Chelonicide: Slow and Steady Wins the Race to Oblivion

[Comrade Tortoise]

Chelonicide: The mass killing of turtles. Turtles have been around for over 200 million years. They have seen the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, plodded and swam their way through periods of glaciation, and millions of children the world over have been delighted to see a little turtle which has outlived them, their parents, and their grandparents, eating earthworms after a heavy rain. We are driving these endearing shelled reptiles to extinction. You think Amphibian decline is bad? To put this in perspective:

Cheung, SM., Dudgeon, D.2006. Quantifying the Asian turtle crisis: market surveys in southern China, 2000-2003. AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS 16, 751-770.

1. A total of 950 251 individuals of 157 turtle species were recorded during a 35-month survey of the turtle trade in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, southern China. All but two of the 157 species were encountered in Hong Kong; Guangzhou ranked second in diversity (113 species) and Shenzhen third (89 species). Together, these turtles made up around 60% of the global chelonian fauna; 124 (similar to 80%) of them were freshwater turtles.

2. Seventy-two globally threatened species were traded in southern China during the survey: 13 classified by the IUCN as critically endangered (CE), 29 as endangered (EN), and 30 as vulnerable (VU). Thirteen species listed on CITES Appendix I and 64 species on Appendix II, as well as eight species nationally protected in China, were traded.

3. The majority of species traded had natural ranges that included China and neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, or Southeast Asian countries other than China. These non-Chinese Asian turtles (primarily Bataguridae) constituted around two-thirds of the 77 species in the food trade, and turtles sold as food accounted for 73% of individuals encountered during the survey. Most species sold as food were also traded as traditional Chinese medicine, and nearly all turtles (155 of 157 species) were sold as pets. Eighty-one species were traded only as pets.

4. Large numbers of Cuora galbinifrons (CE; CITES-II) were traded I(> 15 000 individuals) and even greater quantities (> 210 000 individuals) of C. amboinensis (VU; CITES-II), as were significant numbers of other CR, EN and VU batagurids. Observed levels of exploitation of wild populations appeared unsustainable.

5. Enforcement of relevant CITES regulations during the survey seemed limited and globally threatened Asian species remained in trade in Hong Kong without the relevant licences. Trade within China is not subject to CITES, but could be regulated by enforcement of existing national laws and expansion of protected-species lists.

Three cities. Nearly one million turtles, with a species composition totaling 60% of the global turtle biodiversity. A significant proportion of the species recorded for sale as food medicine and pets (who are mostly doomed to a slow and painful death from poor husbandry) are on the IUCN Red List. Eighty percent of all asian turtles are on the IUCN red list, half as critically endangered and probably beyond saving. This number represents over one sixth of all turtle species world wide. The chinese do not enforce international law, or even their own internal trade regulations.

In the following posts, I am going to do my best to document the plight of the world's turtles. This can by no means be exhaustive, I am one person. I will go over the natural history of a species, as well as its conservation status, any international regulations on its trade, and reasons for decline. However, the primary causes of decline are habitat destruction, collection for food, the pet trade, and traditional chinese medicine (what the fuck doesnt have medicinal properties to those fucking quacks?). Each of these will be elaborated on for each taxa. This will be done in no particular order

Subfamily Batagurinae

Batagur baska (IUCN Status Critically Endangered, CITES Appendix II)

Range:Estuaries and tidal marshes of large rivers throughout range. Extant in Bangladesh; Cambodia; India; Indonesia; Malaysia, extinct in Myanmar; Singapore; Thailand; Viet Nam

Natural History: Little is known, however females are known to make 80-100 km migrations from the estuaries in which they live to the inner parts of the river where they lay their eggs on sandy banks. Females will lay between ten and thirty eggs in a nest she digs out of the sand with her hind feet. These turtles can reach over 60 cm in carapace length, and the males develop a stuning white and black breeding coloration.

Causes for Decline: The entire sunda shelf and indochina are developing very rapidly. This leads to the tidal marshes and sandy river banks these turtles depend on for feeding and reproduction being destroyed at an alarming rate. Additionally like many other large river turtles these animals are heavily exploited for the international pet trade and are often found in chinese meat markets despite their status as critically endangered.

hatchling
Adult

Callagur borneoensis (IUCN Critically Endangered CITES Appendix II)

Range: Kalimantan, Sumatra, Malay Penninsula and Sarawak. Extreme southern thailand, though probably extinct there

Natural History: Inhabits estuaries and tidal flats at the mouth of rivers, and lays its eggs on sandy ocean beaches. Extremely salt tolerant, hatchlings can live as long as two weeks in sea water which allows them to make the migration to rivers which can be as far as three km away. When males go into breeding colors, they use increased bloodflow to get the red colors you see.

Threats: Hunting, by-catch in fishing nets, egg collection.

male and female. The male is in breeding colors

Orlitia Borneensis (IUCN Endangered CITES Appendix II)

Range: Malay Penninsula, Sarawak and Kalimantan.

Natural History: Inhabits the deep part of lakes and rivers, this turtle can grow to be over 1 meter long and weigh up to 50 kg, reaches sexual maturity in their second decade of life and nests in riverbanks. Is also an omnivore.

Threats: Being a large turtle and specifically considered a delicacy with medicinal properties this turtle is collected ravenously for the chinese meet markets and traditional medicine shops. It is considered to cure general health problems, sexual deficiencies and lung problems, as well as cancer.

They Start Out like This
Then they get caught by a fish hook and sent to a warehouse
Then they get packed two to a crate
And they get shipped to china

This is when the really terrible shit starts. They get turned on their back, and a hammer and chisel is taken to the bridge between their plastron and carapace while they are still alive. Their plastron is then ripped off (Imagine what it would be like to have your rib-cage chiseled off and then your sternum ripped out) and the still living turtle is then gutted.

That butchery is the sole reason for this turtles decline.

Next up, Subafamily Geoemydinae

[Comrade Tortoise]

Changed subfamily for the reasons I listed on the SDN

Subamily Emydinae

Notes: We have much more extensive records on these turtles than we have for Batagurids due to more extensive study.

Western Pond Turtle
Actinemys marmorata (IUCN Vulnerable, CITES Not Listed, COSEWIC Extirpated ESA Not Listed)
Range: West of mountain ranges from Baja to BC, Regionally Extinct in Canada, and possibly western Washington State

Natural History: These turtles live in aquatic environments such as ponds and marshes with a good amount of emergent rocks and logs upon which they worship the sun. Breeds between april and august and can lay between 0-2 clutches of eggs per year with -12 eggs in a flash shaped nest, usually dug less than 90 meters from water. Crustaceans, fish and algae form the basis of their diet.

Causes of Decline: This turtle suffers from a large number of threats. Watershed control measures alter and degrade their habitat by changing patters of flooding and fragmenting suitable habitat. Conversion of wetlands for agricultural use also causes population collapses. Introduced organisms such as salmonids (trout) bullfrogs, and domestic cats take their toll on vulnerable hatchlings already plagued with high mortality rates, and recreational use of wetlands by humans attracts animals like raccoons and rodents which depredate nests and hatchlings. The construction of roads and illegal collection for food by asian immigrants (I am not kidding) cause mortality of adults. This is particularly important. Turtles evolved longevity because their juvenile mortality rates require that an individual female lay many clutches of eggs over her lifetime to ensure that even a handful of her progeny survive. By collecting adults for food, the support base for the population is essentially cut out from under it.

You will similar patterns for most american emydid turtles.

Here we have a hatchling
Basking Adult

Spotted Turtle
Clemmys guttata (IUCN Vulnerable, CITES Appendix II, COSEWIC Endangered, ESA Not listed)

Range:range here! Color coding for status by state and province in the obvious way

natural History: Insects annelids, snails, fish and crustaceans form the basis of their diet. Live in wet meadows, bogs, and woodlands streams throughout its range. Become active very early in spring, like... water still icy slush early. Activity peaks in may and they become inactive during the hottest parts of the summer. Reaches sexual maturity between 7 and 14 years of age and lays a maximum of 1 clutch of 1-8 eggs in may or june. The nests are constructed with the hind feet in moist (but well drained) soils in sunny spots and the hatchlings emerge in august or september. However overwintering in the nest is common.

Causes for decline: The woodland habitats they occupy get converted to agriculture and residential areas. The patches of suitable habitat that remain are fragmented and isolated which prevents genetic exchange. They also have the same problems with roads, as well as introduced and human facilitated predators that other american turtles have due to their life history traits.

Hatchling
adult

Bog Turtle
Glyptemys muhlenbergii(IUCN Endangered CITES Appendix I, ESA Threatened)

Range: Color Coded Range

Natural History: Inhabits peat bogs and wet meadows, these omniviorous turtles consume seeds, berries, arthropods, mollusks, and amphibians. Females lay a single clutch of 1-6 eggs are laid under moss or grass tussocks. Eggs hatch in August or September, most emerge immediately, some overwinter in the nest.

Causes of Decline: These turtles make their home in habitat in the final stages of eutrophication, which is the process by which a wetland basically becomes a dry grassy field. These areas disappear on their own, and get turned into agriculture before they would do so. These turtles rely on the ability to migrate between appearing and disappearing bogs. Good habitat gets converted to agriculture or developed areas and what is left cannot support populations of turtles due to eventual eutrophication that is quickened by human activities. Roads and human developments fragment existing habitat leading to catastrophic mortality as the turtles migrate through them, and humans facilitate predators like raccoons and cats which devastate nests and hatchlings.

hatchling
Feeding
Adult

Wood Turtle
Glyptemys insculpta(IUCN Threatened, CITES Appendix II, ESA Not Listed, COSEWIC Threatened, has state protection throughout its range in the US)

Range: Yay color coding!

Natural History:Wood turtles are semi-terrestrial and spend most of their time along the margins of ponds and streams and associated woodlands. They feed on flowers, berries, worms, insects, fungi, mollusks and occasional carrion. They mate in spring and fall, and lay eggs along sunny river banks in midsummer. Young hatch in early autumn and head to the water. Can take 20 years to reach sexual maturity.

Causes for Decline: Habitat destruction and fragmentation. Collecting of adults and juveniles by well-meaning recreationists, human facilitated predators such as raccoons and skunks. Additionally, road mortality decimates adults who wander rather widely from their home wetlands.

They Rise
Juvie
They Climb

Incidentally these turtles are intelligent enough to outperform rodents in maze testing.

More on this subfamily when I become less depressed from writing this.