November 7, 2010:  “We succeeded in securing an additional three males however we missed saving one male by 5 minutes as it was slaughtered at the market.  If we had been just a few minutes earlier we could have stopped it from being slaughtered, but unfortunately we arrived after they had already started chopping the plastron off.”

These were the anguished words of Brian Horne after leaving the weekend turtle market in Dhaka, Bangladesh in what he would later describe “as one of the worst days of my life, the whole experience left me feeling numb”

Working with Ms. Rupali Ghose (pictured), Brian was plying the turtle markets on behalf of TSA to secure additional breeding stock of the Sundarbans river terrapin, Batagur baska, recognized as one of the most threatened of Asia’s large river turtles, ranking just behind the Yangtze giant softshell, Rafetus swinhoei.  Working with the Bangladesh Forest Department and the NGO Carinam, TSA had already acquired 5 males and 2 females this year for a captive breeding program.  But every specimen is valuable and extreme efforts must be made to secure them before the species slips into extinction. 

UPDATE: Download the final report from the workshop here .

Recently the Indian Turtle Conservation Program (ITCP), in association with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and IUCN/SSC Tortoises and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group hosted the “Indian Freshwater Turtle and Tortoises Conservation Priority Areas & Initiatives” workshop and core-group meeting. The ITCP is a joint countrywide initiative of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and San Diego Zoo Global to protect threatened freshwater turtles and tortoises and their habitats. The workshop was co-sponsored by the TSA, WWF-Canada, Cleveland Zoological Society, San Diego Zoo Global and Seksaria Sugar Factory.

The workshop took place October 22-24, 2010 in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh. The main objectives of the meeting were to review the implementation of the 2005 TSA/MCBT “Conservation Action Plan for Indian Endangered Turtles and Tortoises” and to discuss and prioritize important turtle areas for conservation action across India, while reviewing their potential to support new programs. Participants also were tasked with identifying competent local partners and collaborators for key turtle conservation initiatives.

Brian Horne and Rick Hudson represented the TSA recently at a South American turtle Red-listing workshop in Brazil, joining scientists and conservationists gathered to evaluate the conservation status of the tortoises and freshwater turtles of South America for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.  Spending at least ten days on a boat traveling down the Amazon River with the South American contingent, they used the opportunity to become familiar with the players in turtle conservation in those countries, and to discuss needs and priority areas. 

Fifty Yellow-Headed Temple Turtles have arrived in Florida to begin a new life after being rescued from an illegal wildlife shipment in Hong Kong. Had the turtles been successfully smuggled into China, they would have been killed to satisfy the large demand for turtle meat and turtle parts used in Chinese medicine.

Herilala Randriamahazo (TSA’s full-time Malagasy Tortoise Conservation Coordinator) has only been at work in his new position for a little over a month. However, he has already been able to assist with the apprehension of radiated tortoise poachers - saving a number of tortoises before they were killed.

Rick Hudson, Lonnie McCaskill and Kalyar Platt recently returned from a successful trip to Myanmar where they finalized construction plans and budgets with local architects.  All total, over $60,000 will be spent over the next three months on new turtle and tortoise facilities at Lawkananda Wildlife Sanctuary in Bagan and the Yadanabon Zoo in Mandalay.  The facilities will benefit a number of critically endangered endemic species whose recovery relies on captive breeding and management programs.  The funds also provide support for new species initiatives (Asian mountain tortoise, Manouria e. phayrei, and both endemic softshells, Nilssonia formosa and Chitra vandijki) while expanding existing programs for Burmese star tortoises and roofed turtles.   This program is managed in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Myanmar Forestry Department.

The first nature reserve dedicated to the conservation of nesting and foraging habitat of Adanson’s mud terrapin (Pelusios adansonii) has been created with the help of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA Africa) and the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection of Senegal. This refuge, the Tocc Tocc Reserve, is located in the wetland area on the northwest side of Guiers Lake in northern Senegal and covers an area of nearly 750 acres.

The female Rafetus nested this year during the night of June 16 (63 eggs), again during the night of July 2 (63 eggs), and laid a third clutch on July 17. All eggs of the first two clutches were numbered and about half of those eggs were artificially incubated (29, 31 and 33 degrees Celsius, various substrates), the other half was left in the nests constructed by the female. The third nest was not disturbed at all and the eggs were left in place, without being handled.

We are pleased to announce that the TSA has hired Herilala Randriamahazo, a long – time tortoise conservation biologist, as our full-time Malagasy Tortoise Conservation Coordinator.

The Indian Turtle Conservation Programme (ITCP), a joint initiative of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) and San Diego Zoo, in association with Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, will organize a national workshop dedicated to turtle conservation entitled “Indian Freshwater Turtle and Tortoises Conservation Priority Areas and Initiatives”. The workshop will be held from 22 -24 October 2010 in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.