The TSA has been working in Bangladesh, in collaboration with the NGO CARINAM, the Forest Department and the Vienna Zoo, since 2010 to secure an assurance colony for the Northern River Terrapin (Batagur baska), one of Asia’s most threatened large river turtles. After literally scouring markets and private ponds to secure some of the last known specimens of this Critically Endangered species, an assurance colony of 13 males and five females has been assembled and is now housed in a protected area (Bhawal National Park) managed by the Forest Department.

We are thrilled to report that as of mid-April, all five females have nested! Caretakers are carefully monitoring the nests, one of which had to be relocated to protect it from flooding. The nest had 15 eggs and the clutch was divided. Eight eggs were placed in the dugout nest on the sand beach and the remaining seven eggs were placed in a tank filled with sand covered by a protective mesh. The eggs from the remaining four nests have been left in the sandy beach covered by protective mesh to prevent predation.

Thanks to the Fagus Foundation, Cassidy Johnson, San Diego Zoo, Natural Encounters, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, WWF-Canada, Pat Koval, AAZK – Henry Doorly Zoo, Toronto Zoo and Columbus Zoo for their support of this critical program.

Photo credits: SMA Rashid / CARINAM

The Center for Advanced Research in Natural Resource and Management (CARINAM), the TSA’s partner on the Batagur baska project in Bangladesh, recently celebrated the Year of the Turtle with an event at Dhaka University. Held in collaboration with the IUCN, Bangladesh Bird Club and Priokriti-o-Jibon, the event was held in the Teacher Student Center on May 25. 

The celebration included a rally by school children, presentations by conservationists, and a bird exhibition to create awareness of turtle conservation issues and to encourage people to take action and keep turtles as part of a healthy ecosystem.

The nesting season for wild Asian river terrapins (Batagur) is winding down, just on the heels of the recently completed Batagur workshop in Singapore and Malaysia in February, and we hope that the training will have an impact on hatching success.

In Myanmar, Kalyar Platt (TSA Turtle Conservation Coordinator) just returned from the upper Chindwin River where she worked with field coordinator Kyaw Moe on the nest protection and egg recovery effort for the critically endangered Burmese roof turtle (Batagur trivittata). They report that in this 2010-2011 nesting season, nesting occurred as early as 9 December 2010 and continued through 26 March 2011. During this period, a total of 179 eggs were recovered for incubation. Approximately six to nine females were thought to have nested along a 48-mile stretch of the river.

Click here  for a PDF version of the full report.

The plight of the planet's tortoises and turtles -- creatures that have roamed the Earth for 220 million years -- has never been greater, according to the newly released report "Turtles in Trouble: Top 25+ Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles ."  It shows the world's 25 most endangered tortoises and freshwater turtles will become extinct in the next few decades without concerted conservation efforts.

The TSA team is still hard at work in Bangladesh, plying the markets and private ponds in search of the extremely rare Sundarbans river terrapin (Batagur baska). Their efforts were recently rewarded, as they secured another female and two additional males, bringing the total to ten males and three females in the breeding program. Working closely with the CARINAM and the Bangladesh Forest Department, Rupali Ghose is negotiating to acquire another female in the coming days. Creating a viable breeding program is crucial for the conservation of this species, one of the rarest river turtles in Asia.

The turtles in the program are being released into two protected ponds in a National Park near Dhaka. The ponds have been excavated and a sand nesting beach has been constructed with the assistance of officials from the Forest Department.  Funding was provided by Pat Koval and WWF Canada.

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. 

After obtaining a six-month permit from the West Bengal state forestry department, we began our conservation efforts for the critically endangered river terrapin, Batagur baska.  The recent phylogenetic work by Peter Praschag and colleagues identified the Indian populations of Batagur baska to be genetically distinct from other populations in Southeast Asia.  Peter’s findings made it imperative to begin more active conservation measures for the species as populations in the Indian Sunderbans are believed to number less than 20 to 30 animals, with no nesting areas currently known or protected!

From 7 – 10 January 2009 the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), in conjunction with the Myanmar Forestry Department, conducted two workshops in Mandalay. A Species Recovery Plan (SRP) workshop for the Myanmar roof turtle, Kachuga (Batagur) trivittata, was followed by a comprehensive trade workshop entitled “Developing an Integrative Strategy for Handling Confiscated Turtles in Myanmar.”

There was good news recently for a rare species of River Terrapin (Batagur baska, now re-classified as Batagur affinis) in the Sre Ambel area of Cambodia’s coastal region, with the successful hatching of 23 eggs on a beach in the Sre Ambel River.
The Fisheries Administration and WCS have been working with communities in the Sre Ambel area since 1999, conserving the Batagur through the implementation of a variety of conservation interventions. These interventions are targeted to protect in-situ populations of Batagur, through guarding nesting beaches and adjoining sections of river throughout the nesting and incubation seasons, and implementing patrols in remaining habitat. These activities are complemented by an ex-situ conservation hatchling center.

The in-situ project activities are based around the two remaining rivers where the animals occur. One team comprised of three conservation personnel work along the Sre Ambel River and another team of four concentrate on the Kaong River. Both groups are coordinated by Mr. Yen That, from the Sre Ambel Fisheries, Koh Kong province. The focus of activities is the protection of the Batagur nests and during the nesting season the conservation teams attempt to locate all nests along each river. They then construct enclosures around the nests to provide protection against predators.

The 2009 nesting beach was first identified in March, after project patrol staff found several Batagur tracks on the beach, and subsequently found 23 eggs buried in the sand. The beach was then guarded around the clock by project staff for two months, until the eggs hatched in early May. The hatchlings were relocated to the hatchling center, where they will be housed in small plastic tubs for the next six months, until they are large enough to be introduced to one of the center’s larger concrete holding pens.

There are currently 115 animals being held at the facility, 46 hatchlings from 2006, 46 hatchlings from 2007, plus the 23 recent arrivals. The center is staffed by a dedicated team that ensure that fresh food is provided for the hatchlings on a daily basis and the facility is enclosed in a metal fence to prevent theft. The animals eat primarily morning glory (Ipomea), with the addition of mangrove fruits from the Sre Ambel river system during the fruiting season. All the hatchlings have been micro-chipped. Plans are currently being finalized to improve the center with a new solar water pump, increased water storage capacity and additional holding facilities, with the latter now particularly important given the recent arrival of the 2009 hatchlings.

Given the increasing threats to wild Batagur in the Sre Ambel river system, it is now more important than ever to ensure that there is an appropriate release plan in place for the hatchlings at the center. This includes an expert appraisal of the ecological requirements of the hatchlings and the suitability of the habitat within the Sre Ambel and surrounding river systems, as well as an assessment of the existing and future threats to wild Batagur in these river systems. A number of boat surveys were conducted in late 2008 and early 2009, firstly by a team of ecologists who were conducting surveys throughout southwest Cambodia and secondly by Batagur experts including Brian Horne. These surveys assessed both the quality and suitability of habitat in the area, as well as the threat posed by future economic developments, such as hydropower dams. It is hoped that information obtained from these surveys will facilitate the formulation of a release strategy in the near future.

- Heng Sovannara and Mark Gately
Fisheries Administration, Royal Government of Cambodia/Wildlife Conservation Society

The TSA currently provides both logistical and technical support to the Batagur headstarting operation in Sre Ambel, and funded (with EAZA Shellshock and the Batchelor Foundation) the construction of the facility in 2006.