Katala Foundation and Wildlife Reserves Singapore studied little known species for five years
July 16, 2018, Press Release —
There is new hope for the critically endangered Palawan Forest Turtle (Siebenrockiella leytensis), a species
highly sought after for the illegal wildlife trade, after its first recorded
hatching under human care.
After nearly five years of
conservation breeding efforts, the Katala Foundation Inc. (KFI) and Wildlife
Reserves Singapore (WRS) have announced the hatching of the first critically
endangered Palawan Forest Turtle (S.
leytensis) under human care from parents that had been living for years at
their assurance colony facilities in Palawan.
Dr Sonja Luz, Director,
Conservation, Research and Veterinary Services, Wildlife Reserves Singapore,
said: “The recent breeding success is a true milestone in the conservation of
this important species, and gives us hope that we can turn things around even
for lesser known species in this region.”
Endemic to the Philippines, the
Palawan Forest Turtle (also known as Philippine Pond Turtle) is extremely
sensitive to stress and has high requirements to captive environments as
precondition for reproduction.
Dr Sabine Schoppe, Director of
the Palawan Freshwater Turtle Conservation Program of Katala Foundation, said,
“Five years ago, with support from Wildlife Reserves Singapore, we intensified
research on the Palawan Forest Turtle, and now have better understanding on
their food preferences, incubation requirements like humidity and temperature,
incubation time, nesting requirements, enclosure and furniture design, and
necessary environmental conditions to trigger reproduction.”
While there are two public
records for the successful incubation of eggs from wild-caught Palawan Forest
Turtles, Dr Schoppe cautions against terming such cases as ‘captive bred’ as it
would inevitably bring about laundering of wild caught animals to facilitate
trade. She said, “Captive breeding implies the production of offspring from
parents under human care, so the hatching of eggs of gravid wild-caught females
does not qualify as true captive breeding.”
Since 2008, alleged captive bred
S. leytensis are offered for sale on the Internet worldwide, and in the
Philippines, there are also anecdotal claims made by turtle enthusiasts and
zoological institutions of captive breeding S. leytensis (Sy 2014).
For many reptile species the
false declaration as captive bred still provides a major loophole in
controlling illegal wildlife trade. The lack of transparency and sufficient
knowledge on the biology and reproductive physiology of many reptiles still
allows traders to fool authorities into believing such animals are captive
bred.
KFI and WRS take a strong stand
against illegal wildlife trade and believe that the good research conducted at
the Katala facilities can shed more light on this critical issue.
Beyond the ex-situ breeding
research, KFI is also addressing the in-situ threats and knowledge gaps through
collaboration and financial support of several international organisations as
well as through local partnerships with the Palawan Council for Sustainable
Development and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources –
Biodiversity Management Bureau.
Wildlife Reserves Singapore has
been a key partner funding the Katala Foundation since 2014, supporting the
facility by building capacities in the areas of veterinary medicine, breeding
research and husbandry of not only the Palawan Forest Turtle but also the
critically endangered Philippine Cockatoo.
A scientific publication shall
follow in due time.
PHOTO CREDITS: KATALA FOUNDATION
INC
For more information about the
PFTCP, please contact Dr. Sabine Schoppe, Katala Foundation, P.O. Box 390,
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan or at sabine_schoppe@web.de
or www.philippinecockatoo.org.
ABOUT KATALA FOUNDATION
Katala Foundation Inc. (KFI) is a
Palawan-based NGO working on the conservation of highly threatened species. KFI
implements the Philippine or Palawan Freshwater Turtle Conservation Project
(PFTCP) since 2006 on the basis of a MOA with the DENR-PAWB. In 2011, the
Program was adopted by the Province of Palawan and issued PCSD SEP Clearance
No. 102811-010. Apart from the Palawan Forest Turtle, three other freshwater
turtles are under the PFTCP.
ABOUT WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE
Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS)
is dedicated to the management of world-leading zoological institutions—Jurong
Bird Park, Night Safari, River Safari and Singapore Zoo—that aim to inspire
people to value and conserve biodiversity by providing meaningful and memorable
wildlife experiences.
A self-funded organisation, WRS
focuses on protecting biodiversity in Singapore and Southeast Asia through
collaborations with like-minded partners, organisations and institutions. Each
year, the four attractions welcome 5 million visitors.
Mandai Park Holdings (MPH), the
driving force behind the rejuvenation of Mandai into an integrated wildlife and
nature heritage space, is the holding company of WRS and oversees its business
and strategic development.
ISSUED BY :Katala Foundation and Wildlife Reserves Singapore
CONTACT :Dr Sabine Schoppe and Ms Joey Phua
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