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Geochelone platynota

Burmese Star Tortoise

Habitat:

Dry deciduous and scrub forests with dense grassy undergrowth

Threats:

– Collection for the pet trade
– Habitat Destruction

Wild Population:

– Now increasing
– Considered functionally extinct by the mid-2000s
– Wild population now greater than 5,000 individuals

Conservation Efforts:

– Captive breeding and assurance colonies
– Reintroduction through the release of captive-bred tortoises and captive-laid nest translocations
– Field Surveys
– Protected in Myanmar
– CITES Appendix I

Endangered Status:

Species Snapshot

Fast Facts

Burmese Star Tortoises are most active in the early morning and late afternoon hours when the sun’s rays are less imposing.

They are most active during the monsoon season (June – September) when the Central Dry Zone receives most of its roughly 102 cm (40 in) of annual rainfall.

This species is primarily an herbivorous grazer and forager, although they may opportunistically eat animal protein if it becomes available to them.

Female tortoises will lay between 1 – 4 clutches of eggs during the cooler dry season (September – February). Because the eggs are laid during this period, the embryos may undergo a diapause (temporary halt in development). This diapause helps to coincide hatchling emergence with the onset of the monsoon season when water and new, edible herbaceous growth are present.

In Myanmar, in the late 1990s, the Burmese Star Tortoise was on the brink of extinction. Avidly sought for the wildlife trade, and with relentless removal from the wild, within a decade this tortoise species had almost completely disappeared from its native habitat. By the mid-2000s, it was considered functionally extinct in the wild.

Today, more than 20,000 tortoises have hatched and nearly 5,000 have been released back into their native habitat. 

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