ENDANGERED CAMBODIAN TURTLES

[Guest guest]

Microchip Saves Rare Cambodian Turtle By MARGIE MASON, Associated Press Writer

Wed Jul 20,12:01 PM ET

 

 

 

HANOI, Vietnam - They're calling him " the lucky royal turtle " — a rare and

endangered reptile that was saved from a likely fate in a Chinese soup pot by

keen-eyed wildlife officers and a microchip.

 

 

 

Poachers snatched the animal, a species called " Royal Turtle " in Cambodia

because its eggs were once fed to kings, from a Cambodian river two months ago

and toted it across the Vietnamese border on a motorbike with a stash of other,

more common, turtles.

 

Conservationists said that at 33 pounds, the animal was sure to have fetched a

good price when it reached the smuggler's destination: The food markets of

China, where turtle meat is a delicacy often made into soup.

 

A raid on the smuggler's house in southern Vietnam's Tay Ninh province was the

turtle's first stroke of good luck. About 30 turtles were confiscated and

transported to a wildlife inspection center, where workers noticed there was

something different about this one.

 

" My staff said they had never seen a turtle that big, " said Ta Van Dao, head of

the forest control bureau in Tay Ninh. " Its head and eyes were also different

from the regular turtles. "

 

The Vietnamese wildlife officials consulted an endangered species book, then

called Doug Hendrie, an Asian turtle specialist based in Hanoi for the New

York-based World Conservation Society. They told him they thought they had a

Batagur baska, or Asian river terrapin.

 

At first, Hendrie thought the wildlife officers must be joking.

 

" I was very surprised when I heard they had a Batagur baska down there, " said

Hendrie, who also works for the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. " Initially I said,

'What else do they have? A lion? A zebra?' "

 

But a photo soon confirmed it was indeed a Batagur baska, a species thought to

have disappeared in Cambodia until it was rediscovered in 2001. Conservationists

eventually began tagging the animals with tracking devices and monitoring their

nests, and King Norodom Sihamoni personally ordered their protection.

 

That led to the captured turtle's next good fortune. When officials inspected it

in Ho Chi Minh City, they found a tiny microchip implanted under its wrinkly

skin, pinpointing its exact home on the Sre Ambel River in southern Cambodia.

 

Hendrie said there are only about two to eight females remaining there, making

the return of this adult male turtle even more vital. It had been tagged in

Cambodia for research two years ago but not seen again until its discovery in

Vietnam.

 

Vietnamese and Cambodians officials worked together to repatriate the turtle. He

was shipped back to Cambodia last week and is undergoing health checks before

being returned to the wild.

 

Many Asian turtles are in danger because of the thriving trade in animals in the

region, where a species' rarity can add to its value on a menu or as a

traditional medicine.

 

The Batagur baska is found only in parts of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar,

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, and populations have been sharply

declining in recent years.

 

On one river in western Malaysia, 690 Batagur baska turtles were found in 1999

compared to only 40 last year, Hendrie said.

 

" Every single turtle is important to the population, " he said. " This was the

first case where an animal had been transferred back to where it came from in

Cambodia. It was a landmark event. "

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Not trying to blow our trumpet, but just to get a little recognition for the

small charity I work for..... Wildlife at Risk in Vietnam actually helped the

officials identify the beautiful turtle (Batagur Baska), and accepted care of it

whilst it was in Vietnam (I did the veterinary checks and babysitting!) and

organised for it's return home to Cambodia and then escorted it back.

 

Guess the lack of mention of us is a sign of our still being very new to the

awareness and publicity thing but felt we deserved our name to be put out there!

 

 

 

--

" Ghosh " <shubhobrotoghosh

" Ghosh " <shubhobrotoghosh

22 Jul 2005 09:35:02 -0000

 

Microchip Saves Rare Cambodian Turtle By MARGIE MASON, Associated Press Writer

Wed Jul 20,12:01 PM ET

 

 

 

HANOI, Vietnam - They're calling him " the lucky royal turtle " — a rare and

endangered reptile that was saved from a likely fate in a Chinese soup pot by

keen-eyed wildlife officers and a microchip.

 

 

 

Poachers snatched the animal, a species called " Royal Turtle " in Cambodia

because its eggs were once fed to kings, from a Cambodian river two months ago

and toted it across the Vietnamese border on a motorbike with a stash of other,

more common, turtles.

 

Conservationists said that at 33 pounds, the animal was sure to have fetched a

good price when it reached the smuggler's destination: The food markets of

China, where turtle meat is a delicacy often made into soup.

 

A raid on the smuggler's house in southern Vietnam's Tay Ninh province was the

turtle's first stroke of good luck. About 30 turtles were confiscated and

transported to a wildlife inspection center, where workers noticed there was

something different about this one.

 

" My staff said they had never seen a turtle that big, " said Ta Van Dao, head of

the forest control bureau in Tay Ninh. " Its head and eyes were also different

from the regular turtles. "

 

The Vietnamese wildlife officials consulted an endangered species book, then

called Doug Hendrie, an Asian turtle specialist based in Hanoi for the New

York-based World Conservation Society. They told him they thought they had a

Batagur baska, or Asian river terrapin.

 

At first, Hendrie thought the wildlife officers must be joking.

 

" I was very surprised when I heard they had a Batagur baska down there, " said

Hendrie, who also works for the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. " Initially I said,

'What else do they have? A lion? A zebra?' "

 

But a photo soon confirmed it was indeed a Batagur baska, a species thought to

have disappeared in Cambodia until it was rediscovered in 2001. Conservationists

eventually began tagging the animals with tracking devices and monitoring their

nests, and King Norodom Sihamoni personally ordered their protection.

 

That led to the captured turtle's next good fortune. When officials inspected it

in Ho Chi Minh City, they found a tiny microchip implanted under its wrinkly

skin, pinpointing its exact home on the Sre Ambel River in southern Cambodia.

 

Hendrie said there are only about two to eight females remaining there, making

the return of this adult male turtle even more vital. It had been tagged in

Cambodia for research two years ago but not seen again until its discovery in

Vietnam.

 

Vietnamese and Cambodians officials worked together to repatriate the turtle. He

was shipped back to Cambodia last week and is undergoing health checks before

being returned to the wild.

 

Many Asian turtles are in danger because of the thriving trade in animals in the

region, where a species' rarity can add to its value on a menu or as a

traditional medicine.

 

The Batagur baska is found only in parts of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar,

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cambodia, and populations have been sharply

declining in recent years.

 

On one river in western Malaysia, 690 Batagur baska turtles were found in 1999

compared to only 40 last year, Hendrie said.

 

" Every single turtle is important to the population, " he said. " This was the

first case where an animal had been transferred back to where it came from in

Cambodia. It was a landmark event. "