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.

Over the past few years in Hong Kong, large numbers of illegally imported and/or traded turtles have been confiscated. On one hand, these confiscations are a good sign of effective law enforcement, but on the other hand it indicates that the mass illegal trade in Asia is on-going. The CITES Hong Kong authorities, in close contact with the Kadoorie Farm Botanic Gardens (KFBG), has offered these confiscated turtles to the TSA for re-homing within TSA assurance colonies and breeding programs.
 
TSA Europe has played a vital role in re-homing significant numbers of turtles within the European zoos organized within the European Association for Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) and the privately managed European Studbook Foundation (ESF). The year 2010 was a particularly busy year for re-homing confiscated shipments.

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.

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 second 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 Bill Zeigler, Lonnie McCaskill and Dave Manser. The team was met in Myanmar by Kalyar Platt and her father Nyunt Thein (a local retired civil engineer).

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. 

In recent years, the interest among European zoos and privates regarding breeding Asian turtles, with an emphasis on species of the genus Cuora, has been increasing (see also the TSA Newsletter 2008). This is due to the conservation status of a number of species (classified into the highest IUCN threat categories) and thus also the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining specimens.

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.”

The Arakan forest turtle (Heosemys depressa) is endemic to the Arakan Hills of western Myanmar, and considered one of the least known turtles in the world.  Heosemys depressa is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN due to continuing over-exploitation and its limited distribution.  To gain a better understanding of the biology of this poorly known species, Steven Platt (Sul Ross State University) led a field team into the Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range (RYER) of western Myanmar from 25 May through 10 June 2009 to conduct a preliminary survey.