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About the Program

Ploughshare Tortoise

STATUS

Ongoing / Partner Program

Region

Madagascar

Protected Species

Ploughshare Tortoise

Astrochelys yniphora

critically endangered

About the Program

For more than a decade, the Turtle Conservancy has been collaborating with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Madagascar to protect the most endangered tortoise species in the world, the Ploughshare Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora), also known locally as Angonoka. The species is only found in a tiny area of Madagascar in the dry forests of Baly Bay National Park, established in 1977 to protect the species. “Ploughshare” gets its name from the plough-shaped extension on the front of its shell. During courtship and mating, the tortoises—particularly males—use this projection to fight their opponent or to submit the female. Their unique shell makes them highly desirable to wildlife traffickers, who smuggle the Ploughshares out of Madagascar for the illegal pet trade.

Help us raise funds to help this important initiative

Fundraising Goal: $100,000

To support operation of the breeding facility

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Help us raise funds to help  this important initiative
Major threats

Because of their unique appearance, poaching for the pet trade—particularly in Asia—is the biggest threat for the Ploughshare Tortoises. One individual can be worth thousands of dollars on the black market. In the past decade, remaining populations of these turtles have been almost completely depleted by poachers. Habitat loss due to agriculture and wildfires remain an important threat for the last remaining Ploughshares left by wildlife traffickers.

Southwestern Pond Turtle

A captive bred Ploughshare (Astrochelys yniphora) at the breeding center managed by Durell

Southwestern Pond Turtle

Madagascar is inhabited by unique ecosystems and species with a high rate of endemism

Southwestern Pond Turtle

Local Malagasy with a Ploughshare Tortoise

How we protect the species

Partners


Durrell
U.S Fish And Wildlife Service
Andrew Sabin Family Foundation
Forgotton Nature