Gearing up for Rafetus 2011

by: E. H. King Editor’s Note: With both the male and female Rafetus up and basking, the 2011 breeding season is upon us and all those involved are gearing up for this year’s work. Emily King will be based at the Suzhou Zoo throughout the breeding season and will be providing blog updates on this […]

Year of the Turtle Celebration in Bangladesh

by: Heather Lowe The Center for Advanced Research in Natural Resource and Management (CARINAM), the TSA’s partner on the Batagur baska project in Bangladesh, recently celebrated the Year of the Turtle with an event at Dhaka University. Held in collaboration with the IUCN, Bangladesh Bird Club and Priokriti-o-Jibon, the event was held in the Teacher […]

Central American River Turtle Facility Near Completion

by: Heather Lowe Last year (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 […]

Asian Box Turtle Workshop Hosted in China

by: Heather Lowe The Asian box turtle Genus Cuora consists of 13 species, all of which have one thing in common, they are at very high risk of extinction. All but one of these species is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List as of 2011. Five of these species are ranked among […]

Turtle Behavior – More Than Just Basking

by: Emily King When people ask me what I do on day to day basis, they’re often surprised to hear that a lot of it is purely observational. I am by the turtle enclosures making notes on their behaviors. The general response is always “How active can turtles be?” But I think the truth will […]

Tortoises Seized in Madagascar

by: Heather Lowe 196 Critically Endangered tortoises were seized at Ivato International Airport on the night of July 24. The group included 168 Radiated Tortoises (Astrochelys radiata), 27 Ploughshare Tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora) and one Spider Tortoise (Pyxis). According to the Eaux & Fortes staff at Ivato Airport, a car brought three suitcases directly to the […]

Field Surveys for Wild Rafetus

by: Dr. Gerald Kuchling The known world population of Yangtze giant softshell turtles (Rafetus swinhoei) presently counts four living specimens: two in separate lakes in the northern part of Vietnam (Red River drainage) and two in China where the only confirmed female from Changsha Zoo is on breeding loan at Suzhou Zoo since 2008, paired […]

School Nearing Completion in Madagascar

by: Heather Lowe We were very excited this week to receive this picture from Herilala Randriamahazo, our Tortoise Conservation Coordinator in Madagascar. This is our first glimpse at the school that the TSA is building in the village of Antsakoamasy! In March 2011, Rick Hudson traveled to Madagascar and met up with Christina Castellano (The […]

Madagascar Revisited

by: Rick Hudson For the second time in 6 months, Rick Hudson (TSA) and Christina Castellano (The Orianne Society) teamed up to work in the south of Madagascar, continuing to look for solutions to the ongoing Radiated Tortoise crisis (see March 2011 trip report here). We came prepared this time with a highly capable field […]

Assessing reintroduction sites for Burmese star tortoises

by: Kalyar Platt, PhD Recognizing that future conservation efforts for Burmese star tortoises (Geochelone platynota) hinge on developing successful captive breeding programs to supply tortoises for eventual reintroduction into protected habitats, assurance colonies were established at Yadanabon Zoological Gardens (Mandalay), and at the Minzontaung, Lawkanandar, and Shwe Settaw wildlife sanctuaries. To date, these programs have […]

Collaboration with Madagascar Villages Improving

by: Heather Lowe You may have read about the recent reintroduction of confiscated radiated tortoises into the Ampotaka sacred forest in September. These tortoises (157 total) had been confiscated from Ivato International Airport in July and the TSA was appointed by the authority to look after them. All of the tortoises were measured and weighed […]

Rafetus Season Ends in Disappointment

by: Emily King The fourth season for the Rafetus breeding project has come to an end, without the results that we were all hoping for. It seems that out of the 188 eggs laid, none were actually fertilized. This has put all of us on the project in a bit of a predicament wondering how […]