Crisis in the Philippines

by¬†Heather Lowe¬† Dear Members and Friends, Our message today is so urgent, and so important to the continued survival of a critically endangered species, that we are jointly requesting your help alongside our friends at the Turtle Conservancy, Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, and the Turtle Conservation Fund. Yesterday, authorities in Palawan confiscated more […]

Turtle Surveys Conducted in Comal Springs

by: Heather Lowe In May, the North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG) conducted turtle surveys in Comal Springs (New Braunfels, Texas) for the second time in 2015. In all, the group has been sampling this site for more than three years now. During the trip, the weather proved to be a real challenge and […]

First Turtles Hatch in Belize

by¬†Heather Barrett¬† Over a five-day period in mid-June, seven Central American River Turtles (Dermatemys mawii) hatched at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC). These are the first hatchlings in the captive breeding program established by the TSA at the HCRC based at the BFREE Field Station in southern Belize. Locally known as Hicatee,¬†D. mawii¬†is […]

Radiated Tortoises Seized in Madagascar

by¬†Rick Hudson¬† TSA Madagascar continues to be called on to manage confiscations of tortoises, both at the international airport in Antananarivo and in the rural south. Program Director Herilala Randriamahazo reports that on 20 June, 453 baby Radiated Tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) were seized at the Ivato Airport, all packed in eight cloth bags, and crammed […]

First Artificial Breeding Attempt for World’s Rarest Turtle Unsuccessful

by Heather Lowe In early July, Gerald Kuchling, the chelonian reproductive biologist who led a team that attempted artificial insemination on the world’s last known female Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), returned to the Suzhou Zoo in China to evaluate the eggs. Since the procedure was attempted, the female had laid two clutches of […]

Musk Turtle Data Needed

by Eric Munscher The North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG) recently gave a presentation on demographic variation of the common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) in the southeast United States in the presence of congeners. We presented preliminary data from sites in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Tennessee, and throughout Florida. We are looking for more data […]

Studying the reproductive ecology of the Toad-headed Turtle

by¬†administrator¬† The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), with support from Ecopetrol and the Santo Domingo Foundation, are studying Dahl’s Toad-headed Turtle (Mesoclemmys dahli) in the tropical dry forest of Colombia, one of the most threatened ecosystems in the country. First, the research will focus on estimating abundance of the species […]

Reproductive Assessments Conducted in Belize

by¬†Rick Hudson¬† A TSA team recently assembled at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC) for the second round of husbandry evaluations and reproductive exams on our group of 25 Central American River Turtles, or Hicatee, Dermatemys mawii. Located at the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE) in southern Belize, this tropical forest […]

Historic Rain Event Floods the Turtle Survival Center

by¬†Heather Lowe While spared the full fury of Hurricane Joaquin, South Carolina has been inundated with historic levels of rain over the past weekend. Unprecedented rainfall levels were recorded in the Charleston Metro Area, including the Turtle Survival Center in Berkeley County, in what has been called a slow-motion rain disaster. As stormy weather settled, […]

The Calm After the Storm

by Rick Hudson Where to start and how to summarize six weeks of whirlwind activity surrounding one of the most critical turtle confiscations that the turtle community has ever been called on to handle? First and foremost we want to say thanks to all of you for your support during the past six weeks. It […]

Kalyar Platt receives the 10th Annual Behler Turtle Conservation Award

by¬†Heather Lowe¬† The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) is pleased to announce that the 10th Annual John L. Behler Turtle Conservation Award was presented to Kalyar Platt (TSA Turtle Conservation Coordinator, Myanmar) at the 13th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles in Tucson, Arizona on August 9. Kalyar is the […]

More Than 1,000 Turtles and Nests Protected in Colombia

by¬†Mathilde Overduin, WCS¬† More than one thousand nests of the Giant South American River Turtle (Podocnemis expansa) were found and protected this year in a small portion of the Meta River, in the Orinoqu√≠a region of Colombia, as part of a project led by Fundación Omacha, Turtle Survival Alliance, and Wildlife Conservation Society, and funded […]