World Cambodia's Royal Turtle lays eggs in captivity for first time

An endangered turtle bred in captivity laid eggs for the first time in Cambodia, conservationists said this week, in a massive win for animal protection in the kingdom.

© Handout Conservationists weigh the Royal Turtle eggs

The animal was among five Royal Turtles -- once feared extinct in the country -- that laid more than 70 eggs.

Cambodia is home to several populations of endangered turtles, whose numbers have dwindled due to demand for them in Vietnam and China as delicacies and for use in traditional medicine.

© Handout The five Royal Turtles laid more than 70 eggs

Royal Turtles, formally classified as Southern River Terrapins, were pushed to the brink of extinction by hunting and sand mining, which destroys the banks where they lay their eggs.

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Laying eggs at Slimbridge is significant for the species, which has never bred in captivity and whose extreme lifestyle migrating between the Arctic and the tropics makes it hard to recreate conditions in captivity for successful breeding. WWT head of conservation, Nigel Jarrett, said they were now “And for two years we’ve come up scratching our heads and feeling a bit deflated,” he said. “So when we found the first egg last week we almost couldn’t believe it. We’ve had two mums busy laying and the significance of it is only just starting to hit home. He added: “In the wild they migrate from tropical Asia

Efforts to save Cambodia ' s Royal Turtle , one of the world's most critically endangered species, are being hampered by dredging and illegal forest clearances, a wildlife conservation group warned Monday. The Wildlife Conservation Society and the Cambodian government have been desperately trying to protect the tiny remaining pocket of batagur affinis turtles for more than a decade after their numbers plummeted.

The damage was so severe that in 2000 they were feared wiped out in Cambodia, before nests were found and a careful conservation effort began.

On Tuesday the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) announced that four Royal Turtles bred in captivity -- and one that was handed to its conservation centre in Cambodia's southwestern Koh Kong province -- successfully laid 71 eggs.

© Handout Royal Turtles, formally classified as Southern River Terrapins, were pushed to the brink of extinction by hunting and sand mining, which destroys the banks where they lay their eggs

"It's the first time that the captive female Royal Turtles have ever laid eggs since they were head-started at the centre in 2006," said Som Sitha, a conservation project manager with the WCS.

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Two females laid seven eggs at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Slimbridge, Gloucestershire. There are only about 200 breeding pairs of the critically endangered species left in the wild. Nigel Jarrett, from the trust, said when staff discovered the first egg last week they "almost couldn't believe it". In the wild, the birds have been hit by loss of habitat in East Asia and bird trapping by villagers in Bangladesh and Burma. Mr Jarrett said the trust was now on the road to breeding spoon-billed sandpipers in captivity , which was "the ultimate insurance policy for the species in the wild".

Under government permission, villagers collected 1 to 5 percent of the eggs laid by Olive Ridley turtles on Costa Rica’ s Pacific beach of Ostional over the first weekend of November. As a routine, the eggs were put into gunny sacks and got cleaned in sea water. When back on coast, they were traded for cash to During the nesting season from July through December each year, limited egg collection was a unique way for Costa Rica to help the endangered species sustain safe and orderly. (Soundbite) Mauricio Mendez, Marine Biologist “This beach has very high concentrations of organic materials.

"The team will make artificial nests for incubation purposes or leave them as they are."

Given the rarity of the species in the wild, the successful egg laying is considered a massive win for Cambodia.

"We anticipate soon being able to produce large numbers of Royal Turtles in captivity and releasing them back into the wild," said the WCS's Steven Platt.

Since conservation efforts started, scores of Royal Turtles have been released back into the wild.

These come from eggs laid in the wild and taken into captivity, to protect them from the dangers which threaten the species' numbers.

Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Centre -- the kingdom's only dedicated turtle conservation facility -- currently holds 192 Royal Turtles, and plans to release 50 of them this year.

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