From January 2009 to September 2010, TSA teams worked in Myanmar to develop concepts and designs for new breeding facilities for key chelonian program species. Building plans and budgets for new turtle and tortoise facilities were finalized in September 2010 and construction got underway shortly thereafter. Members of the TSA Board of Directors visited Lawkananda Park in Bagan, Myanmar to inspect one of the newest facilities in February.

Lawkananda is the largest and most successful of the four government-operated star tortoise breeding facilities in Myanmar. The existing facility is being vastly expanded - basically doubling the size - to accommodate their burgeoning population of Burmese star tortoises (Geochelone platynota), a critically endangered endemic species. Due to its success, the sanctuary has been overcrowded and the new construction here will help to alleviate this problem. 

The new facility was literally built around an original building, which will now house only juvenile tortoises. The six walled sections will let the adult tortoises roam and graze freely, yet will allow for them to be separated into breeding groups thus assuring the greatest genetic diversity. It has been found that if tortoises are kept in one large herd, a single male will dominate the group and be the only one to mate. At the time of the visit, 20 clutches of eggs had already been laid, with an expectation of over 250 hatchlings emerging from those nests in June.

In addition to adding more space, the new facility offers better security to guard against theft.  Over 500 Burmese star tortoises are managed here, 237 of them hatched in the last four years – 113 in 2010! Security is serious issue with star tortoises which sell for a lot of money, so measures must be made to prevent theft.  Previously, the tortoises were moved into a locked box at night with someone sleeping on top for security.

A new facility for Asian mountain tortoises (Manouria emys phayrei) was also built adjacent to the star tortoise unit that features two large pools and shade retreats, and should accommodate ten adult tortoises. This will help distribute the large group of 65 tortoises that is currently being held at the Mandalay Zoo and create the third assurance colony for this highly threatened species in Myanmar.

A second facility for Burmese roof turtles (Batagur trivittata) is also now completed. In spring 2011, 50 sub-adult turtles that were hatched in 2007-08 will be moved here to relieve crowding at the Yadanabon Zoo. This facility effectively allows us to divide the captive gene pool of this critically endangered species, thus eliminating the “all eggs in one basket” scenario and avoid the risk of catastrophic loss at one facility – Yadanabon Zoo.  This species was previously believed to be extinct until its rediscovery in 2002.  Since that time, the captive assurance colony there has grown to over 400 individuals, representing a remarkable conservation success story. The new pond at Lawkananda will help to alleviate overcrowding at this program.

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.

Kalyar Platt, TSA’s new Turtle Conservation Coordinator in Myanmar has hit the ground running since starting in her position last month. Charged with overseeing the continued construction of multiple turtle facilities, she conducted site visits last week to evaluate the progress and make recommendations.

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.

This report is the first to chronicle the daily activities of a TSA team’s visit to four countries in Asia – Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Philippines - to design turtle facilities, develop conservation programs, and consult on turtle husbandry issues. The team is led by Rick Hudson and includes Lonnie McCaskill and Dave Manser. The team was met in Myanmar by Kalyar Platt and her father Nyunt Thein (a local retired civil engineer) in Yangon, Myanmar.  The mission in Myanmar is to begin designing and “costing out” turtle and tortoise facilities that were recommended at the January 2009 workshop. 

A high point of the January 2009 workshop was the announcement that a juvenile Batagur trivitatta had been pulled from the adult breeding pond at the Yadanabon Zoo just one week earlier. Apparently hatched in 2008 from an undetected nest, the specimen is in the same size class as a cohort of 2008 wild-hatched juveniles from the Upper Chindwin River. Robust and healthy, the hatchling had obviously fared well in the semi-natural adult breeding pond. The keeper reports that several others have been seen up basking in the adult pond, and a full inspection of the sand nest bank revealed a number of old nests with hatched egg shells. This is remarkable news and helps settle our concerns that something was missing in their captive diet or environment.   At the time of this writing 17 new hatchlings from 2009 have recently been recovered.  B. trivittata is one of the most threatened species of turtles on earth and was considered close to extinction when it was “rediscovered” in a temple pond in Mandalay in 2002.  A dedicated captive breeding and management facility was opened in December 2006 which is already at maximum capacity with 163 young trivittata collected on the Chindwin from 2006 – 2008.  The B. trivittata Species Recovery Plan workshop in January 2009 recommended that two new facilities be built to allow captive population growth while suitable release sites are found.

The field research and conservation program for the endemic Burmese roofed turtle, Batagur trivittata, continues under the WCS Myanmar Program, and is based on the Upper Chindwin River.  The primary goal is to study the remnant nesting population, protect nests, and collect hatchlings for headstarting at the Yadanabon Zoo.  The eventual goal is to begin restocking young adult B. trivittata to the river in areas that are part of their former range and that convey some measure of protection from the intensive fishing practices that are so prevalent there. 

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.”