World Turtle Day 2019
I have just finished celebrating World Turtle day for the year, where I continued to teach my year 11 biology students about the function of kidneys but made it specific to turtles, which worked great as there is tremendous variety in the nitrogenous wastes they produce; and I was teaching my year 7 class about human water management and then went through an exercise of how this influences turtle populations in Cambodia (though they're also hugely impacted here in Australia, I know much less about them and so went with the more straight-forward option for myself). Pondering this day, I thought about what is going on for the different species of Batagur: is there anything to celebrate, or is it all doom and gloom?
News looks pretty good for the Burmese Roofed turtle, Batagur trivittata, which just saw the successful hatching of 46 hatchlings which are set to be headstarted for 5 years before release into the population, thus reducing their mortality rates in the first few years of their lives. Steve and Kalyar Platt have been spear-heading turtle research and conservation in Myanmar for many years now, and along with a team of outstanding conservationists, Myo Min Win, Kin Myo Myo, Win Ko Ko among them, have brought much hope to the outlook for Burmese turtles. TSA and WCS in particular have done so much work to turn the prospects for B. trivittata. I believe Gerald Kuchling has also done work in Myanmar, helping with initial captive husbandry work, even before his more recent important work attempting to artificially inseminate Rafetus swinhoei (the Yangtze Giant softshell turtle that's down to 3 known specimens).
B. baska is also looking positive, with 32 further hatchlings hatched out at Karamjal in the
Sundarbans of Bangladesh. This hatchery operates in conjunction with the breeding centre in Chandpai and currently houses 212 turtles.
Work in recent years, captive breeding and headstarting are aiming toward a recovery of the species in Bangladesh and India, while it is in less densely populated rivers in Myanmar.
B. dhongoka and B. kachuga are distributed pretty much over the same range in the Ganges drainage of India. They have been the fortunate recipients of concerted attention of the TSA and their partners and have been raised and released in hatcheries (some 20 000 B. kachuga have been hatched and released over the past decade). The Chambal sanctuary seems to be of particular value for these two species and the hard work of TSA India's director, Shailendra Singh, has been instrumental in the success of this program. His energy and charisma have been very effective in an industrious and populous country.
B. affinis has positive news also. In Cambodia, Som Sitha of WCS has been spearheading some fantastic work around Sre Ambel. The headstarting efforts have seen 20 subadults (12-13 year olds) released this year, with increased survivorship chances giving the population a much-needed boost. The same species has seen a lot of great work in Malaysia too, primarily through the TCS of Malaysia's ever-active, passionate, and tenacious Chen Pelf Nyok. The TCS carries out annual "Terrapin Independence Day"s in which headstarted turtles are released into the Kemaman river in an effort to
B. borneoensis is another among the 25 most endangered chelonians: it has suffered losses of habitat and declines through harvest and the international market. Its prime champion is Joko Guntoro, who researches and conserves painted terrapins in Indonesia through his organisation, the Satucita Foundation. The main work of Satucita appears to be working with the local community of Aceh Tamiang to protect habitat, protect nests for hatchling release.
While this work is all making great headway, latest redlist assessments still list them as critically endangered and for those which there is sufficient data (all but B. borneoensis), their populations are assessed as declining. They would be declining much more rapidly without the input from these dedicated individuals and organisations.
I have just finished celebrating World Turtle day for the year, where I continued to teach my year 11 biology students about the function of kidneys but made it specific to turtles, which worked great as there is tremendous variety in the nitrogenous wastes they produce; and I was teaching my year 7 class about human water management and then went through an exercise of how this influences turtle populations in Cambodia (though they're also hugely impacted here in Australia, I know much less about them and so went with the more straight-forward option for myself). Pondering this day, I thought about what is going on for the different species of Batagur: is there anything to celebrate, or is it all doom and gloom?
News looks pretty good for the Burmese Roofed turtle, Batagur trivittata, which just saw the successful hatching of 46 hatchlings which are set to be headstarted for 5 years before release into the population, thus reducing their mortality rates in the first few years of their lives. Steve and Kalyar Platt have been spear-heading turtle research and conservation in Myanmar for many years now, and along with a team of outstanding conservationists, Myo Min Win, Kin Myo Myo, Win Ko Ko among them, have brought much hope to the outlook for Burmese turtles. TSA and WCS in particular have done so much work to turn the prospects for B. trivittata. I believe Gerald Kuchling has also done work in Myanmar, helping with initial captive husbandry work, even before his more recent important work attempting to artificially inseminate Rafetus swinhoei (the Yangtze Giant softshell turtle that's down to 3 known specimens).
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| Source: the Daily Star, "All 32 Batagur baska babies hatch at Karamjal |
B. baska is also looking positive, with 32 further hatchlings hatched out at Karamjal in the
Sundarbans of Bangladesh. This hatchery operates in conjunction with the breeding centre in Chandpai and currently houses 212 turtles.
Work in recent years, captive breeding and headstarting are aiming toward a recovery of the species in Bangladesh and India, while it is in less densely populated rivers in Myanmar.
B. dhongoka and B. kachuga are distributed pretty much over the same range in the Ganges drainage of India. They have been the fortunate recipients of concerted attention of the TSA and their partners and have been raised and released in hatcheries (some 20 000 B. kachuga have been hatched and released over the past decade). The Chambal sanctuary seems to be of particular value for these two species and the hard work of TSA India's director, Shailendra Singh, has been instrumental in the success of this program. His energy and charisma have been very effective in an industrious and populous country.
B. affinis has positive news also. In Cambodia, Som Sitha of WCS has been spearheading some fantastic work around Sre Ambel. The headstarting efforts have seen 20 subadults (12-13 year olds) released this year, with increased survivorship chances giving the population a much-needed boost. The same species has seen a lot of great work in Malaysia too, primarily through the TCS of Malaysia's ever-active, passionate, and tenacious Chen Pelf Nyok. The TCS carries out annual "Terrapin Independence Day"s in which headstarted turtles are released into the Kemaman river in an effort to
B. borneoensis is another among the 25 most endangered chelonians: it has suffered losses of habitat and declines through harvest and the international market. Its prime champion is Joko Guntoro, who researches and conserves painted terrapins in Indonesia through his organisation, the Satucita Foundation. The main work of Satucita appears to be working with the local community of Aceh Tamiang to protect habitat, protect nests for hatchling release.
While this work is all making great headway, latest redlist assessments still list them as critically endangered and for those which there is sufficient data (all but B. borneoensis), their populations are assessed as declining. They would be declining much more rapidly without the input from these dedicated individuals and organisations.
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Thanks for your feedback, the Batagurs love your love!