Another Step Closer to Recovery in Bangladesh

by¬†Heather Lowe-¬† Continuing their on-going pursuit for remnant individuals of the Northern River Terrapin (Batagur baska) in Bangladesh, the team recently struck gold by locating what is believed to be an adult female that was recently obtained from the wild, getting them one step closer to finding (and protecting) what may be the last known […]

Turtles and Tortoises are in Trouble

World’s Top Turtle and Tortoise Experts Release Largest Comprehensive Study of Extinction Risks and Provide Roadmap for Recovery Ending the Wildlife Trade Will Help Species Immediately For immediate release Fifty-one experts with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group published the most comprehensive study of the extinction risks […]

Rupali Ghosh Receives Disney Conservation Hero Award

by¬†Heather Lowe– ¬† The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), in partnership with the Vienna Zoo, is thrilled to announce that Rupali Ghosh has been honored with a Disney Conservation Hero Award from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF). The award recognizes local citizens for their tireless efforts to save wildlife, protect habitats and educate communities. Recipients […]

Star Tortoise Reintroduction Progressing Well in Myanmar

by¬†Steve Platt¬† Efforts to reestablish a wild population of Burmese star tortoises (Geochelone platynota) at a wildlife sanctuary in central Myanmar continued apace during November 2014 when we liberated 50 headstarted tortoises from a¬†temporary pen where they had been held for the past 12 months. Captive-bred subadult tortoises from several ¬† assurance colonies in Myanmar […]

Autumn at the Turtle Survival Center

During most of the year the climate in South Carolina is perfect for the chelonian residents at the Turtle Survival Center (TSC), but during the relatively short winter it can get pretty chilly. Some species must be brought indoors during the winter months. For those that can live outdoors year round, their enclosures are piled […]

Is the Tide Turning for Madagascar’s Tortoises?

by¬†Heather Lowe¬† After nearly 30 hours in transit on three flights, and bone tired, I returned from Madagascar just in time for Thanksgiving. But with a few days to put things into perspective, I was ready to share my impressions about TSA’s work to reduce tortoise poaching: in brief,¬†I believe the tide is beginning to […]

NAFTRG 2014: The Year of the Volunteer

by¬†Eric Munscher¬† This year has been a great one for the North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG) for many reasons, none more so than because of the incredible volunteers that made it all possible. The group captured and processed more turtles in 2014 than in any other year since the project launched in 1999. […]

Captive Reproduction of Arakan Forest Turtles

by¬†Steve Platt¬† On 21 November, we were elated to learn that a female Arakan Forest Turtle (Heosemys depressa), one of 14 adults held in an assurance colony at Gwa (Headquarters of the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Sanctuary), had deposited a clutch of five eggs only days before. This is the second successful nesting by a female […]

Visitors to the TSC in December

by¬†Heather Lowe¬† We’d like to extend a huge thanks to the volunteers from the North Carolina Zoo who helped out recently at the Turtle Survival Center (TSC). With the help of the hard-working Zoo staff, the team was able to make progress on a variety of construction projects, including erecting a chain link fence around […]

Turtle Team Aids in Gharial Rescue

by¬†Heather Lowe¬† The TSA-India team, in association with the local forestry department, recently rescued a 14.5 foot male gharial from the Son River in India. The team encountered the male gharial basking with fishing nets wrapped around its snout in Son Gharial Sanctuary while they were conducting a turtle survey. In addition to being entangled […]

TSA Around the World: Belize

Get YOUR Turtle Questions Ready! CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE WEBINAR! In this webinar series, we’re taking you around the world to see how the Turtle Survival Alliance makes a positive impact for tortoises and freshwater turtles across our many range-country programs. This week JOIN US LIVE from BELIZE! The staff of the Belize Foundation […]

Burmese Roofed Turtles Return Home

by¬†Steve Platt¬† In 2007, Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society-Myanmar Program (WCS), launched an ambitious program to rescue the endemic Burmese Roofed Turtle (Batagur trivittata) from the brink of extinction. Considered the second-most critically endangered turtle in the world, the remaining wild Burmese Roofed Turtles are confined to a remote […]