation that a cohesive and sustained
national effort is required to ensure that Dermatemys does not suffer
declines like neighboring Mexico and Guatemala, a national awareness-
raising campaign was one of the primary conservation needs identified.
That campaign would alert Belizeans that Dermatemys is at risk of extinc-
tion unless significant actions are taken. Ya'axch Conservation Trust
(YCT) secured funding from the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conserva-
tion Fund to undertake this campaign using diverse media sources to
reach the target groups, primarily those who are involved in the hunting
and consumption of Dermatemys.
Belize is a small country with an even smaller population. Given these
characteristics, Ya'axch was able to reach the vast majority of the
identified target group employing innovative media sources, even with a
relatively low budget. Sponsorship of, and presence at, major events and
festivals, with support from Belizean students, provided direct contact
with the public. A poem, written in creole about the cultural and intrinsic
value of Dermatemys, was created, recorded and broadcast repeat-
edly on the national radio station, Love FM, by a national celebrity. Two
TV commercials that featured a song and dance by talented Belizean
students were sponsored by the national news and broadcast throughout
the peak season for Dermatemys consumption (March through May). The
campaign was supported by billboard promotions using strategic points
alongside Belize's busiest cities and highways to reach tens of thousands
of residents. Ya'axch was also able to use its private sector contacts to
get the message out on the back of phone bills, reaching an estimated
35,000 households.
It is essential that this awareness
campaign is sustained over the
next few years, in order for the
message to get through to all those
who want future generations to
see Dermatemys. Ya'axch is cur-
rently seeking funding to ensure
this (www.yaaxche.org). We wish
to thank Joel Friesch and the
International Reptile Conservation
Foundation (IRCF) for the Hicatee
artwork featured in this campaign.
A pair of adult Hicatee - the male (front) is recognizable by the yellow head. Photo
credit: Robert Flanagan
In the near future we hope this will lead to the
development and implementation of a regional
Dermatemys Conservation Action Plan that
is shared between the three range countries.
Saving representative Dermatemys populations
across their range will be extremely challenging
and require a multi-faceted approach. Increased
enforcement and protective legislation will be
necessary, and this will test the political will of
the three countries. We must improve moni-
toring capacity through training and outfit-
ting field teams and our public message must
be clearly articulated through a targeted and
consistent media awareness campaign involving
radio, billboards, print and television. We must
be willing to engage hunters and user groups
and try to provide them with alternatives. Most
importantly, we must identify and vigorously
protect robust natural source populations that
can be used to "re-seed" depleted populations
through natural (migration) or artificial (trans-
location) means.
acknowledgments
We thank Dr. Elma Kay and Julissa Bardalez
of the Environmental Research Institute/Univer-
sity of Belize for crucial organizational assistance
during both training workshops. We also thank the
Toledo Institute for Development and Environment
(TIDE), Ya'axch Conservation Trust (YCT), the
Belize Fisheries Department, and Lamanai Field
Research Center for generously providing logistical
support and accommodations during the training
workshops. For their time and efforts on behalf
of the work at BFREE we wish to acknowledge
Gomez and Sons, Dale Gomez, Dan Dourson, Dave
Manser, Rob Crook, Thomas Pop, Marcelino Pop,
Saturnino Teul, and volunteers from Emory and
Henry College. For financial support for 2011 we
extend our sincere gratitude to the Batchelor Foun-
dation, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conserva-
tion Fund, the New Mexico Bio Park in Albuquer-
que, Steve Ecrement and Mariamar Gutierrez.
1Wildlife Conservation Society, PO Box 137, Savannakhet,
Lao PDR
august 2011 86 turtle survival
A program for the conservation of the freshwater
turtle Pelusios adansonii is taking place in the
Tocc Tocc Natural Reserve, a community-based
effort in Lac de Guiers in northwest Senegal.
The numbers of these turtles, which have been
known in Lac de Guiers for over two centuries
(source Michel Adanson, Natural History of
Senegal-1757), have been declining since the con-
struction of the Diama agricultural dam on the
Senegal River in the 1980's. This dam produced
significant changes in the nesting and feeding
habitats of this species. P. adansonii is a moder-
ate sized freshwater turtle, with the carapace
length (CL) of specimens from Senegal typically
reaching 220 mm (maximum CL 238) in females
and 200 mm in males, with maximum weights of
1,620 g for females and 650 g for males. The typi-
cal and maximum lengths are variable depending
on the locality; until recently the largest know
specimens of P.adansonii were from Sudan at
only 185 mm CL, and average length of adults
along the range of the species was closer to 150-
160 mm CL.
This species only exists in the wild in Senegal
in Lac de Guiers, and it is on the list of animals
fully protected by Senegalese law #86-844 in the
code for the protection of nature and hunting.
However by-catch and bushmeat consump-
tion, by both the local population and migrant
fishermen from Mali and Gaya-Gaya, have only
increased the pressure on the species which has
seen its numbers shrink rapidly and disturbingly
in the wild.
Faced with this situation, and following the
2004 field visit of three eminent herpetologists
(Dr. Roger Wood, of the Wetlands Institute, New
Jersey, Dr. Peter Pritchard, of the Chelonian
Research Institute, Florida, and Roger Bour, of
TSA Africa launches
Adanson's Terrapin
conservation project
at Tocc Tocc Natural
Reserve, Senegal
Tomas Diagne | fondsdev@yahoo.fr
Ndiaga Boh
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
tsa africa
Pape Malick Dial holding an adult female Adanson's Terrapin. Photo Credit: tSA AfriCA
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 87 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
the Natural History Museum of Paris), I began
a detailed study of this population in its natural
environment to determine its characteristics
(size, age structure, sex ratio, and threats). The
findings of this fieldwork have enabled the pro-
duction of a well-documented report from which
to base conservation and management decisions.
We have identified some key habitats for the
nesting and the development of hatchlings of this
species at a place called Tocc Tocc-North, on the
edge of Lac de Guiers. The biological richness of
this area is impressive, with such varied wildlife
as freshwater fish, West African manatees, and
many species of migratory and native birds, mon-
itor lizards, and freshwater snakes. Encouraged
by these findings and with the help of my friend,
the village chief of Toleu (near Tocc Tocc), Mr.
Boh Ndiaga, we started a bold and innovative ap-
proach to the classification of the area with local
authorities and central government of Senegal.
Support for this work was provided by the Turtle
Survival Alliance and other partners such as
Wetlands International Africa, Save the Manatee
Club, the Chelonian Research Foundation, and
the British Chelonia Group.
After much administrative effort with the
government, Tocc Tocc was classified as a nature
reserve under regulation of Law 96-07 of March
22, 1996. It covers an area of 273 hectares (almost
675 acres) of diverse habitats (lagoons, wetlands,
and land area). A local committee for manage-
ment and conservation of the reserve is made
up of volunteer members from the four villages
along the new nature reserve and is led by Ndiaga
Boh, the chef of Toleu village. Conservation ac-
tivities in the field for 2011 were funded primarily
by the Turtle Survival Alliance. The first activity
was a clean-up of all abandoned nets within the
reserve. These are now illegal there, and are very
destructive to local wildlife, including turtles
that are captured and drown because they can-
not reach the surface to breathe. More than 200
turtles are killed annually by abandoned nets
(often gravid females during the nesting period).
The second activity was the creation of an accu-
rate GPS map of Pelusios adansonii nesting sites,
and clearing of overgrown vegetation that has
invaded these sites, to make them more attrac-
tive to the mass nesting of female turtles. Our
field experience has shown that Pelusios females
prefer to lay eggs in dry sites, well exposed to the
sun with little or no vegetation. At the end of 2011
we will evaluate the impact of these measures to
conserve this species in Lac de Guiers. The re-
sults of this survey will be very important in the
selection of future conservation activities.
The Senegal Flap-Shelled Turtle (Cyclanor-
bis senegalensis), is another species of special
concern that was common in this area during the
1980's. It has now completely disappeared from
Lac de Guiers and no one can explain the exact
cause. It is possible that the disappearance may
be an indirect effect of the Diama dam construc-
tion, but whatever the cause, it is important to
learn more about Pelusios adansonii in this region
so that they will not suffer a similar fate.
I thank Anders Rhodin (CRF), Rick Hudson,
Heather Lowe (TSA), and Anne Rowberry (BCG)
for their financial support and advice and also Lucy
Keith Diagne who helped with the translation.
Young fisherman holding dead Adanson's Terrapins
caught by abandoned nets at Tocc Tocc Reserve.
Photo Credit: tSA AfriCA
Local conserva-
tion committee
members working
to clean Adanson's
Terrapin nesting
sites of invasive
vegetation.
Photo Credit:
tSA AfriCA
Entrance sign of Tocc Tocc Reserve with workers and members from the local conservation committee.
Photo Credit: tSA AfriCA
august 2011 88 turtle survival
Katala Foundation Incorporated (KFI) is a Palawan-
based NGO working on the conservation of threat-
ened native species. Its Katala Institute for Ecology
and Biodiversity Conservation (KIEBC) located in
Narra, Palawan aims at developing procedures for
rescue, conservation breeding, habitat restoration
and eventually re-introduction of selected highly
threatened wild species from Palawan, like the
Philippine Forest Turtle (Siebenrockiella leytensis),
as one of its three major objectives.
Siebenrockiella leytensis is a Palawan endemic
Critically Endangered (IUCN, 2010) freshwater
turtle threatened by over exploitation for the
international pet trade, habitat destruction and
exploitation for local consumption (Diesmos et
al., 2008; Fidenci and Maran, 2009; Schoppe et
al., 2010; Turtle Conservation Coalition, 2011,
Diesmos et al., in prep.). While most individuals
that are illegally collected for the international pet
trade leave the country without hindrance (Yuyek,
2004) some are confiscated. In 2004 for example,
government authorities had seized some 157
individuals at a seaport in Liminangong, Taytay
in May (Lopez and Schoppe, 2004), and another
dozen in July (Diesmos et al., 2004). In 2005,
63 were confiscated in Taytay, and six individu-
als were seized in 2006 (KFI, 2007). Most of the
confiscated turtles are deposited at rescue centers
in Luzon and Palawan that have insufficient
facilities. The 2005 seizure for example had been
turned over to the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and
Conservation Center (PWRCC) in Puerto Princesa
City where the turtles are kept in a roughly 25 m2
enclosure with a cemented shallow pond without
any furniture. Animals had abrasions caused by
the cement, showed intraspecific aggression and
were violently competing for food. Hence when in
2007, KFI had built facilities to hold an assurance
colony of S. leytensis in KIEBC, 40 individual
were turned over from PWRCC to the new facility
(Schoppe, 2008).
The species has turned out to be difficult to
manage in captivity. They are stress prone and
show high intraspecific aggression, especially
among males (Schoppe and Fernando, 2009;
Schoppe, 2010). The former curator at Avilon Zoo
in Manila further noted that the species is prone
to respiratory problems (Matthew Yuyek in litt.
to SS on 12 October 2009) and we met the same
problems in KIEBC. In KIEBC, the husbandry has
been further complicated by water quality issues
resulting in a high incidence of shell rot recently.
Local veterinaries and a visiting veterinary from
Ocean Park Hong Kong - facilitated by the Turtle
Survival Alliance (TSA) - tried to evaluate the
situation and diagnose the problem but the under-
lying basis seems to be husbandry and manage-
ment related (Schoppe and Fernando, 2009).
KFI sought help through the IUCN Tortoise
and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. In
response to that request, the TSA mobilized a
team (headed by Rick Hudson) to address the
husbandry problem at KIEBC. During their
visit in September 2009, they designed a facility
expected to meet the needs of S. leytensis and
that addresses the factors that might contribute
to those health problems such as: 1) High pH; 2)
fecal coliform contamination from surround-
ing cow pasture; 3) shallow water that warms
quickly; 4) semi-rough concrete pool surfaces;
and 5) social stress. Thanks to the expertise in
husbandry and pond filtering systems of the TSA
team members, combined with KFI experience
Philippine Forest Turtle
Assurance Colony:
Improved husbandry and
facilities provide optimism
for the future of this
challenging species
Sabine Schoppe1 | Sabine _schoppe@web.de
Siegfred Diaz2
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
philippines
Testing water quality in the treatment tank and turtle
enclosures is done routinely to monitor pH.
Photo credit: Katala Foundation, inc.
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 89 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
and knowledge on the species, we designed a
tank system to treat water drained from the
enclosures, and implemented methods for
improving S. leytensis enclosures. We then sub-
mitted proposals for funding to TSA and Turtle
Conservation Fund (TCF) which were granted in
February and March 2010, respectively.
To improve the accommodations of the exist-
ing S. leytensis collection at KIEBC we converted
the original 20x6m enclosure into 20, 2x3m
compartments. Each of the new enclosures has
a 2x2m pond area and a 1x1m land area. Each
enclosure is designed to hold a maximum of two
individuals, either male/female or two juveniles.
The pond system is sealed from the environment
to avoid ground water intrusion. Each enclosure
has an inflow and a drainage pipe through which
they are connected to the filter tank system.
The filter tank system encompasses four
units: a collection tank, a settling tank, a treat-
ment, and a filter tank. The system is designed to
prevent contaminated water from washing back
into the pools by adding a below ground collect-
ing tank. From there water pumps back to the
settling basin that contains plants for biological
filtration. From the settling basin water flows to
the treatment tank filled with plenty of leaf litter
as acidification agent. We use leaves of the Tali-
say tree (Terminalia catappa) that contain several
flavonoids, tannins and saponines and are known
to lower the pH of aquarium waters. This helps in
lowering the pH of the well water that can be as
high as pH 9. From the treatment tank the water
passes through a filter unit and is then gravity
fed back to the ponds.
On 31 August 2010 all but three S. leytensis
that were still under medical treatment were
transferred to the new enclosures. All females
were paired with a male, while the remaining
males were placed in individual units. Mating
was observed immediately after release. Water
pH of the treatment tank is measured regularly
and old leaves are removed and new ones added
once pH is above 8. We also monitor NO2, NO3
and NH3/NH4 in the enclosures and the treat-
ment tank before and after cleaning. Water is
changed in the enclosures once a week - the day
after providing animal protein food.
Whether the new enclosures and water filter
system will prevent the occurrence of shell rot in
the future remains to be seen. Health problems
used to peak during the wettest time of the year
(July to October), hence we are looking with fearful
anticipation to what the 2011 rainy season may
bring. What is certain is that the new setup has
solved problems caused by intra-specific aggression
since the turtles are now kept in pairs or individu-
ally. A sign of positive change is also that one of our
females deposited a clutch of three eggs during the
first week of May and another egg on May 25, 2011.
acKnowledgements
This project would not have been realized
without the generous support of the Turtle
Survival Alliance (TSA) and the European As-
sociation of Zoos & Aquaria (EAZA) - Shellshock
Campaign through the Turtle Conservation
Fund (TCF). Most especially we would like to
thank Rick Hudson, Bill Zeigler, Dr. Anders
Rhodin, Dr. Hugh Quinn, Eric Goode, Dr. Gerald
Kuchling and Dr. Peter Praschag.
Prior to the present project, our assurance col-
ony of S. leytensis kept in Narra has received finan-
cial and technical support from EAZA Shellshock
Campaign, the Loro Parque Fundacion, the North
of England Zoological Society Chester Zoo, the
Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species
and Populations, Conservation des Espces et des
Populations Animales, ZooParc de Beauval, the
Turtle Survival Alliance, the Turtle Conservation
Fund, the Turtle Conservancy, the IUCN Tortoise
and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, Kadoorie
Farm and Botanic Garden Hong Kong, and Ocean
Park in Aberdeen - Hong Kong, especially Dr.
Nimal Fernando.
KFI also wants to acknowledge the support
from local partners like the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources, especially
its Protected Area and Wildlife Bureau and the
Environment Management Bureau, the Palawan
Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center, the
Palawan Council for Sustainable Development
Staff, the Provincial Government of Palawan,
the local government of Narra and Antipuluan,
and the Philippine Association of Wildlife Vet-
erinarians, Inc.
Thank you also to KFI, especially President
Juan Miguel Zubiri and Vice President Peter
Widmann, Indira D. Lacerna Widmann, Ivy
Regodos, to the keepers Diverlie Acosta, Angeles
Guion and Loreto Alisto, and to the PCCP wild-
life wardens, and finally to Engr. Erwin Yadao
and his construction team.
1 Director Philippine Freshwater Turtle Conservation Pro-
gram, Katala Foundation Incorporated, Puerto Princesa
City, PH-5300 Palawan, Philippines
2 KIEBC Supervisor and Field Operations Coordina-
tor Philippine Cockatoo Conservation Program, Katala
Foundation Incorporated, Gymnasium, Narra, Palawan,
Philippines
Vegetation cover as of September 2010. Photo credit: Katala Foundation, inc.
august 2011 90 turtle survival
reFerences
Diesmos, A.C., R.V. Sison, M.dG. Pedregosa, and Ma.J.C. Cenisa, 2004. The
Conservation Status of Heosemys leytensis Taylor, 1920. A project report, Manila,
Philippines, 31 pp.
Diesmos, A.C., Brown, R.M., Alcala, A.C. and R.V. Sison, 2008. Status and distribu-
tion of non-marine turtles of the Philippines. Chelonian Conservation and Biology,
7(2): 157-177.
Diesmos, A.C., J. Buskirk, and S. Schoppe, in prep. Siebenrockiella leytensis (Taylor,
1920) Philippine Forest Turtle. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk,
P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.).
Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of
the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research
Monographs No. 5, xx-xx, http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/cbftt/.
Fidenci, P. and J. Maran, 2009. Illegal domestic trade of the Philippine Forest Turtle
(Siebenrockiella leytensis) in the Philippines. TurtleLog Number 3, Published 24 May
2009 doi:10.3854/tln.003.2009
IUCN 2010. 2010 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.3. iucnredlist.org/>. Downloaded on 14 September 2010.
KFI, 2007. Wildlife confiscation records from DENR and PSCSD for the years of
2000 2006. Katala Foundation Incorporated (compiler), Santiago Compound,
National Highway, San Jose, Puerto Princesa City, 5300 Palawan, Philippines.
Lopez, Ma.F.M. and S. Schoppe, 2004. Morphometry of four species of non-marine
turtles from Palawan, Philippines with special reference to sexual dimorphism.
Agham Mindanaw, Ateneo de Davao Journal of Science and Technology, 2: 41-51.
Schoppe, S., 2008. Freshwater Turtle Conservation in Palawan, Project Phase I.
Unpublished Final Report submitted to EAZA-Shellshock. Katala Foundation Inc.,
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines, 13 pp.
Schoppe, S., 2010. Husbandry guideline for the Philippine Forest Turtle, Sieben-
rockiella leytensis (Taylor, 1920). Turtle Survival Alliance, p. 86-89.
Schoppe, S. and N. Fernando, 2009. A range country colony for the Philippine For-
est Turtle. Turtle Survival Alliance, p. 96-97.
Schoppe, S., J. Matillano, M. Cervancia and D. Acosta, 2010. Conservation needs
of the critically endangered Philippine Forest Turtle Siebenrockiella leytensis (Taylor,
1920) in Palawan. Chelonian Conservation Biology 9(2): 145-153
Turtle Conservation Coalition, 2011. Turtle in Trouble: The World's 25+ Most Endan-
gered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles 2011. Lunenburg, MA: IUCN/SSC Tortoise
and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, Turtle Conservation Fund, Turtle Survival
Alliance, Turtle Conservancy, Chelonian Research Foundation, Conservation Interna-
tional, Wildlife Conservation Society, and San Diego Zoo Global, 54 pp.
Yuyek, M. 2004. A Perilous Life: The natural history and ecological status of the
Philippine Forest Turtle, Heosemys leytensis, from Palawan, with emphasis on care
and feeding requirements in captivity. Animal Scene 4(7): 80-82.
(Above) The new filtration system with settling basin, treatment and filter
tanks are shown here. Photo credit: Katala Foundation, inc. (Top right) Philip-
pine Forest Turtle (S. leytensis). Photo credit: Peter Praschag (Bottom right)
The new turtle enclosures are designed to minimize environmental and social
stress and feature deeper, cooler water, filtered sunlight and a terrestrial area
with retreats. Photo credit: Katala Foundation, inc.
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 91 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
IntroductIon
India is a tortoise and freshwater turtle
diversity hotspot, ranking at the top in impor-
tance for turtle conservation in Asia. With 28
species, India's diversity ranks sixth globally and
is tied with Colombia and Vietnam. The threats
to India's remarkable turtle fauna are many, but
generally can be attributed to a vast, impover-
ished, and marginalized human population that
is increasingly desperate for food resources,
placing enormous pressures on the aquatic
ecosystems, rivers in particular. Turtle poaching
is increasing and largely controlled by external
mafia-type organizations with little benefit to lo-
cal communities; most turtles are shipped to the
eastern and north-eastern states of India for con-
sumption and further export to Bangladesh and
eventually China. Intensive, and typically illegal,
fishing practices trap, ensnare, and unintention-
ally drown countless thousands of turtles.
Background
In 2003, the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA)
began a turtle conservation project in association
with the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT).
To establish species priorities the TSA sponsored
a workshop that produced a document entitled
"Conservation Action Plan for Endangered Fresh-
water Turtles and Tortoises of India" in 2005,
which provided a blueprint for the next five years.
This Plan launched a series of initiatives based in
the National Chambal River Sanctuary, and cen-
tred on the Red-Crowned Roof Turtle (Batagur
kachuga), a charismatic and critically endangered
species in need of urgent conservation measures.
The Chambal Turtle Conservation project also
targeted the sympatric Three-striped Roof Turtle
(Batagur dhongoka). The project has been a suc-
cess, as thousands of hatchlings are now returned
to the river annually from riverside hatcheries. In
2008, San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation
Research joined the project, broadening the scope
of research objectives.
Since 2005, we have expanded our conserva-
tion initiatives to cover additional endangered
species like the Indian Narrow-headed Softshell
Turtle (Chitra indica) and the Crowned River
Turtle (Hardella thurjii) in the Terai (Foothills of
the Himalayas).
Our program now known as the Indian Turtle
Conservation Program (ITCP) represents TSA's
longest running program and is widely recognized
as one of the most socially integrated of all turtle
conservation programs in Asia. The program regu-
larly conducts activities that engage, educate, train,
and hire members of the local communities that
share the critical habitats with turtles.
With the success of TSA's initial projects in
India and given the need to expand to additional
regions and species on the subcontinent, we
hosted a second national workshop on "Indian
Freshwater Turtle and Tortoises Conservation
Priority Areas & Initiatives" in Lucknow, Uttar
Pradesh, in October 2010. The meeting objectives
were to review the progress of the 2005 action
plan, and create a new 5-year plan prioritizing
important turtle areas for conservation action
across India and award prizes to the top turtle
conservationists and rangers.
This workshop was conducted by TSA in
association with Madras Crocodile Bank Trust
(MCBT), Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and
IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist
Group (TFTSG) and co-sponsored by the TSA,
WWF-Canada, Cleveland Zoological Society, San
Diego Zoo Global, and the Seksaria Sugar Facto-
ry. Prof. Indraneil Das, of the University Malay-
sia, Sarawak, a renowned herpetologist, chaired
the workshop. Prof. B.C. Choudhury, Wildlife
Institute of India, pioneer of chelonian and
crocodilian biology in India was the vice-chair.
Mr. B.K. Patnaik, Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests, Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and
Rick Hudson, TSA President graced the event as
Chief Guest and Guest of Honour respectively.
The first goal was to synchronize and capital-
ize on the efforts of the various organizations and
individuals working to conserve chelonians in
India. Participants were encouraged to collaborate
as regional partners to facilitate future programs
in their respective regions. Leading organizations
including Zoo Outreach Organization, Wildlife
Institute of India, TRAFFIC-India, and Centre for
Environmental Education, Central Zoo Authority,
and Development Alternatives expressed their
strong commitments as national collaborators and
advisors to the action plan.
TSA India Program
Expanding to
Include Five Turtle
Priority Areas
Shailendra Singh1 | shai@turtlesurvival.org
Brian D. Horne2
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
india
Coverage to Include All Endemic and Endangered Chelonians
BC Choudhury, Indraneil Das, B.K. Patnaik, Patrick Aust and Rick Hudson (left to right) inaugurating the workshop by
lighting a ceremonial lamp. Photo credIt: tSa IndIa
august 2011 92 turtle survival
Priority areas were chosen based on species
richness, endemism, proportion of endangered
turtles, and their potential to host successful
conservation programs. The new 5-year conser-
vation plan focuses on the following five Indian
turtle priority areas (TPA) that were identified at
the workshop.
Turtle Priority Area 1Chambal and Up-
per Ganges-Yamuna region (North-central
India): This turtle priority area encompasses
parts of the states of Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya
Pradesh (MP), and Rajasthan. The Ganges,
Chambal, Yamuna, Ken, Son, and the Ram-
Ganga Rivers flow through this area. The middle
Ganges River system in north-central India
contains over thirteen species of freshwater
turtles including Batagur kachuga and Chitra
indica - two endangered species in need of urgent
conservation measures. The chelonian diversity
and significant amount of freshwater habitats
make this a strategic area for turtle conservation.
The conservation partners of this TPA
include the National Chambal Sanctuary Project,
Deori and Kukrail Gharial Rehab Centres in MP
and UP, Centre for Environmental Education,
Development Alternatives, Nature Exploration
Group, WWF India's dolphin project, Gharial
Conservation Alliance, and Jiwaji University.
Recommendations:
Refine the existing headstarting program
based on population structure and dynamics
possibly through rearing and releasing different
size-classes of Batagur. Study annual movement
patterns of adult B. kachuga, B. dhongoka, and
C. indica. Assessment of juvenile survival and
dispersal through permanent marking of head-
started animals as well as a comparison of C.
indica survival with Nilssonia gangetica.
Conduct a habitat viability assessment and re-
introduction of headstarted Batagur yearlings in
protected stretches of historical/similar habitats
in Ganges basin.
Assess and reduce adult and juvenile mortal-
ity through patrols, enforcement, and stakehold-
er motivation.
Develop more ex-situ facilities and establish
more assurance colonies of regionally threatened
turtles in existing regional zoos, rehabilitation,
and rescue centres such as the Kukrail, Deori,
and Sarnath crocodile centres.
Lobby government and national NGOs for
better enforcement and habitat protection.
Turtle Priority Area 2Terai (Foothills of
Himalaya) region in Northern India: Indian
Foothills of Himalaya, or the Terai region, extends
over 6,500 km2 in the states of Uttarakhand, UP,
and Bihar near the border of India and Nepal. This
area is a highly threatened ecosystem, comprised
of the Sal (Shorea) forests and mosaic of wetlands,
grasslands, swamps, lakes, and snow fed tributar-
ies. This region is so rich in diversity that the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) lists the Terai as one
of the top 200 eco-regions in need of conserva-
tion globally. The area supports over 50% of the
chelonian diversity of India. The main threat to
the turtle population in the region is large scale
harvesting for local consumption and export.
The workshop identified the Indian Narrow-
headed Softshell Turtle (Chitra indica) as the
flagship species of the region and listed Hardella
thurjii, Nilssonia hurum, Geoclemys hamiltonii,
Melanochelys tricarinata, Morenia petersi, and
Indotestudo elongata as species in need of conser-
vation attention in the area.
The major collaborators identified for this re-
gion were Katerniaghat Foundation, Terai Envi-
ronmental Foundation, Vikramshila Biodiversity
Research Centre (VBRC), Corbett Foundation,
and Universities in Lucknow and Gorakhapur.
Recommendations:
Conduct surveys to complete a species-habitat
inventory including wetland sanctuaries. Survey
Batagur species in northern snow-fed tributaries
to complement surveys in the previous TPA.
Monitor trade, develop an intelligence
network, and continue turtle poacher conver-
sion workshops. Develop alternate livelihood
programs for converted poachers.
Enforce/implement sustainable fisheries regu-
lations on major habitats to reduce the accidental
drowning of turtles, remove barriers for seasonal
migration of turtles for breeding and foraging,
through inter-departmental collaboration.
Include turtle species in management plans
in regional Protected Areas. Collaborate with
Tiger and Sarus crane conservation authorities in
the Terai ecosystem.
Turtle Priority Area 3Western Ghats and
parts of peninsular region, South India: This
TPA extends over five states including Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and
Goa. The geography of the region is diverse,
encompassing two mountain ranges, the Western
and Eastern Ghats, and a plateau heartland. The
Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, and Kaveri Riv-
ers are important non-perennial sources of water.
This TPA encompasses the distribution of three
endemic species, including Leith's Softshell Turtle
(Nilssonia leithii), a poorly known species, and
one of our top priorities for conservation action in
Asia. This TPA also includes Pelochelys cantorii,
Vijayachelys silvatica, and Indotestudo travancori-
ca as other target species in conservation need.
The strategic turtle conservation partners
(Left) Suresh Pal Singh, a senior turtle keeper is being
presented the 2010 Turtle Conservation Service Award
2010 by Rick Hudson, TSA President. Photo credIt: tSa IndIa
(Above) Shailendra Singh, TSA India Turtle Conservation
Program Director, briefing the workshop participants.
Photo credIt: tSa IndIa
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 93 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
identified for this TPA are Madras Crocodile
Bank Trust (MCBT), Salim Ali Centre for Or-
nithology (SaCON), Zoological Survey of India,
Wildlife Institute of India, Wildlife Conservation
Society's India program based at Bangalore, and
Indian Institute of Science.
Recommendations:
Conduct status surveys of all states within
this TPA to document occurrence of freshwater
turtle populations and key nesting areas. Identify
populations of V. silvatica and I. travancorica
outside Protected Areas network
Establish ex-situ assurance colonies of N.
leithii and P. cantorii at regional zoos for conser-
vation and research purposes.
Initiate a nest protection program for N.
leithii and P. cantorii in two key habitats (e.g.,
Netravathi, Kaveri, and Godawari River) and
increase patrols during nesting season.
Document and analyse the Star Tortoise
(Geochelone elegans) harvest and trade and devise
methods to halt the export. Devise a plan to
repatriate confiscated stocks.
Review (upgrade) listing of N. leithii in the
Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and Con-
vention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES)
Turtle Priority Area 4Assam region in
North Eastern India: This northeastern region
of India is at the junction of the Himalaya and
Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots, and is regarded
as one of the primary centers of turtle diversity
in the world. To date, 23 turtle species have been
recorded from this region. The state of Assam in-
cludes much of the Brahmaputra River basin that,
with 17 species, is recognized as the second most
important turtle region in the world. This area has
several endangered species of turtle and tortoises,
notably Pangshura sylhetensis, Nilssonia nigricans,
Chitra indica, Cuora mouhotii, and Manouria emys.
The workshop identified Assam Roofed Tur-
tle, P. sylhetensis, as the flagship species for this
TPA. This charismatic species is both endan-
gered and elusive and is restricted to a protected
area along the Brahmaputra River.
The strategic partners for this TPA are Aran-
yank, Turtle Conservation Research Program at
Guwahati University, Centre for Environment
Education- North East, Assam State Zoo and
Botanic Garden, and state forest departments.
Recommendations:
Conduct status surveys and harvest and trade
assessments for all seven regional endangered
turtles. Survey the Sur Ku foothills in Arunachal
Pradesh and Dibroo-saikowa in Assam for
threatened regional tortoises.
Study the taxonomy and genetics of Amyda
cartilaginea, C. mouhotii, and C. amboinensis in
association with the Centre for Cellular and Mo-
lecular Biology and Indian Institute of Science.
Survey of zoos and captive centres to docu-
ment existing chelonian stocks especially C.
mouhotii, and M. emys. Initiate a zoo-based con-
servation program for species like P. sylhetensis,
M. emys, I. elongata, and C. mouhotii
Begin planning for turtle-friendly modifications
in existing temple ponds containing N. nigricans
such as diet improvement, removal of aggressive
N. gangetica, eradication of predatory catfish, and
development of basking and nesting areas
Turtle Priority Area 5Sunderbans and
Orissa region in Eastern India: This TPA includes
the lower Gangetic delta (Sunderbans) as well as the
lower Mahanadi River basin and parts of the costal
habitats along Bay of Bengal. This encompasses im-
portant populations of rare Indian softshell turtles
and possibly the last remnants of the Sunderbans
River Terrapin (Batagur baska) either extinct or
nearly so in India, and recognized as the second
most endangered large river turtle in Asia.
The flagship species for TPA1, Batagur kachuga.
Photo credIt: Sheena koeth
The flagship species for TPA2, Chitra indica.
Photo credIt: aShutoSh trIPathI
The flagship species for TPA3, Nilssonia leithii.
Photo credIt: V. deePak
The flagship species for TPA4, Pangshura sylhetensis.
Photo credIt: crIS hagen
The flagship species for TPA5, Batagur baska.
Photo credIt: ruPalI ghoSh
august 2011 94 turtle survival
Simultaneously, the area is known to receive
a number of illegal turtle consignments from the
entire Gangetic plain (mainly softshell turtles)
and Southern India (Star Tortoises and other tur-
tles) for consumption and further export. This
TPA should be strategically addressed as a means
for controlling the illegal turtle trade.
The workshop identified the Northern River
or Sunderbans Terrapin (B. baska) as the flagship
species for this TPA, whereas and Pelochelys can-
torii, Nilssonia nigricans and Pangshura sylheten-
sis as species in need of conservation attention.
The workshop suggested developing a practical
action plan to curb the trade of all freshwater
chelonians in the area.
The strategic partners identified from this
region are Nature Conservation and Wildlife
Society, Wildlife Society of Orissa, Nandankan
Zoo of the Orissa Forest Department, Sajnekhali
Conservation Centre of the West Bengal Forest
Department, and local universities in both states.
Recommendations:
Initiate exhaustive status surveys along
Indian Sunderbans, West Bengal, and Orissa
particularly the Mahanadi River.
Improve the facility holding surviving B. baska
individuals at Sajnekhali in Sunderbans to add
basking areas, nesting banks, private fencing, and
to improve turtle diet. Link this facility with the
existing TSA Northern River Terrapin conserva-
tion project in Bangladesh, probably using the
South Asian Regional Co-operation (SARC) plat-
form. Set up an additional breeding program by
transferring two male B. baska from Sunderbans
to MCBT to pair with the two adult females there.
Set up temporary transit rescue facilities to
handle the rehabilitation of confiscated turtles
and build capacity for better enforcement and
management.
Develop an information network among
former turtle poachers/sellers to locate remnant
turtle populations and monitor trade. Develop an
action plan to deal with poaching and monitoring
in collaboration with the Ministry of Environ-
ment and Forest's Special Crime Control Bureau
and TRAFFIC- India.
outStandIng SerVIce awardS
gIVen at workShoP
During the workshop, two annual awards
were established to encourage frontline turtle
conservationists and rangers: the "Turtle Con-
servation Service Award" and "Turtle Field
Conservation Award." Congratulations to the
2010 award winners, Suresh Pal Singh (UPFD)
for his 25 years of outstanding service for captive
Meet the Staff: Linthoi Naorem
Shailendra Singh
Linthoi Naorem, "Lin," has recently joined the TSA India staff as Program Executive and is rapidly
"getting up to speed" by learning about the program's many activities and past achievements.
Lin was recruited as per TSA's planned expansion to include all Turtle Priority Areas (TPA)
throughout the country, and given the responsibility of facilitating the coordination of all projects as
well as overseeing the TSA program's office.
Lin hails from Imphal town of Manipur in North-eastern India. She is a molecular biologist by train-
ing and initiated her research work on freshwater turtles and tortoises in 2008 for her PhD disser-
tation at the University of Gauhati in Assam, which she is still pursuing. Her love and passion for
freshwater turtles and tortoises inspired her to take action in whatever small ways possible to help
their conservation. She has also been involved in helping to raise awareness at the grassroots level
in the state of Manipur, along the Indian and Myanmar border. Her work is mainly concentrated
on Loktak Lake - a Ramsar site of international significance - and adjoining areas, potential habitat
for a few threatened turtles including the Malayan Box Turtle (Cuora amboinensis). Lin maintains a
colony of Cuora at her home, rescued from the turtle trade, that breeds every year!
Says Lin, "my dreams came true when TSA called to me to assist with it's nationally and interna-
tionally renowned Indian Turtle Conservation Program and I look forward to learning the dynamics
of the program quickly and helping the turtle conservation activities expand in all possible ways."
Photo credIt: tSa IndIa
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 95 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
conservation and management of Indian turtles
at the state-run Kukrail facility, and Bhasker M.
Dixit (Terai Environmental Foundation NGO),
for his contribution to the turtle poacher conver-
sion and rehabilitation programs in the Terai.
ProgreSS SInce the workShoP
The workshop outcomes have been very
well received. A significant step in seeing the
recommendations of the workshop implemented
is that the Wildlife Division of the Ministry
of Environment and Forests has endorsed the
workshop through an official press release
and deemed the workshop recommendations
worthy of inclusion into their national agenda to
achieve the goals set forth in the "International
Year of Biodiversity 2010. Furthermore, TSA is
already facilitating expansion of its resources to
implement the new 5-year plan. The following
actions have occurred: 1) Recruited a biologist
to carry out the preliminary surveys on the
status of N. lethii and P. cantorii in TPA #3; 2)
Hired a program executive to facilitate the con-
servation work in all five regions: 3) Awarded
four TSA seed grants, totalling $10,000, that
targeted five threatened species spread across
four different TPAs; 4) Organized a four-day
veterinary training program at MCBT in which
Dr. Shannon Ferrell (Fort Worth Zoo) and Dr.
Gowri Mallapur trained twenty-five veterinar-
ians from all five TPAs, on turtle veterinary
management and rehabilitation techniques. The
TSA and its partners in India will soon address
other recommendations of the workshop.
Prof B.C. Choudhury speaks during the inaugural ses-
sion of the workshop. Photo credIt: tSa IndIa
acknowledgementS
The Turtle Survival Alliance, WWF Canada,
San Diego Zoo Global, Cleveland Zoological So-
ciety, and Andrew and Angela Walde of Walde
Research & Environmental Consulting are
thanked for sponsoring the workshop. The sup-
port and encouragement by Mr. AK Shrivastava,
Mr. Rick Hudson, Ms. Patricia Koval, Mr. P.R.
Sinha, Mr. B.K. Patnaik, Dr. Anders Rhodin, and
Mr. Romulus Whitaker are greatly appreciated
for organizing this workshop. Serenity Founda-
tion is appreciated for a grant for printing turtle
conservation calendars and colouring books. Mr
Ashutosh Tripathi is acknowledged for assisting
in designing the workshop banners and materi-
als. We gratefully also acknowledge Sanjai
Kumar, Pradeep Saxena, Heather Lowe, Gowri
Mallapur, Ashutosh Tripathi, K.B. Bhadau-
ria, Indraneil Das, B.C. Choudhury, K.K. Jha,
Manish Mittal, Neeraj Kumar, Patrick Aust,
Jonelle Waren, Kym Gopp, R.P. Singhal, and Eva
Sharma for their support in organizing this very
important and inspiring event. Local partner
organisations especially Terai Environmental
Foundation and Katerniaghat Foundation are
acknowledged for all their assistance. A special
thank you is due to the late Mr. Dhurvjyoti
Basu for critical assistance to the workshop. We
extend thanks to Wildlife Institute of India for
its valuable collaboration.
The TSA would also like to give special
thanks to Nature's Own for their challenge
grant in 2010, which helped to raise a total of
$60,000 for the TSA's India Program.
1 Turtle Survival Alliance - India, Uttar Pradesh, India
2 San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation and Research,
CA, USA (bhorne@sandiegozoo.org)
august 2011 96 turtle survival
As recommended during the Turtle Priority Areas
and Initiative Workshop in Lucknow in October
2010, the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT)
and Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) jointly
sponsored and organized a veterinary workshop
to train veterinarians of Turtle Priority Areas
(TPAs) of India. Twenty wildlife vets, associ-
ated with reptile care and rescue, participated in
the training. The workshop was held from June
26-30, 2011 at the MCBT facility and focused pri-
marily on the basics of chelonian husbandry and
health care in captivity as well as the handling
and rehabilitation of turtle confiscations. The
MCBT houses 17 species of Indian chelonians
and provided ample opportunity for hands-on
experience to the participants. Dr. Shannon Fer-
rell (Fort Worth Zoo) was the main instructor
to the workshop, whereas Dr. Gowri Mallapur,
resident vet of the MCBT, was the co-instructor
and one of the lead organizers. Participants
represented the states of Assam, Gujarat, Uttar
Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh
and Maharashtra.
The workshop was divided into two separate
sessions due to the number of interested invited
participants. Veterinarians who manage cheloni-
ans for the forestry departments and NGOs com-
prised the bulk of the first session. The second
session consisted primarily of private practice
veterinarians, particularly those associated with
wildlife rescue within India. The inaugural ad-
dress was given by Mr. Colin Stevenson, Director
of the MCBT, who emphasized the need for ac-
tive collaboration among the participating Indian
agencies/institutions in furthering chelonian
conservation. The invited veterinarians were
then asked to introduce themselves and express
what they hoped to learn during the training. Dr.
Ferrell provided a brief overview of TSA's role in
turtle conservation around the globe with special
mention on the India program.
The workshop involved a combination of
didactic sessions supplemented with hands-on
practical exercises such as physical exam, phle-
botomy, assist feeding techniques, anesthesia, and
gross necropsy. An additional separate session
was organized on the identification and handling
of turtles by Nik Whitaker, Curator of the MCBT.
During the didactic sessions, existing husbandry
and medical protocols were discussed in detail
for the improvement of chelonian health in both
private and governmental facilities. At the end of
the sessions, participants felt the physical train-
ing significantly improved their confidence and
comfort level in the application of more aggres-
sive diagnostic and supportive care techniques
for chelonians. Certificates of participation were
distributed, and the veterinarians were keen to
continue collaborating and communicating for the
advancement of turtle conservation throughout
the country under the leadership of the TSA/
MCBT's India Turtle Conservation Program.
The major goal of this workshop was to train
veterinarians in advanced chelonian health man-
agement techniques that can assist with both
the captive and field components of TSA's India
conservation program. It is critical that we are
able to mobilize a network of trained veterinar-
ians to assist the government when confiscated
chelonians are in need of triage, treatment, and
rehabilitation. To further the agenda, TSA is
talking with a few NGOs and forestry depart-
ments to develop a mobile "Rapid Response
Veterinary Unit" to immediately assist turtle
confiscations throughout country.
acknowledgmentS
We wish to thank both the Fort Worth Zoo
for sparing one of their staff veterinarians and
Dr. Shannon Ferrell for conducting the training
workshop. We acknowledge MCBT Trustees and
Staff for helping to organize this workshop. Mr.
Ashutosh Tripathi, TSA India is also thanked for
designing the certificate and banners.
Chelonian Health Management
And Rehabilitation
Training Workshop
For Indian Veterinarians
Linthoi Naorem, Shashwat Sirsi & Shailendra Singh
India Turtle Conservation Program
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
india
Dr. Ferrell demonstrates the correct method to restrain a chelonian for oral gavage of either medications or alimentary
feeding using a juvenile Red-crowned Roofed Turtle (Batagur kachuga). Photo credIt: l. naorem, tSa IndIa
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 97 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
Freshwater turtles and tortoises of India are in
an unenviable position, with 60% of the 28 na-
tive species in danger of extinction. In response
to this grim scenario, in 2005, the Madras
Crocodile Bank Trust, the Turtle Survival Alli-
ance with support from Conservation Inter-
national developed the "Conservation Action
Plan for Endangered Indian Freshwater Turtles
and Tortoises". This action plan identified ten
most threatened freshwater turtle species and
outlined necessary actions to address specific
threats. Subsequently in 2010,the Turtle Survival
Alliance, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and San
Diego Zoo Global in association with Wildlife
Institute of India (WII) and IUCN/SSC Tor-
toises and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group,
convened the "Indian Freshwater Turtle and
Tortoises Conservation Priority Areas & Initia-
tives" at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The workshop
largely aimed to review the action plan devised
in 2005 along with the prioritization of areas
for turtle conservation action. Priority areas
were identified on the basis of species richness,
endemism, relative number of endangered turtles
as well as the feasibility to initiate conservation
initiatives.
Peninsular India was among the priority
areas identified based on the degree of endemism
and the proportion of endangered turtles. Among
the priority recommendations for this region
that emerged from the workshop was to gather
information regarding recent and accurate
distribution, status and level of exploitation of
the insufficiently known and endangered Leith's
Softshell turtle (Nilssonia leithii) and the Asian
Giant Softshell turtle (Pelochelys cantorii). Such
information is vital in developing and imple-
menting an effective species recovery plan. N.
leithii is understood to be endemic to peninsular
India, inhabiting large rivers and reservoirs
while P.cantorii is generally considered as a
freshwater form having a widespread distribu-
tion, in isolated localities, from the west coast of
India eastwards to Bangladesh. P. cantorii has
also been observed to migrate from freshwater
to nest on ocean beaches. These large sized
softshell species are a valued source of protein
for local communities as well as a luxury food
item for epicures. In addition, products derived
from the species may also be used in traditional
medicines and health products. Intensive illegal
harvesting for local consumption and export
as well as human-induced habitat changes has
severely depleted populations of both N. leithii
and P. cantorii.
Rapid surveys to collect information on the
occurrence of N. leithii and P. cantorii began in
September, 2010 across the states of Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh in southern India. The sur-
veys were funded through a seed grant provided
by the Turtle Survival Alliance. Intensive status
surveys were begun in the state of Karnataka
since March 2011 under the aegis of the Indian
Turtle Conservation Program, to garner relevant
information for species conservation objectives.
Sites were selected for sampling on the
basis of previous species distribution records,
information from local community members
and personal communications with biologists,
that have worked in the area. Sampling for
specimens was largely carried out using hoop
traps (a specialised turtle trap) and fishing nets.
Identification of species occurring at a site was
also carried out through conversations with local
community members using visual aids such as
field guides and by distributing postcards with
color photographs of N. leithii and P. cantorii
among local residents. Questionnaires were also
used in interviews of local fishermen to arrive
at indications of population status, trends, level
of exploitation, and their perception towards
turtles in general.
These survey efforts have been a step forward
in enhancing our knowledge of these poorly
Preliminary observations
on Occurrence
of Softshell Turtles in
Karnataka, Southern India
Shashwat Sirsi1 | shashwatsirsi@gmail.com
r a n g e c o u n t r y u p d at e
india
Leith's softshell turtle (Nilssonia leithi) is a poorly known species endemic to south India that has been proposed for
critically endangered status by the IUCN Red List. Intense fishing pressures are the primary threats. This is a juvenile,
evidenced by the intense orange flashes on the head. Photo credIt: B.h.c. murthy
august 2011 98 turtle survival
known species. The occurrence of P.cantorii
was confirmed during rapid surveys through
the observation of a single female and two male
specimens from three different locations on
River Netravati, a west flowing river in Dakshin
Kannada district, southwestern Karnataka. Ad-
ditionally, skeletal remnants of two adults were
also observed at a private museum in Bantwal
town of the same district. The two male P.
cantorii are currently being maintained at the
Dr. Shivram Karanth Biological Park at Pilikula,
Dakshin Kannada district.
There are four hydrological projects on the
river in this ecologically sensitive region, which
have affected habitat stability and possibly block
migration of P. cantorii toward estuarine areas.
All records of species occurrence obtained dur-
ing the survey were from locations proximate to
hydrological projects. Regradation of the river
bed was being undertaken during a visit to one
such hydroelectric project at Shamboor, near
Bantwal. The impact of such a change in habitat
on P. cantorii would be understood through
later visits to this site. A large number of itiner-
ant labourers at the site have been reported to
consume adults and eggs of P. cantorii, which
coupled with habitat changes, exerts consider-
able pressure on this population. At another
hydrological project, near Bantwal, the height
of the dam is being raised to twice the current
height of 4 m, in order to enhance storage capac-
ity for water supply. This is likely to inundate
valuable nesting habitat upstream. Further,
mortality caused during operation of power
generation and water supply equipment has also
been reported by project personnel. Sampling in
the near future on Netravati River is planned at
additional locations to further ascertain the pres-
ence of P. cantorii and possibly N. leithii.
Sampling was carried out at the Cauvery
River in southern Karnataka primarily at loca-
tions that were within a designated protected
area. Valuable information regarding the habitat
of this little known species was gathered through
discussions with local community members. N.
leithii was reported to occur in areas of con-
siderable depth, relatively slow water flow and
soft riverbed stratum. Individuals from local
communities also mentioned that nesting by N.
leithii typically occurred during April and May.
Mid-river islands were also visited to search for
nests of the species where evidence of nesting
trials was observed. People of the Soliga tribe
reside in this region and carry out fishing, hunt-
ing and collection of non-timber forest products
in a clandestine manner to supplement their
meager income from manual labour. Members
of this tribe mentioned that they incidentally
and infrequently capture N. leithii using baited
hooks, while fishing, as well as harvest eggs of
the species. The Soligas possess considerable tra-
ditional knowledge and are particularly skilled at
locating nests of N. leithii. Participation of these
local individuals in potential nest/egg protection
programs planned for the species would improve
effectiveness while providing them with an alter-
nate source of income.
A settlement of Bangladeshi expatriates in
Sindanoor town, Raichur district of northern
Karnataka, was also visited. As reported by
local fishermen, intensive harvest of N. leithii
has been carried out by camp residents over
an extended period since the establishment of
five camps in 1970. During my first visit, camp
residents feared that I was part of an elaborate
ruse to have them arrested for poaching turtles
and only after a few hours of convincing the
village headman were these fears allayed. A
series of unbaited hooks- also known as "Bosh-
ior Hazaara," that are particularly effective
in snagging softshell turtles are used by the
Bangla poachers in capturing N. leithii. Local
consumption of meat and commercial trade in
calipee has been reported by some of the camp
residents- the calipee of N. leithii is apparently
of high quality and fetches a current price of up-
to Rs. 3000 (ca.$65 US) per kg. An agent alleg-
edly visits this camp every fortnight in order to
transport consignments of calipee to Calcutta,
West Bengal.The relatively common Indian
Flapshell Turtle (Lissemys punctate punctata)
was also observed to be sold for consumption
at evening bazaars at this camp. A conservation
education program was carried out on May 23,
'World Turtle Day' in order to sensitise mem-
bers of this high pressure group towards the
need for chelonian conservation. Participants
mentioned that while poaching of freshwater
turtles involved risks such as imprisonment
and heavy fines, the money earned through this
illegal enterprise offsets the risk. It was also
mentioned during this interaction that several
poachers have moved to exploit softshell turtle
populations in large rivers of other states such
as Gujarat and Maharashtra.
A set net was also used on the Tungabhadra
River, northern Karnatakaat locations where
incidental capture of N. leithii had been observed
previously by local fishermen. As recommended
by local fishermen, the set net was made less
conspicuous by dyeing it with an extract from
the tree species Terminalia tomentosa. However,
commercial and subsistence harvest seems to
have severely depleted this population with no
specimens being captured in the set net deployed
over a sampling period of ten days.
During visits made to the Krishna River in
Bagalkot district of north-western Karnataka,
local fishermen confirmed the incidence of N.
leithii and reported a relatively high frequency
of capture and accidental drowning of the
species in set nets. Local residents also stated
that incidentally captured adults were sold for
consumption. In addition, it was also reported
that Bangladeshi poachers used to frequently
and intensively harvest N. leithii until a few years
ago, when increased vigilance by forest authori-
ties made them shift their base of operations. In
concluding, while a positive start has been made
towards conserving this scantily known species,
Setting bait in hoop traps at Cauvery River, Karnataka. Photo credIt: ShaShwat SIrSI, tSa IndIa
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 99 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
we do have a lot of work ahead of us in order to
secure the future of these endangered softshells.
recommended Future
conSerVatIon actIon
Investigate genetic variance in P.cantorii
and N. leithii across the river systems that
where the species occur.
Set up of an in-situ hatchery program for P.
cantorii near Netravati River at Bantwal
Upgrade existing enclosures and begin breed-
ing program for P. cantorii at Dr.Shivram
Karanth Biological Park at Pilikula
Assess trade and exploitation patterns of
N. leithii, particularly through discussions
with Bangladeshi expatriates at Raichur
District
Conduct a status survey of zoological gar-
dens in the range states of P. cantorii and N.
leithii in order to facilitate the establishment
of captive assurance colonies
Develop a conservation strategy for all four
endangered turtles of the area through
involving all range biologists and other
stakeholders through organising a regional
workshop as recommended in Lucknow
Turtle Workshop, 2010.
acknowledgementS
Heartfelt gratitude is extended to Rick
Hudson (President, Turtle Survival Alliance), Dr.
Shailendra Singh (Director, TSA India Program),
Prof. B.C. Choudhury (Wildlife Institute of India),
Dr. (Vet) Gowri Mallapur and Mr Nikhil Whitaker
(Curator, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust), as well as
Dr. B.H.C.K. Murthy (Senior Scientist, Zoological
Survey of India) for their support and guidance.
I sincerely acknowledge the support from the
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF),
Wildlife Mr BK Singh, Mr Hitesh Malhotra (in the
state of Karnatka) and Andra Pradesh respectively
for granting the necessary permissions. Addition-
ally, PCCF Dr. MS Swaminath and PK Sharma,
of the state of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
respectively, are being acknowledged for their
help in procuring the necessary permission and
needed guidance. The Divisional Forest Officers
Mr AK Singh, Cauveri Division, Mr Vikjayaku-
mar Manglore Division, Mr Panchalinge Gowda,
Raichoor Division in Karnataka and Mr K. Thulsi
Rao, Head, biodiversity Research Centre, Srilelam,
Andhra Pradesh are thanked for suggestions and
logistic support. Thanks are also due to my field
assistants who are too many in number to be
named specifically but without whom the surveys
could never have been conducted.
A group of hatchling Narrow-headed softshell turtles (Chitra indica) being headstarted at the Deori Turtle Rearing Center
in Madhya Pradesh (MP). In August 2010, four nests from the National Chambal Sanctuary and two from the Son Gharial
Sanctuary totaling 701 eggs (116 eggs per clutch) were located and left in situ, covered with iron mesh for protection
against predators such as jackals and monitor lizards. In October, 637 Chitra hatched with an overall hatching success rate
of over 90%. Conservation measures such as this are necessary to try and offset the rapid decline of this species due to
hunting for its cartilage (or calipee) that is dried and shipped to China. The calipee trade is an emerging threat that is hav-
ing serious impacts on softshell turtle populations throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We thank Dr. R. K. Sharma
and the MP Forest Department for this photograph and data.
Female Pelochelys cantorii, Netravati River, Karnataka. Photo credIt: ShaShwat SIrSI, tSa IndIa
august 2011 100 turtle survival
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The turtle conservation community lost one of its staunchest allies when Bern Tryon passed
away on May 6, 2011 after battling cancer. He is best known for his pioneering work with the
southern Bog Turtle, especially in Tennessee where he wrote and helped implement a conserva-
tion and recovery plan for the species. He created new subpopulations using turtles headstarted
in captivity, and developed a model program merging field and captive management techniques.
Bern's 25 year field commitment to the southern bog turtle will continue long after his death as
he bequeathed his significant herpetological library valued at $185,000 - to the TSA to create
an endowment to fund research and conservation on bog turtles in the south
At the time of his death was employed by the Knoxville Zoo as Director of Animal Collections
/ Herpetology. He initiated a highly successful captive tortoise propagation program there (spider
tortoises, in particular) and from that directed financial support to the TSA. At the 2010 turtle
symposium in Orlando, Bern was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for Significant Con-
tributions to the Conservation of the Southern Bog Turtle, presented jointly by the TSA and the
IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Bern will forever be remembered for his
dedication and passion for herpetology and uncompromising commitment to turtle conservation.
Bern Tryon Bequeaths Library to TSA
Proceeds to benefit Southern bog Turtles
The plaque was placed by The Nature Conservancy at the Shady Valley bog site where bern spent
much of the last 25 years of his life, working to save bog Turtles in Tennessee.
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 101 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
d o n o r r e c o g n i t i o n
Supporters donating
$200 to $499
bruce Weber, Chuck Schaffer, dave Manser,
dickerson Park zoo, donnel davis, emily rhine,
erica Forhan, Han Qi, Hersh Markusfeld, James
and lee glassco, Kurt buhlmann, lisa Weiss,
Mazuri, Patricia Koval, Peter reed, robert Olsen,
robin de bled, Steven Fielke
Supporters donating
$500 to $2499
AAzK - bronx zoo, Albuquerque bioPark,
Anders rhodin, Aquarium Innovations, bC John-
son Family lP, bill Sawey, blank Park zoo, brett
Stearns, brian Horne, Chuck landrey, Clarence
Abercrombie, desert Tortoise Council, dutch &
belgium Turtle & Tortoise Society (NbSV), Frank
and Agnes landrey, Harris rosen Foundation,
HATzH donation Fund, Herpetofauna Founda-
tion, Jacksonville zoo, James breheny, Jay Allen,
John Iverson, los Angeles zoo, Nancy reinert,
Peter Praschag, Peter Valentin, Peter Woodman,
Sedgwick County zoological Society, Shannon
livingston, SK Foundation, Wildlife Conservation
Society, Woodland Park zoo
Supporters donating
$2500 to $7,499
AAzK Omaha's Henry doorly zoo, brian
bolton, british Chelonia group, Chelonian re-
search Foundation, Cleveland Metroparks zoo, da-
vid Shapiro, detroit zoo, disney's Animal Kingdom,
Fagus Foundation, Fort Worth zoo, Frank and Kate
Slavens, Oregon zoo, Scott davis, Taipei Forestry
bureau, Taipei zoo, The Orianne Society, Toronto
zoo, Turtle Conservancy, William dennler
Supporters donating
$7,500 to $19,999
Andre Prost, Inc. / Taste of Thai, AzA Chelo-
nian Advisory group, Columbus zoo, Conservation
International, Kadoorie Farm and botanic garden,
Sabin Family Foundation, Walde research and
environmental Consulting, Patricia Koval / World
Wildlife Fund Canada, zoo Med laboratories, Inc.,
Supporters donating
$20,000 or more
beneficia Foundation, Mohamed bin zayed
Species Conservation Fund, Nature's Own
2011 Conference Sponsors
Aquarium Innovations, brett and Nancy Stea-
rns, david Shapiro, desert Tortoise Council, Holohil
Systems, ltd., John Iverson, Mazuri, The Orianne
Society, Scott Hendrickson, Turtle Conservancy,
zoo Med laboratories, Inc.
2011 Behler Turtle Conservation
Award Sponsors
Chelonian research Foundation, Turtle Con-
servancy, deborah behler, Chelonian research
Institute, World Chelonian Trust, Conservation
International, Wildlife Conservation Society, brett
and Nancy Stearns
The TSA would also like to extend special thanks
to the following members who have found unique
ways to support turtle conservation:
Sheena Koeth sold merchandise on the behalf
of the TSA throughout the year, raising more than
$800.
Stephen Ecrement and Mariamar Gutierrez hit
the Appalachian Trail in April 2011 for their "Hik-
ing for Hicatee" fundraiser. Their week-long hike
resulted in $830 for Dermatemys conservation in
belize.
Eric Goode and the Maritime Hotel provided
special assistance to the TSA again this year
by hosting the annual board of directors meet-
ing. His hospitality and generosity is very much
appreciated.
Brian Horne and Adina Ripin harnessed the
power of the internet to raise funds for the TSA.
brian used Facebook Causes to raises more
than $400 for turtle conservation to celebrate his
birthday. Adina ripin celebrated her bat mitzvah
by asking for donations via First giving. She
nearly tripled her fundraising goal and in the end,
and at the time of this publication, raised more
than $1,000 for TSA with the help of her family
and friends.
Carel Brest van Kempen, renowned wildlife
artist, donated an original painting of a radiated
Tortoise for the 2010 auction. The original painting
generated $6,000 for Malagasy tortoise conser-
vation and sales from the limited edition prints
continue to raise funds for Madagascar.
Thank you for your support!
There are many ways that YOU can contribute to turtle conservation and sup-
port the TSA's mission of zero turtle extinctions. Visit the TSA website to learn
about how you can:
Make a Donation donations can be dedicated to a specific project or pro-
gram, just let us know what you'd like to support!
Purchase Equipment Check out the TSA's "wish list" to purchase equipment
that is needed by our staff in the field.
Adopt a Turtle by symbolically adopted an endangered species for yourself
or as a gift, you can support turtle conservation globally.
Join the TSA become a member of the TSA, or buy a gift membership for a
friend!
Support the TSA at No Cost to You! There are several programs available in
which you can support the TSA's mission by doing what you do every day
shopping, banking or selling items on ebay.
Do Some Shopping for a Cause Visit the TSA's online store to purchase
t-shirts, art, publications or other merchandise that supports conservation
projects around the world.
www.turtlesurvival.org
The TSA gratefully acknowledges the following donors and organizations for their generous support over the past year (July 2010-July 2011):
HoW Can You Help?
august 2011 102 turtle survival
The IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Special-
ist Group and the Turtle Survival Alliance are
delighted to announce that the 2011 Behler
Turtle Conservation Award will be presented to
John Iverson.
Almost everyone who works in turtle con-
servation knows John. He has produced a body
of basic biology that critically underpins any
turtle conservation efforts and he has shared in-
formation and maintained fruitful contact with
turtle people all over the world in a way that no
one else has done.
John has contributed extensively and signifi-
cantly to at least three aspects of the biology of
turtles that have important conservation impli-
cations: taxonomy and phylogeny, zoogeography,
and ecology and demography. To do conserva-
tion work, we must know what turtles there are,
where they live, and whether their populations
are increasing or decreasing and why.
In the realm of taxonomy and phylogeny,
John has worked for more than 35 years on his
beloved genus Kinosternon, the Mud Turtles.
When he began working on this group, it was,
simply stated, the biggest taxonomic mess in
North American turtles. Building on the work of
Norman Hartweg and collaborating extensively
with Jim Berry, John has, through careful work
and extreme attention to detail, achieved a clear
understanding of this once confused group.
John has also spent his career wrestling with
perhaps the hardest problem in turtle taxonomy
- the Asian Geoemydids. Along the way, he par-
ticipated in describing one of the most remark-
able new turtles ever, the Sulawesi Forest Turtle
(Leucocephalon yuwonoi). Other work describing
new species that turned out to be hybrids was
less immediately successful, but led to important
advances. A defining character of science accord-
ing to Francis Bacon, one of modern science's
founders, is that "Truth arises more readily
from error than confusion." It takes a very good
scientist to make an important mistake. It takes
an even better person to build on those mistakes,
if we can even call them that. John's unpublished
"Synopsis of Problematic Geoemydid Taxa" set
the research program for that group of turtles for
many years.
Although John has worked on his own check-
list of turtles since his graduate school days, he is
also a key member of the IUCN Turtle Taxonomy
Working Group. Here, in the company of others,
he brings his unparalleled knowledge to work
that directly affects turtle conservation.
In 1986, John published the first edition of
his monumental A Checklist with Distribution
Maps of the Turtles of the World. Here he sum-
marized turtle taxonomy and presented literally
every known locality of every species of turtle
of the world. To do this he had to read all of the
literature and extract all of the museum data that
were available anywhere. He then had to look up
each locality, find it on a map and determine its
latitude and longitude. The process of georefer-
encing these localities was about two decades
ahead of its time. In 1992, he published A Revised
Checklist with Distribution Maps of the Turtles of
the World and immediately began collaborating
with Ross Kiester to make these data available as
a computer database. As this process contin-
ued, the Worldwide Web evolved to the point
where the data could be presented to all via the
EmySystem website. Once the data were in a da-
tabase, we could finally get a handle on just how
much work John had done. At present there are
41,704 localities in the EmySystem representing
66,939 museum specimens and 24,713 localities
from 2,263 literature citations.
In 1981, John began working at Gimlet Lake
in the Nebraska Sandhills. Using drift fences on
an unprecedented scale, he began studies of the
life history and demography of the Yellow Mud
Turtle and the Ornate Box Turtle. Workers in
turtle conservation constantly plead for more
long-term studies of turtle demography. Because
most turtles live so long, a study cannot even
2011 Behler Turtle
Conservation Award:
John B. Iverson
Ross Kiester, Turtle Conservancy | ross@turtleconservancy.org
Anders Rhodin, Rick Hudson
b e h l e r awa r d
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 103 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org
begin to be considered as long-term until it is
conducted for more than 30 years. There are
simply too few studies of this duration and John
has built two of them.
John's passion for turtles is equaled by his
passion for connecting to the turtle community.
Throughout his career, by post and then by email,
he has maintained a correspondence second to
none. The number of emails he answers in a week
would cause most of us to weep. His commitment
to sharing data came long before that was the
expected practice of scientists and is a key aspect
of his contribution to turtle conservation.
John received his Ph.D. from the University
of Florida in 1977 where he was a student of
both Archie Carr and Walter Auffenberg. But in
reality, John went his own direction establishing
a pattern of independence throughout his life.
In 1978 he took a position at Earlham College in
Richmond, Indiana, and remained there until his
retirement this June. Earlham is a small, well-
respected liberal arts college, but has neither the
institutional culture nor the infrastructure to
support research careers. So John's productivity
as a research scientist is all the more remarkable.
However, this institution's relative indiffer-
ence to research made it possible for John to do
exactly the kind of work he felt was important. In
contrast, it is hard for research career oriented
professors at major universities to continue long-
term studies year after year with publications
coming only every several years.
What John did receive from Earlham was
a constant stream of talented undergraduates.
He made the most of these and they, in return,
got the benefit of a truly dedicated mentor. Field
studies are often labor intensive and John's repu-
tation was such that he never lacked for help.
From 1982 until his retirement this year, John
was the Director of Earlham's small but surprisingly
superb Joseph Moore Museum of Natural History.
John's passion and indefatigable capacity for
work have secured him a place in the hearts and
minds of turtle conservation people around the
world. We look forward to even more inspiration
from him now that he is retired from academia.
The turtle community is proud to have John as
a member, but we do have to share him with the
iguana community where he has done, if any-
thing, more direct conservation work than he has
with turtles. So John is about twice as remark-
able as most of us think. That's truly remarkable.
The IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater
Turtle Specialist Group and Turtle Survival Alli-
ance established the Behler Turtle Conservation
Award in 2006, a major annual award presented
jointly by these groups to honor leadership and
excellence in the field of tortoise and freshwa-
ter turtle conservation. The award honors the
memory of John L. Behler, previous Chair of the
Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group
and Curator of Herpetology at the Bronx Zoo,
Wildlife Conservation Society. The Award in-
cludes an honorarium of $3,000, and co-sponsors
this year are Chelonian Research Foundation,
Conservation International, Chelonian Research
Institute, Behler Chelonian Center, World
Chelonian Trust, Wildlife Conservation Society,
Deborah Behler, and Brett and Nancy Stearns.
Previous Behler Award honorees are Ed Moll,
Whit Gibbons, Peter Pritchard, Gerald Kuchling
and Bernard Devaux. In addition to honoring
the life-time achievements of senior turtle and
tortoise conservationists, the Award also honors
conservation efforts by younger individuals who
make major contributions to the field. Recogniz-
ing and valuing the often tireless and dedicated
efforts made by all these individuals is impor-
tant, and the Behler Award hopes to provide
some inspiration and reward for those who have
demonstrated excellence and leadership on the
front lines of global turtle conservation efforts.
august 2011 104 turtle survival

a publication of the turtle survival alliance 105 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org

The bushmeat trade in Africa continues to severely threaten many species
of turtle and tortoise, including the Serrated Hinge-backed Tortoise (Kinixys
erosa). This enigmatic species is being so heavily utilized as a protein source
by isolated impoverished villages across Central Africa that many localized
tortoise populations may have already gone extinct. Thus, in early 2011, TSA
and their partners proactively began developing ex-situ assurance colonies
for this species as a means to safe guard its continued existence.
Publication
supported by