Sheena Koeth (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo), Yaduraj Khadpekar (Wildlife SOS, India) and Sue Carstairs (Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre in Ontario, Canada) traveled in October to the Kukrail Turtle Breeding Centre in Lucknow, the Garhaita Turtle Conservation Centre (near Etawah) and the Deori Eco-Centre in Madhya Pradesh. The three, all veterinarians or veterinary technicians, provided suggestions on how to improve the overall turtle husbandry and gave input on how to make a more efficient diet chart for the turtles in each facility. An overall health assessment of the captive stock turtles was also conducted. Their input has proven to be extremely useful in improving the health management of the turtles at each facility. During their visit, new disease diagnostic tools were developed, along with quick reference charts that will help with mortality assessment and growth rate measurement at the headstarting facility in Garhaita.

The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) and TSA recently jointly sponsored and organized a veterinary workshop to train veterinarians from the five Turtle Priority Areas (TPAs) of India. Twenty wildlife vets, associated with reptile care and rescue, participated in the training. The workshop was held from June 26-30, 2011 at the MCBT facility and focused primarily on the basics of chelonian husbandry and health care in captivity, as well as the handling and rehabilitation of turtle confiscations. The training program was split into two sessions. Veterinarians who manage chelonians for the forestry departments and NGOs comprised the bulk of the first session. The second session consisted primarily of private practice veterinarians, particularly those associated with wildlife rescue within India.

World Turtle Day was observed on May 23 at various project sites of the Turtle Survival Alliance’s India program to raise awareness about the diversity and threats to the nation’s non-marine chelonians. TSA has been organising such education and awareness campaigns and events targeting various stakeholders along with its turtle conservation and research projects across the country to celebrate different dates of environment calendar since 2006. One event was held at the Turtle Conservation Centre along National Chambal Sanctuary River in Garhaita village, Etawah.

Day 4 finally rolled around and it was time to sit back and listen to presentations on some of what are considered model programs for turtle conservation in the region.  First up is the Cuc Phuong Turtle Conservation Center in Vietnam, perhaps the best known and respected of all the regional centers due to its longevity.  The presentation was done by the young man in charge now, Hoan Van Thai. This was his first ever public presentation before an international audience and for a shy person, he did an admirable job.  He was followed by Shailendra Singh, TSA Turtle Conservation Coordinator, who presented a comprehensive 5-year overview of the Batagur program on the Chambal River Sanctuary in India.  This program is impressive in its scope and the number of hatchling Batagur (two species) that have been hatched and released (37,000 for B. dhongoka alone) is significant.  Many other components are involved including headstarting, local awareness and poacher conversion.

With all the country and trade reports as background information, and with the Red-listing behind us, the stage was finally set for the critical Day 3 of the workshop:  designing specific priority conservation actions for the most threatened species.  And though I am not at liberty to formally report the findings of the Red List workshop, I can tell you that the situation has worsened, in fact very considerably.  The number of species recommended for the Critically Endangered rank (the next most serious rank is Extinct In The Wild) now stands at 38% of the 86 Asian species, a 90% increase since the 1999 Cambodia workshop!!

On Tuesday morning - day two of the workshop - the seventy workshop participants reviewed the “Red List,” an internationally recognized database of the world’s most vulnerable species. Participants from countries throughout Asia provided the most up-to-date information on the status of each species. A few were determined to be secure enough now to consider lowering their Red List status, but for a significant number of other species the group agreed that they are now at a greater risk of extinction than when previously reviewed.

Despite numerous successes in captive breeding, habitat protection and community awareness, these dwindling species have suffered overwhelming stresses to their populations. Be it a poor fisherman trying to feed his family or a wildlife trader selling rare animals to an international collector for thousands of dollars, both result in animals being vacuumed from the wild.

We were happy to see some old friends and meet some new ones at the Conservation of Asian Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles workshop at the Singapore Zoo. Over 70 delegates from 20 countries, including 16 Asian nations were in attendance.

Hosted by the Wildlife Reserves Singapore and the Wildlife Conservation Society, in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, San Diego Zoo Global and the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, the workshop summarized the turtle conservation activities over the past ten years in Asia. 

Many of the same issues we heard about 10 years ago in Phnom Penh, Cambodia are still an issue, a disappointment but a reminder that we aren’t doing enough.  There were some great highlights to the day mingled amongst the somber news; our Asian friends have not been sitting by idly.  The scope and scale of the turtle trade in Asia is clearly still the problem and new countries and trade routes are being exploited.  The numbers of turtles passing through some of these countries is almost incomprehensible; one country reported in excess of 40,000 lbs of turtles registered as being traded per year.  This only represents what is passing through legally “on the books” and does not represent what is being transported illegally.  One market in China reported in excess of one million turtles being sold annually with most of the turtles being endangered or critically endangered.  Some of the rarer animals for the pet market are fetching prices of USD 25,000; it is little wonder these animals are being vacuumed from the landscape. 

Surveys were resumed in late January to assess the status of nesting banks and enumerate associated threats for two endangered species of Batagur in India. After a rapid reconnaissance, two protected riverside hatcheries were established along the Chambal River near Garhaita (lower section, Uttar Pradesh) and Baroli Villages (upper section, Madhya Pradesh) in early February.
 
Every year, TSA in association with Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Forest Departments establishes such hatcheries to protect endangered Batagur kachuga and B. dhongoka nests from natural predation and poaching as well as to collect information on nesting along the Chambal River, possibly the last stronghold of B. kachuga.

Student Shashwat Sirsi recently completed softshell turtle surveys in the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh , focusing on the endemic, poorly known and highly endangered Leith's softshell, Nilssonia leithi.  The surveys were funded by a seed grant from the TSA and completed with the support of TSA India and our partner, the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust. Read the Final Report here . These surveys represent preliminary work and Shashwat has been given a six-month contract to complete additional surveys for N . leithii and Pelochelys cantorii in south India in 2011 as a full-time Project Officer with the TSA-MCBT India Program.

Personnel at the Garhaita Turtle Conservation Center have been hard at work winterizing the headstart facilities for endangered turtles, especially Batagur kachuga. (You can read about the "green" headstarting enclosure on page 51 of the 2010 TSA Magazine.) The facility on the Chambal River uses a bio-filtration system which is powered by a solar water pump. During the recent upgrade work, 50 fish and three species of water weeds have been added to the tank's biological chambers. These fish will feed on residue and insects, improving water quality. At the same time, the water weeds will also help to reduce organic load in the ponds.

To improve water oxygenation, three shower heads have been installed to circulate and sprinkle water as it moves from the storage tank to the filtration tank. A new electric and solar powered gate system also allows for increased water rotation between tanks.