One week of care for 5 rescued turtles in Madagascar

Turtles on their way back to the wild

Care for rescued radiated tortoises in Madagascar

The radiated tortoise once lived in harmony with humans in its natural habitat on the island of Madagascar. For the local Mahafaly and Antandroy, eating the tortoise, known as Sokake, was taboo. That changed when members of other groups settled in the region. The relatively large tortoises, weighing up to 20 kilograms, are now on the menu. The animals are caught in their hundreds and transported by truck to other regions, where they are killed for consumption. The tortoise is also traded illegally internationally - as a delicacy and, due to its shell pattern, as a sought-after pet. In just under 70 years, the radiated tortoise has disappeared from 40 percent of its original habitat. Soon it may be completely extinct (Leuteritz & Rioux Paquette, 2008).

need

Food and medical care for around 25,000 radiated tortoises rescued from the illegal wildlife trade in Madagascar.

activity

The turtles are cared for in a rescue center until they can be released back into the wild.

Measurable performance

Number of weeks that turtles can be cared for at the rescue center.

Result

The rescued turtles can be released back into the wild and protected from poaching. This stabilizes the population in the wild.

Systemically relevant impact

The surrounding villages are involved in the care and release of the turtles and are committed to preserving Madagascar's biodiversity.

background

Turtles are one of the most threatened animal groups of all, as shown by an international study (Stanford et al., 2020). Radiated tortoises, which originally only occurred in Madagascar, are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2008). On the one hand, the habitat of this tortoise is shrinking, and on the other hand, it is falling victim to poaching. This species is extremely sought after because of its meat and characteristic shell markings. The AGA's partner organization, the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), has been committed to protecting radiated tortoises in Madagascar since 2010. The confiscation of captured tortoises reached a sad peak in 2018, when the authorities were able to save almost 18,000 animals (Cannon, 2018). Currently, more than 26,000 rescued radiated tortoises are waiting to be returned to the wild in seven rescue centers in Madagascar (Turtle Survival Alliance, 2021). They are to be gradually released into suitable areas in ecologically compatible group sizes and protected from poaching there. The releases planned for 2020 had to be suspended due to the corona pandemic and local restrictions. In August 2021, a first group of 1,000 tortoises were brought into their natural habitat with special enclosures for release. The animals will of course be cared for until they can be released into the wild. But the rescue centers urgently need support in caring for and feeding so many animals.

The good deed

With your good deed today, you are helping to care for confiscated radiated tortoises in Madagascar. Your good deed will finance one week of care for five rescued animals in the rescue center. Thanks to this good deed, the animals can be examined, given medical care, and fed with, for example, prickly pears, carrots, lettuce, and succulents. Together with the local population, suitable areas for release into the wild are identified, and the village communities participate in the conservation measures. By growing food plants for the confiscated tortoises, the villages surrounding the rescue centers also have the opportunity to generate alternative income. In this way, they are sustainably integrated into the nature conservation measures and benefit from them. By rescuing, caring for, and re-releasing the tortoises, biodiversity in Madagascar is preserved and wild animals are protected from smuggling.

AboutMadagascar

Antananarivo

Capital city

27 691 019

Population

495.5

Gross domestic product per capita per year

Rank 164 of 189

Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and has been separated from the mainland for about 90 million years. The result of this is a high proportion of endemic animal and plant species, i.e. species that only occur in Madagascar and nowhere else in the world, such as 95 percent of the 260 reptile species (SimplyScience Foundation, 2021).

About the organization and further information

Organisation

Aktionsgemeinschaft Artenschutz (AGA) e.V.

Website

https://www.aga-artenschutz.de/

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One week of care for 5 rescued turtles in Madagascar

Turtles on their way back to the wild

Organisation

Website

organization

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