Aren't they beautiful. Well, poachers obviously think so, too.
Madagascar is a tropical region. The description is from the World Wildlife Fund (click here).
Approximately 95 percent of Madagascar’s reptiles, 89 percent of its plant life, and 92 percent of its mammals exist nowhere else on Earth.
Madagascar can be an interesting place. It is known for it's primates. There are species that have turned up in a Madagascar forest no one knew existed. The citizens of Madagascar are impoverished. Impoverishment leads to poaching. The poaching leads to attractive consumer products or a food product and the animals bring significant monies to poachers.
This tortoise can be a lesson in understanding the strategies of species to survive in a world where predators play very important roles in containing populations. The markings on the shell must blend with the jungle floor. Over time species adapt to their environment. This tortoise has a hard shell, moves slowly, has a sharp beak and markings that blend with it's environment. That is the case with most species. Their strategies for survival include their ability to blend with their environment and mask their presence from predators.
Harmony with the environment in small countries like Madagascar can bring more than lives of subsistence farming. Ecotourism is known to be beneficial to species, but, also the people that run the hotels, tours and care of the environment that supports the species. Additionally, proper management of tropical hardwoods can bring significant monies for some of the most beautiful wood in the world.
Species don't have to be in danger. The people don't have to be impoverished, but, it takes talented ecologists to bring the entire picture together to work and benefit all.
July 11, 2015
The animals were intercepted by officials in Hong Kong two years ago.
After a long period of negotiations they were transferred to Perth where they have spent three months in quarantine in a temperature controlled enclosure.
Senior vet at Perth Zoo Simone Vitali said the tortoises, which are native to Madagascar, were bound for the black market in Asia.
"We know very little about where these animals came from in the first place except they were probably taken from the wild and so they may well be related to one another," Dr Vitali said.
"They're very popular in the illegal wildlife pet trade because they're very charismatic little animals, they're very easy to care for and they're long-lived....
Madagascar is a tropical region. The description is from the World Wildlife Fund (click here).
Approximately 95 percent of Madagascar’s reptiles, 89 percent of its plant life, and 92 percent of its mammals exist nowhere else on Earth.
Madagascar can be an interesting place. It is known for it's primates. There are species that have turned up in a Madagascar forest no one knew existed. The citizens of Madagascar are impoverished. Impoverishment leads to poaching. The poaching leads to attractive consumer products or a food product and the animals bring significant monies to poachers.
This tortoise can be a lesson in understanding the strategies of species to survive in a world where predators play very important roles in containing populations. The markings on the shell must blend with the jungle floor. Over time species adapt to their environment. This tortoise has a hard shell, moves slowly, has a sharp beak and markings that blend with it's environment. That is the case with most species. Their strategies for survival include their ability to blend with their environment and mask their presence from predators.
Harmony with the environment in small countries like Madagascar can bring more than lives of subsistence farming. Ecotourism is known to be beneficial to species, but, also the people that run the hotels, tours and care of the environment that supports the species. Additionally, proper management of tropical hardwoods can bring significant monies for some of the most beautiful wood in the world.
Species don't have to be in danger. The people don't have to be impoverished, but, it takes talented ecologists to bring the entire picture together to work and benefit all.
July 11, 2015
By Charlotte Hamlyn
Fourteen critically (click here) endangered tortoises destined for
the illegal wildlife trade have been rescued and are now in quarantine
at Perth Zoo.
The distinctive shell of the radiated tortoise makes
it a prized target for wildlife traffickers who sell the animals on the
black market to be used as ornaments, pets or for their meat, which is
said to have aphrodisiac properties.The animals were intercepted by officials in Hong Kong two years ago.
After a long period of negotiations they were transferred to Perth where they have spent three months in quarantine in a temperature controlled enclosure.
Senior vet at Perth Zoo Simone Vitali said the tortoises, which are native to Madagascar, were bound for the black market in Asia.
"We know very little about where these animals came from in the first place except they were probably taken from the wild and so they may well be related to one another," Dr Vitali said.
"They're very popular in the illegal wildlife pet trade because they're very charismatic little animals, they're very easy to care for and they're long-lived....
