Illegal Domestic Trade of the Philippine Forest Turtle (Siebenrockiella leytensis) in the Philippines

Fidenci, Pierre; Maran, Jérôme

doi:10.3854/tln.003.2009

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…-Exploitation for the illegal wildlife trade is the single and most important threat to the Palawan Forest Turtle. Since its rediscovery Fidenci 2004;, we estimate that well over 1000 S. leytensis have already been collected from and smuggled out of Palawan to supply the illegal pet trade within and outside of the Philippines (Yuyek 2004;Diesmos et al 2008;Fidenci and Maran 2009;Diesmos et al, pers. obs.).…”

Section: Conservation Biology Of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoisesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These major cities serve as trans-shipment points. Wildlife traffickers then transport the animals to destinations across Southeast Asia, Indochina, China, Japan, Europe, and the USA (Gavino and Schoppe 2004;Yuyek 2004;Diesmos et al 2008;Fidenci and Maran 2009;Schoppe et al 2010). In Manila, S. leytensis is routinely sold in Cartimar, a hugely popular pet market that also serves as a major trading center for S. leytensis and other threatened species of vertebrates (Fidenci and Maran 2009;Sy and Schoppe, unpubl.…”

Section: Conservation Biology Of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoisesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Siebenrockiella leytensis (Taylor 1920) – Palawan Forest Turtle, Philippine Forest Turtle

Diesmos¹,

Buskirk²,

Schoppe³

et al. 2012

Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises

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SummArY. -The Palawan Forest Turtle (or Philippine Forest Turtle), Siebenrockiella leytensis (Family Geoemydidae), is one of the most enigmatic species of freshwater turtles in Southeast Asia, and has been surrounded with more confusion and misconception than almost any other turtle in the region. For over 80 years, its true geographic distribution in the Philippines remained a mystery; its apparent rarity and the rudimentary knowledge of its ecology and natural history had bestowed upon it an almost mythical reputation. Long thought to come from the eastern Philippine island of Leyte, it was very recently discovered to actually occur in the Palawan region of the western Philippines. The species is the largest and heaviest geoemydid turtle known from the Philippines, attaining a carapace length of more than 300 mm and weighing as much as 3.5 kg. Known clutch size is 1-2, and eggs average 49.6 x 26.5 mm in size and weigh 18-30 g. As predicted by previous workers, the recent discovery of a natural population of S. leytensis on Palawan has already spurred a collecting frenzy among wildlife trappers and traders to supply domestic and international markets for the illegal wildlife trade. In spite of its official protected status in local and international listings, the illegal trade in S. leytensis is rampant and is perceived currently as the greatest threat to the species. This threat is exacerbated by the continuing destruction of the lowland forests of Palawan, the primary habitat of the species. If the current trend of overexploitation continues, it is certain that several subpopulations of S. leytensis will soon collapse. In the face of these threats, wildlife authorities on Palawan must immediately enforce relevant laws and encourage greater coordination among appropriate government agencies that typically work in isolation. Conservation programs need to prioritize efforts that will curb illegal collection of S. leytensis and other threatened species and monitor known populations. Top priority research studies for S. leytensis include population biology, ecology, and in-depth investigation of the dynamics of illegal trade in the species.DistriBution. -Philippines. The species appears to be restricted to the northern half of the island group of Palawan in western Philippines. It does not occur at the erroneous original type locality of Leyte Island in eastern Philippines.

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Section: Conservation Biology Of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoisesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conservation Biology Of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoisesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Siebenrockiella leytensis (Taylor 1920) – Palawan Forest Turtle, Philippine Forest Turtle

Diesmos¹,

Buskirk²,

Schoppe³

et al. 2012

Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises

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“…Often, confiscated wildlife are diseased, desiccated and emaciated, and suffer high mortality in transit (Bailey et al 2000;TRAFFIC 2004;Ward et al 2012) because poacher profits significantly outweigh poacher concern for wildlife welfare. Also, wildlife poaching can extirpate populations (Fidenci and Maran 2009;Leuteritz and Weissgold 2013) and releasing unhealthy wildlife may introduce disease to naive populations and communities (Bailey et al 2000;Real et al 2000;Sainsbury and Vaughan-Higgins 2012). Thus, it is important to establish reference ranges for healthy wildlife, evaluate the health of native populations, and screen the health of imported and confiscated wildlife.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consequently, agencies are increasingly monitoring the international trade of endangered species (e.g. TRAFFIC 2004;Fidenci and Maran 2009;Leuteritz and Weissgold 2013) and investing in forensic networks, methods and technology (among others, Cooper et al 2009;Ogden et al 2009;TRAFFIC 2010) to catch and prosecute poachers and traders. Often, confiscated wildlife are diseased, desiccated and emaciated, and suffer high mortality in transit (Bailey et al 2000;TRAFFIC 2004;Ward et al 2012) because poacher profits significantly outweigh poacher concern for wildlife welfare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body of evidence: forensic use of baseline health assessments to convict wildlife poachers

Henen

Hofmeyr

Baard³

2013

Wildl. Res.

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Context. Given the immense impact of wildlife trade, disease and repatriations on populations, health assessments can provide powerful forensic material to help convict wildlife poachers and minimise risks of releasing unhealthy wildlife. Aims. We aimed to use reference ranges to assess the health of confiscated tortoises, to illustrate forensic application of these ranges, and to advance analyses for future applications. Methods. We used analyses of variance (ANOVA) and covariance (ANCOVA), and composite indices, to compare wild and confiscate tortoise body condition, haematocrit and haemoglobin concentration of males and females of three tortoise species. Subsequently, we used multivariate statistics (e.g. discriminant analyses) to evaluate the relative importance of species, sex and group (wild or confiscate) on tortoise condition and haematology. Key results. Our initial statistical tests demonstrated, at P < 0.05 to P < 0.0005, that confiscate body condition and haematology were compromised compared with that of wild tortoises. Subsequently, discriminant analyses strongly discriminated between most wild and confiscate groups (P < 0.0001), correctly classified individual health as wild or confiscate 80-90% of the time, indicated that species and sex effects were stronger than was the wild-confiscate category, and provided discriminant functions for use on other taxa and studies. Conclusions. The health assessments discriminated well between wild and confiscate tortoises. The results had considerable forensic value, being relevant, quickly generated using portable field equipment, reliable, accurate, easy to explain and convey in terms of likelihood in a court of law, synergistically consistent among variables and groups, a strong rebuttal to the poachers' specific statements, and consistent with other types of evidence. Multivariate analyses were consistent with, and more prudent and powerful than, the original statistical analyses. Discriminant functions can be applied in future studies and on other chelonian species, and should be developed for other wildlife species. Implications. Reference ranges provide considerable value for forensics, diagnostics and treatment. Given the disease risks resulting from the massive scale of wildlife trade and release, reference ranges should be developed for more species.

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Dragons in our midst: Phyloforensics of illegally traded Southeast Asian monitor lizards

Welton

Siler

Linkem

et al. 2013

Biological Conservation

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Illegal Domestic Trade of the Philippine Forest Turtle (Siebenrockiella leytensis) in the Philippines

Cited by 4 publications

References 1 publication

Siebenrockiella leytensis (Taylor 1920) – Palawan Forest Turtle, Philippine Forest Turtle

Siebenrockiella leytensis (Taylor 1920) – Palawan Forest Turtle, Philippine Forest Turtle

Body of evidence: forensic use of baseline health assessments to convict wildlife poachers

Dragons in our midst: Phyloforensics of illegally traded Southeast Asian monitor lizards

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