TSA Hatches Second Ploughshare Tortoise in Madagascar!

That makes two!

We are excited to announce the hatching of a second Ploughshare Tortoise from our assurance group in Madagascar. This precious tortoise entered the world just over two weeks after the hatching of our first-ever Ploughshare on December 28, 2020.

The Ploughshare Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora), or Angonoka, is regarded as the world’s most endangered tortoise. Overhunting for the lucrative pet trade, and compounded by wildfires, have all but doomed their wild existence in the tropical dry forests of Madagascar’s northwest coast. Now, its wild population is restricted to Baly Bay National Park. Even here, its population continues to dwindle, so much so, that they are considered Functionally Extinct.

In 2019, the TSA completed an ultra-secure facility for Ploughshare Tortoises confiscated from illegal trade. This year, with funding secured from a generous donor, we will expand this facility. TSA-Madagascar’s is one of two NGO assurance colonies for the critically endangered Ploughshare Tortoise in Madagascar. Reproductive success across these facilities, and safeguarding the last wild individuals in Baly Bay National Park, will ultimately decide the fate of the Angonoka in its native country.

We would like to thank the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MEEF), Gendarmeria Nationale -Madagascar, Madagascar National Parks, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for their support.

Photos: Ny Aina Tiana Rakotoarisoa