Turtle Survival

MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS
We Are the TSA
Christine Bowie
The foundation of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) is our partnerships, including those with our individual members. With that in mind, we firmly
believe that anyone can contribute to turtle conservation in some way, regardless of background or experience. These are three exceptional members
who do just that. We hope that you enjoy getting to know them.
the years. In this way, we can test the long-term
safety of our methods.
What do you enjoy about being a member
of the TSA?
I enjoy the annual symposium the most. I can
sit down next to a complete stranger and we can
be “talking turtle” within seconds.
How would you describe your personal
conservation philosophy?
No farmed animal ever went extinct. I
strongly support using turtle farms to satisfy the
worldwide pet market. In the wild, the chance
of an egg surviving to produce a hatchling is less
than 5%. On a farm it’s 85% - a big advantage. Of
course, turtle farming must be accompanied by
strong laws protecting wild populations.
Tell us anything about yourself that
makes you, “you.”
I was gifted with a wonderful education. My
skills in physiology, medicine and biochemistry
have all come together to make our research possible.
I have also been gifted with a wife that not
only puts up with me but is eager to participate in
the work in the stifling heat of a Louisiana summer.
What more could a man ask for?
KATHY VAUSE
MARK FELDMAN
Hometown: Kerikeri, New Zealand
Occupation: Emergency room physician
What first sparked your interest in doing
research with turtles?
Around 1975, I walked into John Legler’s lab
at the University of Utah. While I was there, I
met a young graduate student named Jim Berry.
When I complained to Jim how difficult it was
to catch hatchling turtles for pets he suggested I
“make them.” He described and demonstrated a
method of using oxytocin to induce adult females
to lay their eggs. This led to a lifelong interest in
developing better methods than using oxytocin
to induce egg laying in turtles.
Do you keep turtles at your home?
We have a collection of 15 Red-eared Sliders
that we keep at our home in New Zealand. We’ve
had most of them for 20-30 years. They are both
pets and research animals since the females have
had every clutch of eggs induced artificially over
Hometown: Hopkins, South Carolina
Occupation: Reptile Keeper at Riverbanks
Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina
What first sparked your interest in turtles
and tortoises?
I started working with turtles and tortoises in
1990, when I began working in the reptile department
at Riverbanks Zoo.
Tell us about your job.
Most of my interactions with turtles and
tortoises are at the zoo, where I happily feed,
clean, observe, and as my co-workers say, “mollycoddle”
the zoo’s collection of chelonians in the
hopes of making things right for them to thrive
and reproduce in their captive setting.
How did you first learn about the TSA?
december 2015 60 turtle survival