NEW YORK, New York— July 11, 2013— Sunday, July
14th, CBS will rebroadcast ‘The Race To Save The
Tortoise’, a 60 Minutes segment that profiles the work of Eric Goode and the
Turtle Conservancy. Originally broadcast on December 9, 2012, it shed light on
the plight of turtles and tortoises that have existed over 200 million years and
now find themselves on the brink of extinction due to illegal trade and
poaching. The re-airing of The Race To Save the Tortoise will broadcast on CBS
stations on Sunday, July 14th, 7pm EST/ 8pm CST. In the ensuing seven months the
Turtle Conservancy has made broad strides in its mission to save endangered
turtles and tortoises. Some highlights include:
Since the first airing of 60 Minutes on December
9th
2012, the Turtle Conservancy’s
renowned captive breeding center in California has hatched 261 turtles and
tortoises. These hatchlings include 82 Critically Endangered Burmese Star
Tortoises (Geochelone platynota), 72 Critically Endangered Radiated Tortoises
(Astrochelys radiata), 46 Endangered Asian Forest Tortoises (Manouria emys
phayrei), 38 Vulnerable Black Pond Turtles (Geoclemys hamiltonii), 5 Vulnerable
Pancake Tortoises (Malacochersus tornieri), 4 Endangered Spiny Turtles (Heosemys
spinosa), 4 Endangered Forsten’s Tortoises (Indotestudo forstenii), 2 Critically
Endangered Flat-tailed Tortoises (Pyxis planicauda), and 1 Critically Endangered
Spider Tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides)among others.
The Turtle Conservancy runs the worlds most
successful ex situ breeding program for endangered chelonians. The organization
breeds more individuals from more endangered taxa than any other institution in
the world. Its captive breeding center currently manages assurance colonies
representing over 1/3 of the world’s most Critically Endangered turtle and
tortoise taxa. In addition, the Turtle Conservancy is one of the few
institutions that have had success breeding a variety of species including the
Chaco Tortoise (Chelonoidis chilensis), Parrot-beaked Padloper (Homopus
areolatus), Speckled Padloper (Homopus signatus), Assam Roofed Turtle (Pangshura
sylhetensis), Ryukyu Black-breasted Leaf Turtle (Geoemyda japonica), and the
Impressed Tortoise (Manouria impressa). In early 2013, the TC returned five Critically
Endangered Golden Coin Turtles hatched at the TC back to their native land in
Hong Kong. This historic accomplishment represents the first repatriation of
captive-bred turtles from the U.S. to a native country.
This year the TC is supporting projects on the
ground to protect endangered turtles and tortoises in China, Guyana, India,
Mexico, Madagascar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, South Africa, and the USA, and has
conducted fieldwork around the world, particularly in Southeast Asia,
investigating the turtle and tortoise trade. In South Africa, the TC has
partnered with the Cape Province wildlife agency Cape Nature and well-known
turtle biologist Dr. Margaretha Hofmeyr on two projects related to the
Critically Endangered Geometric Tortoise (Psammobates geometricus) and the
little-known Karoo Padloper(Homopus boulengeri).
In the Carribean, the TC has partnered with
entrepreneur and conservationist Sir Richard Branson to create additional
captive assurance colonies for the endangered Madagascar Radiated Tortoise
(Astrochelys radiata), the Burmese Star Tortoise (Geochelone platynota) and the
Burmese Mountain Black Tortoise (Manouria emys phayrei), on Branson’s private
Necker and Moskito Islands in the British Virgin Islands. Tortoises from the
TC’s captive breeding colony, the Behler Chelonian Center, are being transferred
to enclosures on this Caribbean island where environmental conditions closely
mimic the tortoises’ natural habitat.
With the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and
Thai Professor and Veterinarian Dr. Nantarika Chansue, the TC completed an
emergency rescue effort to provide proper care and management for a large
confiscation of Critically Endangered Ploughshare Tortoises recovered by
authorities in Bangkok during March 2013.
The Turtle Conservancy is a 501(c)3 organization
dedicated to protecting the most endangered turtles and tortoises and their
habitats worldwide. The Conservancy's Behler Chelonian Center is the premiere
facility for breeding Critically Endangered turtles and tortoises in the United
States. Since 2005 the Conservancy has combined this highly successful breeding
program with conservation efforts in the wild.
Please can anyone identify this
shark-like animal, washed ashore in New Zealand IN 1901? I have permission from
the Sir George Grey Special Collections,Central City Library,
In an article for the first edition of Cryptozoology Bernard Heuvelmans wrote that cryptozoology is the study of 'unexpected animals' and following on from that perfectly reasonable assertion, it seems to us that whereas the study of out-of-place birds may not have the glamour of the hunt for bigfoot or lake monsters, it is still a perfectly valid area for the Fortean zoologist to be interested in. So after about six months of regular postings on the main bloggo Corinna took the plunge and started a 'Watcher of the Skies' blog of her own as part of the CFZ Bloggo Network.
New at the Frontiers of Anthropology:
Last night I stayed up late watching Ian
Glasper's YouTube documentary about Anarchopunk. Like his book it is called 'The
Day the Country Died', and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was, and at
how high the production values were. If you are even slightly into this stuff I
sincerely recommend that you check it out. I also did interviews with Billy
James, and with Merrell Fankhauser yesterday, and will be interviewing Jack
Lancaster tonight. I am going to be getting the Gonzo magazine out early this
week, but it's gonna be a good'un.