TSA Hatches Second Ploughshare Tortoise in Madagascar!

That makes two! We are excited to announce the hatching of a second Ploughshare Tortoise from our assurance group in Madagascar. This precious tortoise entered the world just over two weeks after the hatching of our first-ever Ploughshare on December 28, 2020. The Ploughshare Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora), or Angonoka, is regarded as the world’s most […]

Critically Endangered Black Softshells Return to the Wild

For the first time ever, juvenile headstarted Black Softshell Turtles (Nilssonia nigricans) from Nagshankar Temple’s captive adult population were released into the wild‚ 22 of them in all. Saucer-shaped and adorned with peacock spots, these youngsters are the wild future for this, one of the world’s most endangered turtles. Regarded, until recently, as Extinct in […]

800 Radiated Tortoises Rescued in Madagascar!

This past weekend, TSA-Madagascar staff assisted in the seizure of 811 juvenile Radiated Tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) from poachers in southern Madagascar. The TSA Madagasikara team quickly transported the tortoises‚ weak and dehydrated due to months of being held without food or water, exacerbated by severe drought and scorching temperatures‚ to our Tortoise Conservation Center (TCC) […]

10 Royal Turtles Released into their Natural Habitat

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE image:[wcs.jpeg] Kampong Seila (Jan 28, 2021) ‚ The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Department of Fisheries Conservation of the Fisheries Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, collaboration with Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), today released ten critically endangered Royal Turtles (Batagur affinis) into the Sre Ambel River […]

Turtle Community Comes to the Aid in Malaysia

In late December, the Northeast Monsoon Winds swept over the South China Sea bringing with them pounding rain to Peninsular Malaysia. By the first week of January, many eastern Malaysian states were experiencing flooding, especially Terengganu. The flooding was considered the worst in half a century. After more than a week of incessant rain, villages […]

The World’s Rarest Turtle Has a Shot at Escaping Extinction

Conservationists confirmed that a Swinhoe’s Softshell Turtle found in Vietnam is female, reigniting hope for saving the species. From the New York Times – By Rachel Nuwer, Jan. 25, 2021 Gerald Kuchling, a project leader for the Turtle Survival Alliance who helped with efforts to breed the species in China, said, “Even if a male […]

Sea Turtle Rescue Effort Update from Texas

As many of you are aware by now, the State of Texas was besieged by a winter storm that left many areas covered in snow and ice, and its residents without electric or water services for several days. The wintry blast also greatly impacted its wildlife, notably sea turtles. This week, an unprecedented 7,000+ sea […]

Preparing for Tortoise Reintroduction in Myanmar

by: Heather Lowe The Turtle Survival Alliance has been part of a highly successful collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Myanmar to conserve critically endangered and endemic turtles and tortoises since 2009. Our work began as an effort to build turtle facilities to breed and house rare and endangered turtles rescued from government […]

A Momentous Event Unfolding in Cambodia!

Will she, or won’t she…only time will tell! In Cambodia, an adult female Southern River Terrapin (Batagur affinis) has been testing the sands of a recently created artificial nest site at the Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Center (KKRCC). It’s with high hopes that she will utilize this nesting area in the coming days to deposit […]

Eulogy to Dr. John M. Legler

by: Dr. R. Vogt At 11pm on 28 March 2014 the turtle community lost one of the foremost living turtle biologists in the world, Dr. John M. Legler. John is best known for four main turtle projects: his doctoral research with Terrapene ornata in Kansas, his research of turtles throughout Mexico and Central America, culminating […]

NAFTRG Samples Comal Springs

by: Heather Lowe Despite having a smaller crew than normal, the North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG) still accomplished a lot during their most recent survey event at Comal Springs from February 28 to March 2. The project has now marked more than 1,180 common musk turtles and more than 650 Texas cooters in […]

Endangered River Terrapins Nesting in Bangladesh

by: Rick Hudson Throughout Asia, nesting season is just concluding for river terrapins (genus Batagur), where five of the six known species struggle to survive. All species have been reduced to remnants of their former numbers, and intensive recovery programs are being spearheaded to ensure their survival. In Bangladesh, one of the world’s rarest turtles, […]