Steve and Chris release the studbook’s 3rd Edition.
We are proud to announce the release of the 3rd edition of the Western Hermann’s Tortoise North American Regional Studbook. Once again, there are new founder animals and plenty of new offspring listed in the studbook. Within the last year, we took DNA samples from most of the animals in the studbook and had them tested (a big thanks to Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium for funding that effort). As a result, some animals have been listed under a different locality or dropped from the book. For more details on this, please read the studbook.
Excerpt: Letter from the Coordinator
by Chris Leone
We’ve covered some distance in just a few short years with our Testudo hermanni hermanni project. Of course, none of this would be within the realms of possibility without the help and skill of Steve Enders who has made the continued survival of this studbook feasible. The focus to segregate the animals in this studbook from all other Hermann’s tortoises currently being kept in the United States was taken seriously by all parties involved and, so far, we have achieved pleasing results. This chelonian, considered Endangered by the IUCN Redlist, has been largely ignored worldwide for years as it was considered by many to be nothing more than just a “prettier Hermann’s tortoise”. The community chose to direct their attention to the ever so popular species that have now oversaturated the industry to the point where they are extremely easy to obtain. Star tortoises, leopards tortoises and red-footed tortoises (to name a few) have become a primary focal point while others fell just short or entirely disappeared from the clique’s radar. Testudo hermanni hermanni was one of the forgotten until now.
My life’s work has been resurrecting what had become lost of this species in the USA while going full steam ahead with bringing in new, legitimate blood. The entire process was anything but easy, yet here we are today with a wonderful group of animals that fully represent the western Hermann’s tortoise in the purest, “textbook” way. The acquisition of…Read More
More on the Western Hermann’s Tortoise
For some history regarding the Western Hermann’s Tortoise North American Regional Studbook, please see our release from last year’s edition.
The premier website for the Western Hermann’s Tortoise, HermanniHaven.com
