14 Astrochelys radiata Were Rescued From Illegal Trade And Sent To Perth Zoo
Intercepted in Hong Kong two years ago, these 14 rescued radiated turtles were transferred to Perth Zoo and were kept three months in quarantine. Perth Zoo is pretty familiar with keeping and breeding this species so they were able to carefully check the tortoises during their quarantine period. 4 of them will remain in Perth Zoo while the other 10 will be sent to zoos in Queensland. Given the increasing number of wildlife smuggling, Perth Zoo partnered with TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trade monitoring network.
Turtle News From Around the World
Conservation
Blandingii turtles are being tracked with radio transmitters in order to locate nests and gather up the eggs for artificial incubation.
Health and Medical
A 10-year old olive riddley turtle was rescued and rehabilited in Surat.
Obituary
About 100 turtles of the species Melanochelys trijuga and Pangshura tentoria were killed in a pond after the contractor decided to burn the waterweed instead of taking them out manually.
Crime and Punishment
37 endangered green turtles were seized in Bali and four suspects were arrested.
Education
A few turtles were brought to the Massena Public Library for its Summer Reading Program.
Miscellaneous
A tortoise that was missing was lured back home by its owners by playing videos of mating tortoises.
Family offers a reward to whoever find their missing 70-year old tortoise.
Did You Know…
Astrochelys radiata are believed to have aphrodisiac properties. This is one of the reason why it has been heavily snuggled for the Asian market. Despite laws completely protecting the species, traffic in tortoises from the south coast of Madagascar to the capital continues.
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Photo from Claire Dearle
