Angonoka Tortoise - Meet The Endangered
Angonoka Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora)
If you think the Angonoka Tortoise looks cool - you’re not alone. The species fetches astronomical prices on the illegal pet-trade market, and the consequent poaching has made it the rarest and most endangered tortoise in the world.
The Angonoka’s arching, golden carapace tantalizes the eye. Its most distinctive anatomical feature, however, is the plowshare, a bony wedge-shaped appendage which males use as a lever to flip rival males over in combat. (A. yniphora is alternatively called the Plowshare Tortoise)
Native to one tiny bay in northwestern Madagascar, fewer than 400 of these brawny beasts remain in the wild. It is thought the tortoise was once more widespread on the island, but declined due to hunting for food and habitat destruction for rice paddies. Now the threat is almost exclusively from the illicit pet-trade, where - perversely - its status as nearly extinct makes it even more coveted. Prices can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars per head.
In the 1990s, a conservation station was set up in the nearby town of Ampijoroa to breed the Angonoka Tortoise. It was soon raided by poachers; 75 tortoises were stolen, later turning up in illegal collections in Europe. Despite such setbacks, captive breeding has largely been successful, and reintroduction from captive populations remains the best hope for the species’ future.
IUCN: Critically Endangered (CR)
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