From Bangladesh to Cambodia,  River Terrapins (Genus Batagur) are laying eggs - and lot of them - both in the wild and captivity. Below is a brief summary of River Terrapin nesting activity in programs managed by the TSA and their partners.

Northern River Terrapin or Sunderban Batagur (B. baska): In Bangladesh, at the captive breeding center at Bhawal National Park, the first nest (19 eggs) was laid March 21, followed by two more nests on March 23, consisting of 22 and 14 eggs respectively. Apparently one of the two females dug up another female's nest while laying her own so there was some breakage and egg loss. Project Coordinator Rupali Ghosh was on hand for the nest digging. This is a joint program of Turtle Survival Alliance, Vienna Zoo, Bangladesh Forest Department and our newest partner, IUCN Bangladesh. There are 14.5 adults in this breeding colony (14 males and five females).

In India, at the B. baska breeding center at Sajnekhali, in West Bengal, TSA India Director Shai Singh reports that two females are emerging every night and making trial digs in the newly created nesting enclosure. Last year 50 total hatchlings emerged from these two Centers and we are hoping for a much better hatch rate this year. More good news: the Forest Department procured an additional adult female (22 kg) from a village pond in the northern Sunderbans, bringing the total number at Sajnekhali to 6.5.32 (six males, five females and 32 unknown).

All total there are now 20 males, 10 females and 55 unsexed juveniles of this rare Batagur in captive centers in Indian and Bangladesh and the conservation outlook is looking much brighter that it was just a few years ago when this species was ranked #4 on the list of the Top 25 World's Most Endangered Turtles.

It’s official!!   Myanmar’s first turtle and tortoise rescue facility was dedicated on December 6, at the Zeepin Forest Reserve, Ban Bwe Tree Nursery, about 17 miles east of May Myo, in Shan State. TSA President Rick Hudson handed over the keys to the new Turtle Rescue Center (TRC) to U Myint Sein of the Forestry Department saying “It is our sincere hope that this facility will offer new hope to thousands of turtles and tortoises confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade.” The TRC is located along the Lashio Road which leads to China, and is a major trade route for illegally harvested wildlife coming out of Mandalay heading for the border.  Lashio was originally selected as the site for the TRC but plans changed due to logistical concerns and moved to a forestry station outside of May Myo, locally known as Pwin Oo Lwin.  Aside from being more accessible (just an hour drive from Mandalay), the climate here is moderate and more conducive to animal rescue.  The TRC was designed in May 2012 by a TSA team consisting of Cris Hagen (Director of Animal Management), Bill Holmstrom (Board Member), Shailendra Singh (Director TSA India), Kalyar Platt (Director TSA Myanmar) and Rick Hudson.

2012 was the busiest and best in the history of the Turtle Survival Alliance. Here are just a few of the accomplishments that we're so grateful for as the year draws to a close:

• In Madagascar, the TSA’s grassroots campaign to expose the Radiated Tortoise poaching crisis is beginning to yield positive results throughout the country. Community agreements to strengthen protection for this iconic species have resulted in a dramatic increase in confiscations and arrests in 2012, a sign that the tide may finally be turning. In 2013, the TSA will embark on an ambitious program to build a series of rescue centers throughout the south for rehabilitation and treatment until the tortoises are prepared to return to the wild.   
• In December, the TSA will dedicate Burma’s first Turtle Rescue Center. Years of planning and fund-raising have culminated in this facility that promises to save countless turtles and tortoises rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.  New assurance colony facilities were also built this year for Burmese Mountain Tortoises and Arakan Forest Turtles.
• The June hatching of 50 Northern River Terrapins in captive facilities in both Bangladesh and India was a stunning achievement, and made global news.  This gives new hope for the survival of this critically endangered turtle that is believed to be very near extinction in the wild.
• A recent Save Our Species grant will breathe new life into recovery programs for Asian river terrapins (Genus Batagur) in India, Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangladesh. Captive management is essential to safeguarding these species until efforts to protect and restore nesting habitat are successful, and we are actively building a multi-national model that integrates these strategies. 
• The TSA produced two films this year to increase awareness of the extensive poaching problems that threaten chelonians in both Madagascar and Bangladesh, and the brutal slaughter that accompanies the illegal wildlife trade. 
• The TSA launched a program in Colombia this year – our first in South America – that will focus on endemic species, most notably the critically endangered Magdalena River Turtle.  By expanding a successful community-based program of nest protection, hatching, headstarting and release, these grassroots efforts will have a greater impact on the species’ recovery in the wild.
• In India, the TSA is poised to assume management of the Kukrail Gharial Conservation Center in Lucknow where we will build assurance colonies of most of northern India’s threatened chelonians. The Center will become the home base of operations for TSA India, and provide a facility where the increasing number of confiscated turtles can be rehabilitated.
• Launching the Turtle Survival Center in South Carolina in 2013 is guaranteed to prove transformational for the TSA and will propel us into a new era.  Building assurance colonies for some of the world’s rarest species – many of which will depend on captive management for their survival – will ensure that we maintain our commitment to zero turtle extinctions.

Membership revenue and online sales account for just roughly 8% of our total revenue. The remainder of our income is provided primarily through grants and donations. For that reason, we are reaching out to those of you who support the TSA to ask for your consideration of a year-end gift to help propel us into an even bigger and better 2013.

This gift does not have the benefits associated with membership and is completely tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. It is a gift that comes from the heart by those who understand the needs of chelonians worldwide and appreciate the work being done year-round by the TSA globally. Click here to donate today.

The Burmese star tortoise (Geochelone platynota) is a Critically Endangered species endemic to the dry zone of central Myanmar.  Star tortoises have long been harvested for food by local people, but high demand, first from food and traditional medicine markets in southern China, and later by pet markets in China, Japan, and Thailand led to precipitous population declines during the late 1990s, and the species is now thought to be “ecologically” extinct in the wild. Recognizing that future conservation efforts hinged on developing successful captive breeding programs to supply tortoises for eventual reintroduction, assurance colonies of Burmese star tortoises were established at several facilities in Myanmar (Shwe Settaw, Minzontaung, and Lawkanandar Wildlife Sanctuaries, and Yadanabon Zoological Gardens in Mandalay).  To date, these programs have enjoyed considerable success and large numbers of hatchlings are being produced each year.  Consequently, the species is now at little risk of biological extinction. Considerable interest has been expressed in reintroducing tortoises into suitably protected sites, and a recent survey identified two wildlife sanctuaries (Shwe Settaw and Minzontaung wildlife sanctuaries) where such projects were deemed feasible.  Plans are currently being developed to reintroduce captive-bred star tortoises to Minzontaung Wildlife Sanctuary.

As a prelude to reintroduction, a national Burmese star tortoise workshop was conducted at Lawkanandar Wildlife Sanctuary (LWS) from 17 to 21 September 2012 with the following objectives:

Sitting astride the southern border of China, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) has been on the frontlines of the battle to save Asia's imperiled chelonian fauna ever since the global conservation community first became aware of the Asian Turtle Crisis in the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, resources for conservation are scarce in this impoverished nation, and as a consequence poachers and illegal wildlife traffickers have run rampant, decimating turtle populations throughout the country.

Nonetheless, the Myanmar Forest Department takes threats to its biodiversity seriously, and is making a determined effort to stem the hemorrhage of turtles from within its borders. Enforcement efforts, however are hampered by a lack of turtle identification skills among customs officers, police, and Forest Department personnel manning border checkpoints. To help address this deficiency, the Forest Department requested that the Turtle Survival Alliance/Wildlife Conservation Society's Myanmar Program prepare a simple, easy-to-use guidebook on the tortoises and freshwater turtles of Myanmar.

The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) recently awarded the TSA a $24,800 grant to support a reintroduction program for Burmese star tortoises (Geochelone platynota) in Myanmar.  This project is the first step in a larger project with the ultimate goal of reintroducing and establishing a breeding population of star tortoises at a wildlife sanctuary. The general objectives are to inform local communities of our reintroduction plans, reinforce local religious beliefs that confer protection to tortoises, and enlist the support of local communities. Funds are also available for building pre-release enclosures to hold the tortoises for up to a year prior to their “soft release”, a technique that we believe will encourage the tortoises to remain near the release site (site fidelity) in the protected sanctuary.

Four adult (two males and two females) Asian Brown Tortoises (Manouria emys) arrived at the Yangon airport on Thursday, June 28, ultimately destined for an assurance colony at the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Sanctuary in Gwa, Myanmar. The tortoises were found in a village by the TSA/WCS Turtle Team during a recent survey for Southern River Terrapins (Batagur affinis) in Tanintharyi Division of southernmost Myanmar. The owner reportedly obtained the tortoises from a local hunter after they were captured in mammal snares set in the nearby forest. One female suffered a broken rear leg as a result of the snare, the bones were exposed, and the wound had become infested with flesh-eating maggots. Otherwise the tortoises appeared in good health despite the deplorable state of their living quarters in a ramshackle chicken coop. The well-intentioned owner agreed to donate his captives to TSA with the promise the animals would receive better care. We immediately applied to the Forest Department for permission to transport the tortoises to a temporary holding facility at the Yangon Zoo. Unfortunately, we had to leave Tanintharyi before the required paperwork had been processed.

The TSA/WCS Myanmar Program Turtle Team returned this week from a two month expedition up the Chindwin River in northwestern Myanmar.  Access to this region by foreigners has long proven difficult owing to security concerns that have recently lessened.  The principal objectives of the expedition were to determine if any populations of Burmese roofed turtles (Batagur trivittata) remain along the lower Chindwin River, and investigate local reports of hitherto unknown populations on tributary creeks of the upper river.  Despite significant conservation progress, including a highly successful captive-breeding colony and head-starting program, Batagur trivittata is considered one of the most critically endangered turtles in the world with fewer than 10 reproductive females thought to remain in the wild. 

Recognizing that future conservation efforts for Burmese star tortoises (Geochelone platynota) hinge on developing successful captive breeding programs to supply tortoises for eventual reintroduction into protected habitats, assurance colonies were established at Yadanabon Zoological Gardens (Mandalay), and at the Minzontaung, Lawkanandar, and Shwe Settaw wildlife sanctuaries. To date, these programs have enjoyed considerable success and large numbers of hatchlings are being produced each year. Consequently, these facilities will soon reach maximum capacity and there is an urgent need to initiate carefully planned and monitored reintroductions of G. platynota into suitable habitat in protected areas of Myanmar. To this end, we revisited two previously identified sites (Shwe Settaw and Minzontaung wildlife sanctuaries) known to harbor populations of G. platynota, and evaluated the potential of each area for future reintroductions of captive bred tortoises.

Kalyar Platt, the TSA’s Turtle Conservation Coordinator in Myanmar, recently returned to Yangon from the newly completed Arakan forest turtle (Heosemys depressa) facility in Gwa, Rakhine Region at the Taung-Nyo Forest Reserve. She will coordinate TSA support for in-situ propagation and assurance colony development for H. depressa at this site.

During her visit, she transported six forest turtles (two males and four females) that the TSA received from the Mandalay Zoo for inclusion in the breeding program. Traveling with one of her colleages, Me Me Soe, Kalyar took them to Gwa in a large wooden box specially constructed for the trip.