The Week Junior - USA (2021-11-12)

Animals and the environment

10 The Week Junior • November 12, 2021

O

ne thousand critically endangered

radiated tortoises have been released into

the wild in Madagascar, a large island

country off the southeastern coast of

Africa. The reintroduction is part

of a project that aims to boost

the tortoise’s numbers and to

support declining forests

that provide habitats for

other wildlife.

The radiated tortoise

(named after the yellow

star-like patterns that spread out

on its shell) is native to Madagascar,

where it is common. Since 2000, however,

numbers have dropped from about 12 million

to 3 million. Three million may still sound like a

lot of individual animals, but the speed of the

decrease, caused mainly by poaching (illegal

hunting), has worried conservation groups.

Adult tortoises are captured for their

meat. Younger ones are taken

alive and sold illegally to

collectors, mostly in countries

in Asia. Habitat loss, as

forests are cleared for

farming, is another cause

of the decline.

The Turtle Survival Alliance

(TSA) is a conservation

partnership formed in 2001. It has

rescued about 25,000 live radiated tortoises

from poachers and protects them in secure

enclosures around the country. As part of a

program to return them to the wild, it recently

moved 1,000 tortoises to a secret location near

the town of Tsihombe in southern Madagascar.

Up to 40 of the animals have been fi tted with

satellite tags so experts can track their

movements after they are released.

The tortoises play an important role in the

health of Madagascar’s forests because seeds

they eat can pass through their digestive

system undamaged and be dispersed in their

scat (poop), allowing plants to spread to other

areas. “Tortoises contribute to forest

regeneration,” said Herilala Randriamahazo,

director of TSA’s Madagascar program. “If the

radiated tortoise species disappears, it could

have a signifi cant impact on the fl ora (plant

life) in the southern part of Madagascar.”

Madagascar is one of the most

special places on Earth for

animals and plants. The island

was undisturbed by humans for

millions of years while life

developed there. About 95% of

the country’s reptiles, 92% of its

mammals (including the famous

monkey-like lemurs), and 89% of

its plant life exist nowhere else.

Magnifi cent Madagascar

Rare tortoises return to the wild

The Congaree and Wateree Rivers wind through this national

park, which is home to the country’s largest continuous

old-growth bottomland hardwood forest. Rivers and streams

fl ood the forests, carrying nutrients that help nourish a unique

ecosystem (group of plants or animals in a certain place that

a ect one another). The 22,000-acre park has some of the tallest

trees in the eastern US, including bald cypress trees, pines, and

oaks. Diverse wildlife live in the park, such as alligators, indigo

snakes, river otters, fox squirrels, woodpeckers, and wild pigs.

PLACE OF THE WEEK

Congaree National Park, South Carolina

The colorful tortoises

gather for a meal.

A radiated tortoise

on the move

A fox squirrel

Madagascar

WOW!
Madagascar is home
to nearly half of the
world’s species of
chameleons.