February 24, 2009

News from the Field
Membership
Membership Survey Results
Coming Events
Fund-raising
Animal Management

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News from the Field

Rick Hudson

My last report was filed halfway through a 5 week trip to SE Asia, and described our first two weeks in Myanmar and the ambitious agenda we have planned.   From there   Team Burma shrunk from 10 people down to 2-4 people, with site visits in Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore. We were joined in Thailand by Shailendra Singh (TSA India) and in Cambodia by Tim McCormack (Asian Turtle Program/Cleveland Zoo, Vietnam).

Thailand - our primary goal was to visit the Thai Fisheries-run facility for   Batagur and Callagur at Satun, in southern Thailand. Both species are most likely functionally extinct in Thailand, and captive populations of both were collected from a nearby river 25 – 30 years ago. The Batagur have bred successfully over the years - with thousands on hand - but still far below their capacity.   Callagur have reproduced in much lower numbers. Egg incubation is a problem and is not controlled to reliably produce both sexes; good incubators are urgently needed. We also identified a number of husbandry issues – some likely related to diet, others to facility design -that will require veterinary visits and facility modifications to resolve.   We hope to begin to mobilize support to this facility as soon as the potential to use this facility to restore wild populations of both species appears to be good. Looking down the road, this could be an excellent student project.

We also visited the Inland Fisheries Station at Kanchanaburi where the emphasis is on breeding softshell turtles, notably Chitra chitra. A new building has been erected since our last visit, providing improved rearing conditions to a wide range of species including two Myanmar endemics,   Nilssonia formosa and Chitra vandijki. Certainly one of the high points of our trip was formalizing our relationship with Mr.Uthen Youngprapakorn, to officially represent TSA in dealings with the government and their Fisheries-run facilities. Uthen owns the world’s largest croc farm near Bangkok and manages the largest and most successful breeding group of false gharials (Tomistoma) in the world (800 hatched to date).

Cambodia – the mission here was to evaluate husbandry procedures at the Batagur facility at Sre Ambel, built in 2006 with TSA and EAZA Shellshock support. This facility houses 95 two to three year old Batagur, collected as hatchlings from a nesting bank of the nearby Sre Ambel River. This remnant population – down to 1-2 nesting females - was rediscovered in 2000, represents the last remaining Batagur population in Indochina and is likely genetically distinct. Adjustments were made to remedy crowding and stress, and we have follow up reports stating that the turtles are no longer burying in the sand and are responding well to deeper water and hiding areas. Planned improvements to this facility include a deeper well, larger pump and increased water storage capacity. A second facility will likely be required for captive breeding. Brian Horne returned to Cambodia and conducted river surveys to try and identify suitable sites for Batagur reintroduction.

Malaysia – we were hosted by Dr. Engheng Chan and her former student Ms Pelf Nyok Chen of University Malaysia Terengganu. We have supported Chan’s research with both Batagur and Callagur over the years and the time has come to begin implementing the results into management strategies of the various Batagur headstarting programs throughout Malaysia where the basic science of egg incubation, TSD and reintroduction technology has been lacking. Several courses of action have been charted including improving the research facilities at Chan’s turtle lab, building a new breeding pond, headstarting and incubation facilities at the government-run Batagur facility at Terengganau (situated on a river that still supports a sizeable nesting population) and developing a rescue facility for large riverine turtles from the trade (Pelochelys, Orlitia, Chitra among them). We also want to expand work on the Setiu River which is an interesting river, running to the east coast of Malaysia and then turning north and running parallel to the coast before emptying into the South China Sea. Both Batagur and Callagur use this river for nesting and it presents an excellent opportunity to better understand how two such similar species co-exist in the same habitat.

Located close to Kuala Terengganau, the Setiu River offers an ideal site to continue needed conservation work, i.e. egg protection, hatching, headstarting and release, and we are very excited about the potential for concentrating our efforts on this river. This article appeared in one of the leading national newspapers while we were there: http://www.nst.com.my/Tuesday/National/2469273/Article/index_html

The illegal trade in wild turtles leaving Malaysia for China is not only still active, but shockingly blatant, well-organized and high volume. We were stunned to see a group of 10 - 12 adult Manouria emys at a turtle farm, the remnants of a 15 ton shipment that had been recently sent to China for the New Year. Some quick calculations led us to estimate that this represented ~1000 tortoises, a staggering loss to wild populations. The group in this photograph awaits a similar fate. That this level of collection of wild adult tortoises is still occurring is grim testament to the fact that we MUST expand our commitment to protecting turtles in Asia, and continue our focus on assurance colonies, both in and ex situ.

Singapore –on the last day of our trip we met with staff from the Singapore Zoo and their parent company Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) as well as WCS Regional Technical Advisor for Asia, Madhu Rao. This meeting was both timely and productive in that we began to address a critical need that had been identified throughout the trip – the lack of trained in-country personnel to carry our turtle research and conservation programs. Training – as well as the need to identify competent and interested young biologists - emerged as an urgent priority for us going forward. WRS indicated a strong desire to assist this process, and offered to seek foundation funding support for capacity building workshops.

This was a long hard trip and Brian and I came back feeling overwhelmed with what lies before us. I wish that I could report that we were optimistic about the future of Asia’s turtles, but sadly we saw activity that was not only disturbing but bodes poorly for the future. So now it is obvious that we just have to dig our heels in a little deeper and recommit TSA to the difficult work that will be necessary to save turtles in Asia. We need your help now more than ever, so PLEASE, if you are not a member of TSA, take a few minutes to join (see below from Heather); if you are a member, please know how much we value and depend on your support. If you care about the future of turtles and tortoises, support the TSA!

Membership

Heather Lowe

There has never been a more exciting time to be a member of the Turtle Survival Alliance! Over the past year, the membership has consistently numbered more than 200 individuals, organizations and institutions representing 12 countries. However, we’d like for that number to be even higher! This e-newsletter is currently being distributed to more than 450 individuals, but less than half of those are current members of the TSA. Funds generated by membership dues help to offset the operating costs of the TSA and also allow access to non-restricted funds that can be used in the event of unexpected costs related to conservation projects around the world. In essence, your support is essential to our success. Through these electronic updates, you can see the great work that the TSA is doing around the world and by becoming a member of the organization, you will know that you are actively supporting projects that benefit turtles worldwide.

To join, visit www.turtlesurvival.org and click on the Membership tab at the top of the page. Already a member? Log into your membership page to check your expiration date or renew. (Tip: Your Username is on your membership card!) If you have forgotten or misplaced your username or password, or have any other questions, contact Heather Lowe, Membership Coordinator at 817/239-8981 or HLowe@turtlesurvival.org. We are currently undergoing some transition in our membership department and we appreciate your patience during this time. If you are waiting on correspondence, please know that we are close to getting completely caught up. However, please do not hesitate to contact Heather with any questions or concerns.

Membership Survey Results

Scott Davis

The TSA membership survey was a huge success, with 157 respondents taking the time to share their thoughts on our organization and its future. We are beginning the process of sifting through the data, but even at this early stage of our analyses a number of points are clear. First and foremost, virtually 100 percent of respondents were motivated because they liked turtles and believed in their conservation. Generating awareness about turtle conservation issues was seen as the highest value of member services, followed by the annual report and electronic newsletter. Almost everyone reads the report and newsletter, most visit the website several times a year and over half attend the annual conference. There is strong agreement that TSA is a leader in the field, and members believe that they benefit from what TSA is doing. We will be using the survey results to improve the TSA and we will provide periodic updates on our progress in the newsletter.

Coming Events

Scott Davis

The first meeting of the newly expanded TSA Foundation Board of Directors will be held at the Maritime Hotel in New York City on March 6th. For those of you who don’t know, the TSA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that enables your donations to the TSA to be tax deductible. Rick and Brian’s recent trip to Southeast Asia has generated a large list of immediate conservation needs, and the new TSA Foundation Board is a critical part of our efforts to improve efficiency and raise more money for turtle conservation. We will give you an update after the meeting, but in the meantime, thanks to Eric Goode and Maurice Rodrigues for hosting the TSA.

The next annual meeting – the 7th Annual TSA Symposium on Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises - will be held in St Louis, Missouri. This is the premier turtle event of the summer and we hope that you will plan on joining us. The meeting will begin with an icebreaker the evening of August 5th and end with the awards banquet on Saturday August 8th. The meetings this year are shaping up to be outstanding, with a series of hands-on workshops, a banquet at the St Louis Zoo and the auction/dinner at a downtown museum. Hotel rooms will be less than $100 per night, and as always, these events and breakfast are included in the price of your registration. These are tough economic times and we are making every effort to make this a bargain value package. We will have a meeting overview and a link for hotel reservations in our next newsletter and on the website. Make plans now to join us!

Fund-raising

Rick Hudson

In December the TSA received a generous $10,000 donation for our Indian turtle conservation work from WREN Consulting (Walde Research & Environmental Consulting, Inc), courtesy of Andrew and Angela Walde. Specifically these funds are to hire new staff to help manage this rapidly growing program.

Roy Young of the Boulder, Colorado-based company Nature’s Own, again made a substantial donation - $20,000 – for the TSA’s Madagascar and Myanmar turtle conservation programs.

Chuck Landrey and the Taste of Thai food company purchased a lot of 50 Rafetus prints (only 100 were printed) and are now advertising them through their product line, see http://www.andreprost.com/thaiturtletrust/faq.html All proceeds go into the TSA’s Rafetus account, and will help fund the second breeding attempt of the pair at China’s Suzhou Zoo, Spring 2009. Fingers crossed!!

Sheena Koeth of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has been busy again selling TSA’s carved onyx tortoise sculptures, and another $1,023 arrived in January, earmarked for the TSA’s Madagascar program. We are currently “courting” several zoo gift shops about stocking these tortoises. Donated from Nature’s Own in Boulder Colorado, this represents a sustainable income stream for Madagascar, as all sculptures are 100% profit.

Fort Worth Zoo made their annual contribution of $2,500 and John Iverson contributed $250. And we have $100 donations from both Joy Schochet & Kurt Christoffel (as a Christmas present to his sister Rebecca).

Animal Management

The TSA currently has a number of spiny turtles available for placement. We have 5 cb unsexed juveniles and 2 wild caught adult females. These animals are available on long-term breeding loan. Contact Dwight Lawson (dlawson@zooatlanta.org).

The Denver Zoo is looking to place 5 Parker’s Snake Neck Turtles. These are non-TSA animals, but if interested, please contact either Dwight Lawson (dlawson@zooatlanta.org) or Rick Haeffner (rhaeffner@denverzoo.org) for terms and conditions.

Also, TSA animal records are now being maintained by Debbie Forde at Zoo Atlanta. If you have an update (birth, death, etc.) or a question about your TSA animal, please contact Debbie at dforde@zooatlanta.org.