Into the Field and Under the Water: Tracking Hatchling Hicatees

Jonathan Dubon Web Slider copy|Jonathan-Dubon-Blog-Photos-4|Jonathan-Dubon-Blog-Photos-3|Jonathan-Dubon-Blog-Photos-2

by Jonathan Dubon, BFREE My name is Jonathan Dubon and I am the Wildlife Fellow at the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE), a biological field station and private reserve in the foothills of the Maya Mountains in southern Belize. Here, I work at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC) which is […]

Vision Document for Conserving Assam Temple Turtles Launched

soft|soft

image:[Black Softshell] A major temple in Assam has signed a memorandum of understanding with two green NGOs, the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden and the Kamrup district administration for long-term conservation of the rare freshwater black softshell turtle (Nilssonia nigricans). A vision document 2030 was also launched after Turtle Survival Alliance India and Help […]

148 Cantor’s Giant Softshell Turtle Hatchlings Released Into Natural Habitat

CANTOR2WCS|CANTOR1WCS

By Phal Sophanith image:[ Cantor’s Giant Softshell Pelochelys cantorii Photo: WCS] The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), in collaboration with the Fisheries Administration (FiA) at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, have recently released 148 Cantor’s Giant Softshell Turtle hatchlings, aged between one and three weeks into the Mekong River stretching along Sambour district of […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Stocking up on School Supplies

by: Heather Lowe Rick Hudson (TSA President) is currently traveling in Madagascar with TSA Members Christina Castellano (The Orianne Society) and Michael Ogle (Knoxville Zoo). Part of their mission is to deliver supplies to the brand new school in Antsakoamasy. (For more on the school and its construction, click here.) We were very pleasantly surprised […]

Searching for the Burmese Roofed Turtle

by: Steve and Kalyar Platt The TSA/WCS Myanmar Program Turtle Team returned this week from a two month expedition up the Chindwin River in northwestern Myanmar. Access to this region by foreigners has long proven difficult owing to security concerns that have recently lessened. The principal objectives of the expedition were to determine if any […]

TSA Conducts Tortoise Husbandry Workshops in Madagascar

by: Rick Hudson In response to the growing number of tortoise confiscations in Madagascar, and a lack of trained tortoise-care personnel and dedicated facilities, the TSA recently conducted two husbandry training workshops aimed at improving care and survival. Often, these confiscations end poorly for the tortoises involved, and we continue to see appalling levels of […]

569 Radiated Tortoises seized at Airport in Madagascar

by: Herilala Randriamahazo and Heather Lowe On October 10, two Asian passengers on an Air Madagascar flight to Bangkok, Thailand and Guangzhou, China were arrested at Ivato International Airport after attempting to smuggle four suitcases full of 569 Critically Endangered Radiated Tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) through customs. This is a record number seizure for this airport […]