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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Rafetus Breeding Attempt 2011

by: Dr. Gerald Kuchling With the glass barriers around both ponds at Suzhou Zoo having been completed in the summer of 2010, the male and the female Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) have roamed together in both the small and the large pond since 24 August 2010. For the first time, the male and […]

Thank you for supporting the TSA!

by: Heather Lowe The New Year is officially here and it’s time for us to say THANK YOU! In early December, we presented you with a challenge from our Board of Directors and the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation. Their generous offer was to match (dollar for dollar) any donations that came in prior to December […]

Cautious Optimism for the Sulawesi Forest Turtle

by: Charles Innis, VMD, DABVP Management of a sustainable captive population of the critically endangered Sulawesi forest turtle (Leucocephalon yuwonoi) has been a priority of the TSA since its inception. A Taxon Management Plan was established in 2003 to develop a census of the known worldwide captive specimens of this species, monitor reproductive efforts, and […]

New TSA Captive Breeding Facility

by: Heather Lowe In response to the magnitude of the turtle extinction crisis, the TSA was founded on the belief that some critically endangered species would not survive without long-term captive assurance colonies. Historically, the TSA’s assurance colonies have been spread over multiple locations as a hedge against a disease outbreak, fire, or other disaster […]

Outreach Event Hosted in Madagascar

by Heather Lowe The TSA team in Madagascar is still waiting on word from the Malagasy Forestry Authority on the legal proceedings surrounding the recent Radiated Tortoise confiscation. In the meantime, they are stretched to the limit in terms of time and resources, caring for the nearly 600 tortoises at the TSA/Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership (MBP) […]