Perspectives in Asian Turtle Conservation:
Successful Captive Breeding Efforts of Others and
Precedence Already Set by the Private Sector

David S. Lee
The Tortoise Reserve, Inc.

It is both impossible and depressing to evaluate the long-term survival potential of highly stressed species. The current situation with Asian turtles is an excellent example of this. It is clear that many stocks will disappear from the wild, and for many species, captive management may already be the only short-term strategy to assure their survival. Many think that the future of Asian turtles is hopeless and we will never see the day when these chelonian populations, protected in captive situations, can be reintroduced back into their native range. This may be true, but we can not discount the possibility of changing economic, political, legal, ethical, or cultural conditions in some Asian countries. These changes are each ones that could eventually make reintroduction feasible. Look at how much change has occurred just in our life time. And what would outside observers thought of the European conquest of America and its relationship to conservation options? Lets look at this situation from the point of view of one of our American icons - the buffalo. In many ways it was a parallel problem.

By 1900, the American bison was all but extinct in the wild. Eastern stocks had been extirpated for more than a century. J. A. Allen (Bull. American Museum of Natural History Vol XIII) summarized that the wild total population of the wood bison in Canada was about 50 individuals in 1899. The plains bison by 1895 was represented by a total of 20 to 25 wild animals scatted in different parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, and an additional 100 to 125 lived in Yellowstone National Park. By 1900 these numbers had dropped to a dozen outside the Park and inside the Yellowstone there "may be 20 head or so." The different domesticated herds were estimated to total 300 to 500 individuals. Allen concluded the article by saying "Thus the American Bison is already practically exterminated in the wild state, and its perpetuation depends upon the care and skill exercised to preserve the domesticated herds."

In less than 50 years, changes in public values allowed for the successful reintroduction and comeback of the bison in North America. The creatures now roam what was a former hostile landscape. Captive groups were successfully propagated with out the use of stud books, population models, or the knowledge of DNA. This was done prior to the maturation of modern conservation ethics and strong wildlife legislation. Turtles are simpler animals, instinctively hard wired, and compared to bison, are longer lived and have a higher reproductive output. They require comparatively less space both in captive situations and in the wild, and are far less costly to feed and house.

There are numerous other conservation programs that have be successful because of the interest of the private sector. In the late 1900s Peregrine Falcons were reintroduced into eastern North America and the program was successful. Falconers, a user group that for decades was considered by main stream conservationists to be a major factor in the disappearance of falcons from historic nesting sites, were the ones who had developed captive breeding techniques. It was the falconer's knowledge of captive propagation that provided the stocks which were raised and released at historic eastern nesting aeries. Major purchase and restoration of wetlands for nesting waterfowl were achieved through Ducks Unlimited, an organization comprised of duck hunters. Not only did the ducks benefit but so did a number of key wetland species. Ducks Unlimited has subsequently evolved into a wetlands advocacy organization but its membership is still largely avid duck hunters. Similar successful programs have developed for trout, quail, and pheasants, all of which were funded and implemented by hunters, and all of which benefit a broad spectrum of wildlife. The points being that it was the private sector that came forward, and it was the very users of the resources that first recognized and responded to the plights.

While opportunities for successful repatriation of extirpated Asian turtles into the wild will for now remain an unknown factor, who in 1900 would have thought the American bison had a realistic chance to again be a viable component of our North American prairie landscape. Captive breeding of turtles minimally keeps species viable, and this alone is a worth while goal into itself. Additionally, it leaves open options which would other wise be lost to the unforeseeable future environmental ethics of Southeast Asia. Should we be pessimistic, certainly, but the reality of the current situation should not prohibit us form setting the stage for conservation efforts. Private sector turtle hobbyist could provide key roles in the long-term survival of Asian turtles.