Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Tortise shells scattered in the trash in Tulear
Recent tortoise deaths. A photo taken by Nate lashway in Tulear showing the fate of Madagascar's wild Radiated tortoise population. Estimated date of extinction 2030.
News about the radiated tortoise on mongabay.com
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0405-hance_radiated.html
Once common tortoise from Madagascar will be 'extinct in 20 years'
Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com , April 05, 2010
The radiated tortoise, once common throughout Madagascar, faces extinction within the next 20 years due to poaching for its meat and the illegal pet trade, according to biologists with the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Returning from field surveys in southern Madagascar's spiny forest, they found regions without a single turtle. Locals said that armed bands of poachers were taking truckloads of tortoises to be sold in meat markets. The tortoise is also popular in the underground pet trade, although it is protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
"Areas where scores of radiated tortoises could be seen just a few years ago have been poached clean," said James Deutsch, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Africa Program. "Back then one could hardly fathom that this beautiful tortoise could ever become endangered, but such is the world we live in, and things can—and do—change rapidly."
Once considered the world's most abundant tortoise with an estimated population in the millions, the radiated tortoise is today classified by the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered.
Researchers say that poachers, having decimated the tortoise near populated areas, are now moving into protected areas. A government coup and continued political instability has opened up many of Madagascar's world-renowned parks to illegal logging and poaching for the tortoise and even lemurs. Parks are understaffed making enforcement of anti-poaching laws difficult, if not impossible.
In addition to poaching, the tortoise's habitat has been degraded. The spiny forest has been infiltrated by exotic species after being burned and cleared for agriculture. Today the spiny forest, also home to several lemur species, is Madagascar's most endangered forest.
"Radiated tortoises are truly under siege now as never before, and if we can’t draw a line in the sand around protected areas, then we will lose this species," said Rick Hudson, president of the TSA. "I can’t think of a tortoise species that has undergone a more rapid rate of decline in modern times, or a more drastic contraction in range, than the radiated tortoise. This is a crisis situation of the highest magnitude."
In addition, drought and falling agricultural production has increased the poverty of Madagascar's people, leading many to poach tortoises for food and money. Two thirds of the population in Madagascar lives below the international poverty line.
International aid money has dried up in Madagascar following the coup with many environmental and social NGOs forced to close their doors.
Once common tortoise from Madagascar will be 'extinct in 20 years'
Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com , April 05, 2010
The radiated tortoise, once common throughout Madagascar, faces extinction within the next 20 years due to poaching for its meat and the illegal pet trade, according to biologists with the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Returning from field surveys in southern Madagascar's spiny forest, they found regions without a single turtle. Locals said that armed bands of poachers were taking truckloads of tortoises to be sold in meat markets. The tortoise is also popular in the underground pet trade, although it is protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
"Areas where scores of radiated tortoises could be seen just a few years ago have been poached clean," said James Deutsch, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Africa Program. "Back then one could hardly fathom that this beautiful tortoise could ever become endangered, but such is the world we live in, and things can—and do—change rapidly."
Once considered the world's most abundant tortoise with an estimated population in the millions, the radiated tortoise is today classified by the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered.
Researchers say that poachers, having decimated the tortoise near populated areas, are now moving into protected areas. A government coup and continued political instability has opened up many of Madagascar's world-renowned parks to illegal logging and poaching for the tortoise and even lemurs. Parks are understaffed making enforcement of anti-poaching laws difficult, if not impossible.
In addition to poaching, the tortoise's habitat has been degraded. The spiny forest has been infiltrated by exotic species after being burned and cleared for agriculture. Today the spiny forest, also home to several lemur species, is Madagascar's most endangered forest.
"Radiated tortoises are truly under siege now as never before, and if we can’t draw a line in the sand around protected areas, then we will lose this species," said Rick Hudson, president of the TSA. "I can’t think of a tortoise species that has undergone a more rapid rate of decline in modern times, or a more drastic contraction in range, than the radiated tortoise. This is a crisis situation of the highest magnitude."
In addition, drought and falling agricultural production has increased the poverty of Madagascar's people, leading many to poach tortoises for food and money. Two thirds of the population in Madagascar lives below the international poverty line.
International aid money has dried up in Madagascar following the coup with many environmental and social NGOs forced to close their doors.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
A tortoise poem by Laurie
T opaz
Our class says your'e sooo cute
Putting you in the cage was sad
A dream came true this day
Zero nightmares at night
Our class says your'e sooo cute
Putting you in the cage was sad
A dream came true this day
Zero nightmares at night
Monday, March 15, 2010
Mr Herilala from the Wildlife conservation society Madagascar
We are weighing the tortoises here, prior to shipping them off to Tulear.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hellen holding Topaz
Thank you Hellen for being willing and brave enough to let your pet be taken back to where he belongs.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Repatriation from Tana
Last year (2009) Mr. Len (Grade 4) started the process of inquiring about the possibility of repatriating a number of tortoises from Tana back into the
areas from which they come. The obvious educational and conservation value of this exercise has warranted the effort that we have
given it, and it seems that it will bear fruit.
Last year¹s 4th graders (2009) and this year¹s 4th graders (2010)
Collected a sum of money that will help with the project and Mr.
Herilala from the Wildlife Conservation.Society. has assured us that the boma (holding) facility in Tulear is ready to receive the guests.
W.C.S. has a vet who will examine the animals before we have permission to move them. At this stage of the operation we have permission for only one truck carrying a specified number of tortoises to Tulear.
We know that some people will be unwilling to give up their pets and some
may be skeptical about the idea of repatriation. Others may be only too happy to take this opportunity to free their pets from yet another winter in Antananarivo.
The tortoises are being kept in a special area of the school garden till
we can get them vetted and cleaned of parasites
This project forms a practical part of the unit that 4th grade has
been studying: How to care for the earth and what we can do to make a
difference. We sincerely hope that we can rely on your support with
this exciting project. Please contact us if you have any questions about the operation.
The Tulear facility
This is an enclosure where tortoises are kept. Overall there is a total of 7ha that is fenced and it is impossible to get inside unless you can fly over a 2m50 fence.
Written by: Theo, Keenan, Tristan and Sheena . (4th Grade 2010, American school of Antananarivo)
Passports and vetting
The second part of the process in getting the tortoises back to Toliara is getting the tortoise passports and vetting. For the tortoise passport photos, the vet must take a picture of each tortoise on a black-and-white checkerboard background from above and they will be able to recognize the tortoises from the streaks and dings (dents) on the top of the shell. The tortoises also need to be looked at by vets to make sure they do not have diseases that they could pass on to other tortoises.
The second part of the process in getting the tortoises back to Toliara is getting the tortoise passports and vetting. For the tortoise passport photos, the vet must take a picture of each tortoise on a black-and-white checkerboard background from above and they will be able to recognize the tortoises from the streaks and dings (dents) on the top of the shell. The tortoises also need to be looked at by vets to make sure they do not have diseases that they could pass on to other tortoises.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Written by: Christof ,Noah, Abbi and Sudharshan. (4th Grade 2010, American school of Antananarivo)
The tortoises are kept in an enclosure. In the cage, the tortoises are separated into groups. The groups are there so that the babies are separated from their parents. They are located near the beach, and in the cages there is sand to lay eggs in, and grass to eat. The big birds are predators of the tiny baby tortoises.
It is a very small village. It is very hot in Tulear and there must be many trees, to cool down the people and the tortoises, so they don't die of heat. There is not much rain, in the south of Madagascar. The houses of the people are very small, there are not many animals in this area and they might eat the tortoises. The tortoises will be kept in the enclosures until they acclimatize and then they will be released into the wild.
Written by: Isabelle , Youssoupha, Kiran, and Daniel. (4th Grade 2010, American school of Antananarivo)
Tortoises in Tana, and the type of people that have them:
In Tana the people that have money to travel to down to Tuliar can purchase tortoises at the side of the road. So people can get tortoises when they move into a new house, or sometimes the Malagasy people want to show visitors from other countries the tortoises and they are amazed and purchase them.
Keeping them:
We will put the tortoises in the pen next to the music room, it has lots of food but the fence is weak so we have to strengthen it. We will take the tortoises but people will have to pay an amount of Ariary per tortoise because we need the money to change the fence and put up more shelter. We will use the rest of the money to pay the guards that watch the tortoises. The most tortoises we can fit into the area will be around 10-12 individuals.
Written by:Selma, Laura, Gillian, Leon and Ferro. ( Grade 4, 2010 American school of Antananarivo)
Please help us! The Tortoises in Madagascar are in trouble! We need people to help the Fourth Graders to repatriate the radiated tortoises in Antananarivo back to their usual habitat in Tulear, an area in the south of Madagascar. We need to check the tortoises to see if they carry diseases or if they are not feeling well. And this is extremely important because the tortoise in Antananarivo (Ivandry) can’t breed here and so have to go back to Tulear where they can breed naturally. In fact, the Radiated tortoises are in peril if people continue to remove them from their home. We need to drive the tortoises to Tulear. But Tulear is very far from Antananarivo, so we would need a whole big truck to get there! The trip there will be about 600 km which is about two days of driving! And of course, the tortoises need food and shelter inside the truck to keep them alive. The driver also needs to stop driving for a moment to rest. So then, once we have transported them to Tulear, then we will take them to a protected area in Tulear called The Tortoise Villa where the other tortoises remain. Hopefully, it will work to save them.
Written by: Enzo ,Henry, Clara and Laurie (Grade 4, 2010) American school of Antananarivo.
Our radiated tortoises will be transported to the tortoise village, which is situated in South Madagascar. The village is very big. The tortoises will be separated into two groups, the big tortoises and the smaller ones or else the big ones will stamp on the little ones
In the south of Madagascar, there are people who like to have a roasted tortoise or a tortoise soup. Mr. Herilala, is a scientist who is trying to save the radiated tortoises from being eaten by those people. But luckily there is a village that is going to protect those tortoises.
We really need to do this because the Radiated Tortoises will be extinct if we do not save them. Lonesome George, one of the species of tortoises on the Galapagos Islands is the last of his species to be alive in the island of Pinta and if he dies there would be no more like him. Maybe that could also happen to the Radiated tortoises. So, that’s why Mr. Herilala is trying to save them. If he doesn’t it will be the end of the Radiated Tortoises.
At the village the Radiated tortoises our specimens will have everything they need like food and water. So we really need to save the Radiated tortoises!
Monday, December 7, 2009
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