Crawling Toward Extinction

Slow and steady, the tortoise wins the race — toward extinction.

The endangered radiated tortoise inhabits a narrow band of forest along Madagascar's southwestern coast.

Unless major conservation measures are enacted, Madagascar’s turtles and tortoises will continue to crawl steadily toward extinction, according to a recent assessment by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and other groups. With their habitat shrinking and illegal hunting worsening, these reptiles now rank among the most endangered on Earth.

"Madagascar’s ancient tortoises and turtles are marching toward extinction unless an all-out effort is made to protect these living national treasures," said Dr. James Deutsch, director of WCS-Africa. "The good news is that there’s still time to save them, and we know how to tackle the issues."

The tortoises' main threat is illegal trade — they are sold as pets and food on the international black market. The WCS recommends cracking down on the trade and involving local people in conservation to save the tortoises.

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Credit: Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society.