Cambodian monks help protect rare turtles

(AFP) Google News 8 Jun 11;

KRATIE, Cambodia — Cambodian monks and environmentalists launched a new conservation project on Wednesday to help save one of the world's rarest and largest freshwater turtles from extinction.

A centre for the endangered Cantor's giant soft-shell turtle has been set up on the grounds of a temple near the central town of Kratie on the Mekong river, with support from wildlife group Conservation International.

"The turtle faces serious threats in its natural habitat," said Conservation International's Sun Yoeung, explaining that the centre would look after baby turtles.

"We hope they will have a better chance at survival when they are bigger and can protect themselves," he said.

The turtle, capable of growing up to 50 kg (110 pounds), was thought to be nearly extinct until it was rediscovered on an isolated stretch of the river in 2007.

At the opening ceremony for the centre, an orange-clad monk blessed a female Cantor's turtle weighing 18 kg (40 pounds) and released her into a large pond inside the temple complex, a popular tourist attraction in the area.

Staff at the facility hope to find her a mate soon to kick-start a breeding programme.

The centre is also home to nearly 100 baby turtles who were moved from their nests for their own protection.

"In one or two years we will release them back into the river," Sun Yoeung told AFP. "Now they are too small and they can be eaten by birds or fish."

The Cantor's turtle is also under threat from hunters and from the destruction of its habitat.

The animal spends 95 percent of its life hidden in sand or mud and is listed as endangered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the same status given to tigers and pandas.

It was discovered in an area closed off to scientists until the late 1990s because of decades of civil conflict in the country.

It is not known exactly how many of the creatures are left but since 2007, CI has protected 51 nests on the Mekong river and watched more than 1,000 turtles hatch successfully.

Center opens to protect rare turtle in Cambodia
Yahoo News 8 Jun 11;

SAMBOUR, Cambodia – An extremely rare soft-shell turtle species has a new, protected home in Cambodia.

The critically endangered Cantor's giant soft-shell turtle is one of the rarest freshwater turtles in the world. Scientists last saw one in the Cambodian wild in 2003, and small numbers have been seen in neighboring Laos, while it appears to have disappeared from Vietnam and Thailand.

U.S.-based Conservation International said it opened the Mekong Turtle Conservation Center on Wednesday in Kratie province, 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Phnom Penh.

A 40-pound (18-kilogram) female turtle and six babies were released into the conservation pond at a Buddhist pagoda on the Mekong River at the center's launch. The ceremony was attended by six Buddhist monks — who blessed the female turtle by painting scared markings on her body — and more than 100 villagers.

"Our goal is to conserve Cantor's turtle populations in their natural habitat, the Mekong River, through the Mekong Turtle Conservation Center and the community-led nest protection scheme," Conservation International said in a statement.

Local fishermen currently collect both eggs and adult turtles for their own consumption and sale to restaurants, Conservation International said. Soft-shelled turtles are considered a delicacy in many Asian diets, and rarity only adds to their value on menus or as traditional medicines.

The species can grow up to 6 feet (2 meters) in length and weigh more than 110 pounds (50 kilograms).

Conservation International said planned dams and dredging schemes on the river pose another serious threat to the species.