First-ever critically endangered Palawan hatched under human care - Parents have been under human care for years in assurance colony - via Herp Digest

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

                        sabine_schoppe@web.de and joey.phua@wrs.com.sg

Extinction Up Close: A Rare Turtle Under Assault from Poachers (Philippines Palawan Forest Turtles Siebenrockiella leytensis,) - via Herp Digest

By Andrew C. Revkin DOT Earth, Blog, New York Times

June 24, 2015 5:17 pm 

By now, you’ve likely heard about “Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction.”

The paper, published last week in Science Advances used a new approach to estimate global extinction rates and supports previous studies finding that Earth is in the midst of a human-driven “mass extinction” spasm on the scale of past mass die-offs triggered by geophysical calamities. (Another important paper last week, assessing evidence for “mass extinction in poorly known taxa” — a euphemism for low-profile organisms, particularly invertebrates — came up with this dark conclusion: “[We] may already have lost 7 percent of the species on Earth and…the biodiversity crisis is real.”)

I’m still doing reporting on aspects of the Science Advances paper, including on the curious omission of invasive species as a core driver of losses in recent decades. Its conclusion that the mass loss of species imperils human civilization is also ripe for analysis. (A firmer conclusion would be that reducing the planet’s species abundance and richness cannot be good for H. sapiens.) With that in mind, please read an invaluable piece by Cara Giaimo in Atlas Obscura focused on concerns of Stuart Pimm, a leading analyst of extinction, that the public is missing equally important recent science revealing ways to stem the tide.

But it’s worth setting aside these broader questions for a moment to look at what human pressures on rare or isolated species look like up close.

Last Thursday, authorities in the Philippine island province of Palawan confiscated a horrifying trove of more than 4,400 freshwater turtles, 3,800 of which were the critically endangered Palawan forest turtle, Siebenrockiella leytensis.

More than 4,400 freshwater turtles, including 3,800 endangered Palawan forest turtles, were confiscating from a poacher in the Philippines last week.Credit Katala Foundation

A 2012 study published by the international conservation union describes, wrenchingly, how the discovery of the significant population of this turtle at the north tip of Palawan island sparked a “collecting frenzy”:

The recent discovery of a natural population of S. leytensis on Palawan has already spurred a collecting frenzy among wildlife trappers and traders to supply domestic and international markets for the illegal wildlife trade. In spite of its official protected status in local and international listings, the illegal trade in S. leytensis is rampant and is perceived currently as the greatest threat to the species. This threat is exacerbated by the continuing destruction of the lowland forests of Palawan, the primary habitat of the species. If the current trend of overexploitation continues, it is certain that several subpopulations of S. leytensis will soon collapse. In the face of these threats, wildlife authorities on Palawan must immediately enforce relevant laws and encourage greater coordination among appropriate government agencies that typically work in isolation.

The latest reports, from a coalition of turtle conservation groups and the Katala Foundation in Palawan, along with the anti-trafficking group Traffic, show how this has been playing out in a mass roundup and trafficking operation, with the turtles secreted by Chinese merchants in shipments of rattan bound for Hong Kong, where the turtles end up sold both as prized pets and a culinary delicacy. The smuggling route had already been noted in 2012.

In a phone interview, Eric Goode, the founder of the Turtle Conservancy, which breeds and releases rare turtles, said the Palawan forest turtle is particularly vulnerable because of its small range but also because the turtles retreat into communal burrows along stream banks during the day, making poachers’ work easy.

“We work Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden in Hong Kong,” Goode told me. “They’ve been noticing large numbers of this turtle in the food market and pet trade.” He said one indication of the expanded poaching was a drop in the price from 2,500 Hong Kong dollars (about $322 U.S.) to 500 dollars (about $64).

The confiscation of the turtles was hailed today by conservation groups, but Goode said there’s a big challenge in returning them to the wild. Some 3,000 have already been released, but with no certainty they will thrive given the specialize habits.

Please read more in “Crisis in the Philippines,” by the turtle coalition.e

This Rare Philippine Turtle Is Being Driven to Extinction by Pet Owners - via Herp Digest

By John R. Platt | Takepart.com February 3, 2015

When most people want a pet, they get a cat or a dog. Other people steal endangered species from the wild.

That’s the sad situation confronting the Palawan forest turtle, a critically endangered species that lives on just a single island in the Philippines. Only about 3,000 of these rare turtles are believed to remain in the wild, a number that is shrinking rapidly. Over the past two months at least 186 forest turtles—more than 6 percent of the entire known population—have been rescued from five groups of poachers who intended to sell them on the illegal international pet trade, according to a report this week from TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

The forest turtles’ very rarity makes them even more desired, as collectors will pay large amounts of money on the black market for endangered turtles and tortoises. The rarer they are, the higher the price they fetch.

The turtles were most likely headed to Europe or North America, said Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC’s Southeast Asia regional director.

“Southeast Asia is also seeing a booming increase in the exotic pet trade,” he said, “so it is not inconceivable that they were headed somewhere a little closer to home.” He said that no arrests have been made yet, although investigations are ongoing.

The Palawan forest turtle was once believed to be extinct. Unseen since 1920, the species was rediscovered in 2001. A scientific paper detailing that find was published in 2004. A booming illegal trade in the animals began soon after.

“The trade of the Palawan forest turtle is rampant, and most past conservation work has failed,” said Pierre Fidenci, president of Endangered Species International, which has been active for several years in trying to protect the turtles.

He said the poaching has become so bad that some of the sites that once held the turtles could now be depleted.

“If trade continues at that level, this species could be gone within its major habitat sites in a decade or so,” Fidenci said.

Protecting the turtles won’t be expensive, but it will require effort. “To succeed in saving the Palawan forest turtle, we must create core habitat protection zones where active patrols are conducted using local communities,” he said. “Further inspections at ports, exchange transits, and other locations are necessary as well.”

Fidenci also called for increased efforts to educate local people and authorities about the existing laws that already—in theory if not in execution—protect the turtles.

As for the 186 turtles rescued over the past two months, Shepherd reported that they are in quarantine to make sure they have not contracted any diseases from their captors.

“If they are found healthy, they will be returned to the wild,” he said.

Hopefully, this time they’ll be there to stay.

Original article from TakePart