Turtles in Trouble: The World's 25+ Most Endangered - Wildlife ...

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Turtles in Trouble: Top 25+ Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles—2011Asian Narrow-headed Softshell TurtleChitra chitra Nutaphand 1986; Family TrionychidaeAsia: Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Malaysia (West), ThailandIUCN Red List: CR, Critically Endangered A1cd, B1+2cCITES: Appendix II, as Chitra spp.Of all the softshell turtles, Chitra chitra isarguably the most attractively patterned species,and it may also be the heaviest and largestof all freshwater turtles. The maximum recordedweight of a C. chitra is 254 kg (560 lbs)and it can grow to a carapace length in excessof 120 cm or 4 feet. Chitra chitra is a highlyspecialized ambush predator, feeding almostexclusively on live fish, and has evolved specificneck bones and muscles that enable it tocapture its prey in a very unique manner. It capturesits prey by rapidly extending its head ina striking manner while greatly expanding itsmouth and throat. This expansion creates a vortexthat vacuums fish into its mouth in the blinkof an eye.Across its range, C. chitra is under threatfrom a combination of accidental mortality asfisheries bycatch, targeted hunting for food andthe pet trade, and egg harvesting, which is highlyeffective and causes a severe impact, as thespecies is extremely predictable in both its nestsite selection and timing of nesting. It is alsoimpacted by the creation of reservoirs that alterthe flow regimes of its native rivers. When wateris released from the dams during the dry season,it often floods the nesting beaches effectively drowningthe developing eggs. Furthermore, as it is a sit and waitpredator that is highly dependent on capturing live prey,decreases in water clarity (increased turbidity) as a resultof catchment erosion and river alteration greatly reduces itsefficiency in capturing fish.The Thai Fisheries Department has a program to breedthis species in captivity for the purpose of releasing offspringback into the wild to augment the declining populations.Although the program had initial success and wellover 100 hatchlings were produced, it was subsequentlyChitra chitra adult from Thailand. Photo by Chris Tabaka.impacted by disease among the offspring and cessation ofreproduction of the captive adults. Priority conservationmeasures include reassessing the captive breeding andheadstarting program in Thailand. This needs to be coupledwith increasing public awareness about the conservationof the species with the hopes of reducing the impacts oftargeted hunting and egg gathering, as well as safeguardingkey breeding and feeding areas from collection and huntingimpacts. Similar conservation actions then need to beimplemented for other populations in Peninsular Malaysiaand Indonesia.Distribution of Chitra chitra.Chitra chitra hatchling from Thailand. Photo by Peter Paul van Dijk.– 30 –
Turtles in Trouble: Top 25+ Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles—2011Vietnamese Pond Turtle, Annam Pond TurtleMauremys annamensis (Siebenrock 1903); Family GeoemydidaeAsia: VietnamIUCN Red List: CR, Critically Endangered A1d+2dCITES: Appendix IIMauremys annamensis at Fort Worth Zoo. Photo by Rick Reed.The Vietnamese PondTurtle is a mostly aquatic medium-sizedturtle, up to 29 cmcarapace length, of particularconservation concern. Thishighly localized endemic isfound only in coastal lowlandwetlands and rivers of a fewprovinces of central Vietnamfrom Da Nang south to PhuYen.The species has sufferedgreatly from loss of itslowland habitats which havealmost entirely been lost orseverely degraded and fragmented.Conversion to agriculturalland, particularly forrice cultivation, as well as increasingurban developmentsin these highly populated areasare to blame. During the 1980sand early 1990s the species was also seen in wildlife tradein large numbers, but rapidly diminished with wild caughtanimals now extremely rare. Despite being given full legalprotection under Vietnamese law, the species is still soughtafter for sale to international markets, particularly China,but also increasingly for local consumption in Vietnam fortraditional medicinal beliefs.With the species almost extirpated throughout its range,the Asian Turtle Program (ATP) of Cleveland MetroparksZoo conducted a number of field surveys in 2006 whichresulted in the capture of an animal in Quang Nam Province.This was the first documented wild Vietnamese PondTurtle found in native habitat since 1939. Since 2007 aturtle-focused conservation team has been based in centralVietnam. They have identified additional possible remaininghabitat for the species, are conducting regular communityactivities and working with local wildlife protectionauthorities. With the species reproducing well in captivecollections in the USA and Europe, where well-establishedTaxon Management Groups have been extremely successful,the best option for conservation of the VietnamesePond Turtle appears to be release and reintroduction intonative habitat in conjunction with enforcement, awareness,and community engagement. The ATP is working in QuangNgai with the Forest Protection Department to establish aTurtle Assurance Colony (TAC) to allow animals to be repatriated.As it is currently believed that no existing protectedhabitat exists in which the species occurs, a SpeciesHabitat Conservation Area (SHCA) is also being plannedto secure critical habitat.Distribution of Mauremys annamensis.M. annamensis hatched at Fort Worth Zoo. Photo by Andrew Brinker.– 31 –
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