The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and Utah's Hogle Zoo (HZ) conducted their latest field expedition in March 2013 as part of the Madagascar Tortoise Conservation Project. The goals of the expedition were to:

• Conduct an assessment of last year's public awareness campaign using survey questionnaires and focus groups;

• Distribute new campaign materials and education workbooks;

• Identify tortoise release sites to be incorporated into the reintroduction program;

• Develop a research methodology to evaluate release strategies;

• Discuss the creation of temporary holding pens to facilitate confiscations with community leaders;

• Conduct follow-up meetings with the World Bank (WB) and Madagascar National Parks (MNP) to determine status of WB funding of project; and

• Develop an eco-tour to bring social and economic benefits to the communities associated with the reintroduction program.

This year our field crew included me (Christina Castellano, HZ), Riana Rakotondrainy (HZ), Saaya Tema (RAW Africa), Ryan Walker (TSA), Andrea Currylow (Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership (MBP)), Sylvain Mahazotahy (TSA), and Soary Randrianjafizanaka (TSA). Herilala Randriamahazo (TSA) was unable to join us in the field, but organized meetings and continued to facilitate the program from Antananarivo (Tana).

The group of radiated tortoises that was confiscated at the Ivato Airport (Madagascar) on October 10 is still being cared for by the staff at the office that the TSA shares with the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership in Antaranarivo. The tortoises (569 total) had been packed into just four suitcases when they were found and many have suffered health consequences as a result. In total, 50 have been lost thus far, primarily due to stress, dehydration and immune issues.

However, the good news is that mortality seems to be subsiding at this point as no additional tortoises have been lost in the past week. A local veterinarian, Tsanta Rakotonanahary, has been working closely with Herilala Randriamahazo (TSA Malagasy Tortoise Conservation Coordinator) to treat the group and keep mortality to a minimum. Tsanta has a history with the TSA, as she received special training from the TSA in 2010 (pictured at left). She is actively consulting with Dr. Bonnie Raphael (WCS) and Paul Gibbons (Turtle Conservancy) to take advantage of their expertise in treating tortoises.  We appreciate everyone that is contributing their services to this effort.
 
The tortoises will be under the care of the TSA until they are healthy and are given the green light from the Malagasy Forest Authority for reintroduction. If you would like to contribute to help offset the cost of their care and medical treatment, please visit the TSA donation page.

The TSA team in Madagascar is still waiting on word from the Malagasy Forestry Authority on the legal proceedings surrounding the recent Radiated Tortoise confiscation. In the meantime, they are stretched to the limit in terms of time and resources, caring for the nearly 600 tortoises at the TSA/Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership (MBP) offices, until they are given approval to reintroduce these animals to the wild. Despite that, Herilala Randriamahazo (TSA Malagasy Tortoise Conservation Coordinator) and his team still found time recently to stage a massive outreach event, using the confiscation (and some of the tortoises!) as a tool to educate the people of Antananarivo on the conservation issues facing the critically endangered Radiated Tortoise.

On October 10, two Asian passengers on an Air Madagascar flight to Bangkok, Thailand and Guangzhou, China were arrested at Ivato International Airport after attempting to smuggle four suitcases full of 569 Critically Endangered Radiated Tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) through customs.  This is a record number seizure for this airport in the capital city of Antananarivo. After the confiscation, the Malagasy Forestry Authority mandated the Turtle Survival Alliance to look after the baby tortoises. Of the group, three were already dead and ten are currently in very poor condition.

This is the second major tortoise confiscation in the past two weeks and is already overwhelming our resources to care for them properly. This underscores the critical need for another regional rescue center in the south where tortoises can be moved immediately following seizure for quarantine, treatment and long-term care prior to their release back into protected areas.

The head of Androy Region in southern Madagascar has given the order to return 272 juvenile Radiated Tortoises to the town of Tsihombe, a well-known hub of tortoise poaching and consumption in the south. On the night of September 22, two dealers left Tsihombe by taxi-brousse and were later arrested by the Gendarmes in Ampanihy and placed in prison. An additional 38 juvenile tortoises were later released on the road by an unknown dealer in Tsihombe in response to the arrest in Ampanihy; all are being cared by under the supervision of Sylvain Mahazotahy, TSA's "man in the south" in charge of community relations.

As part of the application of the famous Dina "Lilintane I Androy" (Note: a Dina is a contract among communities in the region that is built on a commitment to protect tortoises and generally transcends national law) a serious awareness campaign took place on Thursday September 27, led by the head of the District, who is based in Tsihombe, and the town's Mayor. In front of the public, obviously moved by the arrest of tortoise poachers, they gave for the first time ever a speech to inform people about the Dina and its strict application as well as the incarceration of six poachers involved in the tortoise trafficking. They also vowed to challenge any attempt to alter the justice procedure of this case.

The TSA, in collaboration with The Orianne Society (TOS), hired noted South Africa-based wildlife film makers Moz Images to cover the rapidly worsening crisis with Madagascar’s Radiated Tortoise.  The film crew of Chris Scarfe and Aaron Gekoski accompanied Rick Hudson and Christina Castellano to Madagascar in September 2011 and the resulting short film - Tortoises in Trouble - is being released this week to multiple outlets and can be seen below.  The film tracks a group of 140 confiscated Radiated Tortoises from the capital city of Antananarivo to their homeland in the south where they are repatriated to a sacred protected forest near the village of Ampotoka.  Along the way, the film exposes ample evidence of massive tortoise consumption, and explores the root causes through interviews with poachers, gendarmes and local judiciary.  The film clip is short – only nine minutes – and is meant to draw attention to the crisis internationally and to increase the pressure on the government to respond with stricter penalties and enforcement.  However we captured sufficient footage to compile a full length documentary on this story if funding can be identified.

From all over the Androy Region of southern Madagascar, they came:  politicians, local officials, teachers, and of course the children - over 1000 of them. All wanted to be there to participate in the dedication ceremony for the region’s newest primary school, recently constructed with support from the Turtle Survival Alliance. What began with a simple idea in March 2010 - “how can we reward the village of Antsakoamasy for doing such an incredible job of protecting their tortoise population?” - has produced a new school and transformed this sleepy little village on the outskirts of the Cap St Marie Special Reserve into a model for community involvement in tortoise conservation. 

In response to the growing number of tortoise confiscations in Madagascar, and a lack of trained tortoise-care personnel and dedicated facilities, the TSA recently conducted two husbandry training workshops aimed at improving care and survival. Often, these confiscations end poorly for the tortoises involved, and we continue to see appalling levels of mortality due to improper care and inadequate holding facilities. Radiated Tortoises are increasingly becoming refugees in their own country, and with populations crashing rapidly, there is an overwhelming need to ensure that as many of these creatures as possible survive.

Rick Hudson (TSA President) is currently traveling in Madagascar with TSA Members Christina Castellano (The Orianne Society) and Michael Ogle (Knoxville Zoo). Part of their mission is to deliver supplies to the brand new school in Antsakoamasy. (For more on the school and its construction, click here.) We were very pleasantly surprised by the excitement and generosity that this project has generated among our members and supporters. Special thanks to Bob Blome, who provided a variety of school supplies and a large world map for the school.

Additionally, the Knoxville Zoo ran a short, but very successful fundraising campaign to purchase furniture and supplies for the school. Far exceeding their original goal of $2,000, their campaign raised more than $3,100 that is being used to purchase equipment and supplies in Madagascar that will fully outfit the school for its grand opening. Special thanks to Bob Krause, Beverly Abele, Jim and Marie Vina, Valerie Doyle, Stephen Hall, Elizabeth Wasserman, Bob Blome, David Shapiro, Colette Adams and all of the other donors that made this campaign such a success. Your generosity will make a meaningful impact in the lives of the children of Antsakoamasy and for radiated tortoise conservation.

We were very excited this week to receive this picture from Herilala Randriamahazo, our Tortoise Conservation Coordinator in Madagascar. This is our first glimpse at the school that the TSA is building in the village of Antsakoamasy! In March 2011, Rick Hudson traveled to Madagascar and met up with Christina Castellano (The Orianne Soceity) and Herilala to develop a strategy to protect remaining populations of the rapidly disappearing radiated tortoise. You can read a full report about their trip here.

During their visit, they met with the leaders of Antsakoamasy, a village that had previously been identified as having a strong protective attitude toward the tortoises that remain in the area. Prior to their visit, Herilala had been working for many months to forge a relationship with the community of Antsakoamasy and while Rick and Christina were visiting, a formal agreement was made with the village: in exchange for continued protection of radiated tortoises, the TSA agreed to build the community a school. The agreement was commemorated with a traditional zebu festival in March and there is no doubt that the school's grand opening in March 2012 will be celebrated with equal vigor!

The TSA is confident that providing conservation incentives like these will encourage other villages in Madagascar to protect and value their tortoises. Hopefully, this collaboration will serve as a model for future conservation initiatives in other areas of the country.