Malaysian giant turtle conservation

The Malaysian giant turtle is one of Asia's largest hard-shelled turtles. They are found in lakes, swamps and river systems in western Malaysia and Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia. The species is protected under national law throughout its range, but is nevertheless subject to intensive poaching. Wild individuals of all sizes are captured and sold in illegal food markets for consumption. The Malaysian giant turtle is also threatened by the destruction of the species' habitats and deforestation, i.e. converting the land to palm oil plantations.

Poaching and habitat destruction are the main reasons why the Malaysian giant turtle is now critically endangered. The exotic pet trade could also play a part in the decline, but the exact impact it has on the species has not been mapped. There is also currently very limited knowledge of the ecology and behaviour of the species, and conservation efforts that focus on or include the Malaysian giant turtle are very few.

Malaysian giant turtle. Photo: Wildlife Rescue Center Jogja

Fortunately, some Malaysian giant turtles are confiscated from the illegal trade and saved from an otherwise grim fate. A rescue center in Indonesia, Wildlife Rescue Center Jogja, received a large number of confiscated Malaysian giant turtles whose origins were unknown. This complicates the work of building a safety population in the country which, in the long run, when the threats in the wild have decreased, should be able to be returned to nature.

Developing a safety population within the range means not only that the turtles must be healthy both physically and genetically. It is not yet known if the Malaysian giant turtle populations at the three sites - Kalimantan, Sumatra and western Malaysia - are one and the same species or if they belong to different subspecies. To find out, solid genetic work is required with the remaining individuals in the wild populations as well as the confiscated turtles.

Health check of Malaysian giant turtle. Photo: Wildlife Rescue Center Jogja

What we do at Nordens Ark

Nordens Ark has now started a collaboration with the Wildlife Rescue Center Jogja to carry out the genetic work required to ensure the species' long-term survival. The first step is to collect enough data from wild individuals through field studies and produce more information about the different populations. Only when the genetic analysis is compiled can the most genetically suited individuals mate and the safety population be designed.

In parallel with the genetic work, the development of a stable rescue population in Europe is also underway to complement the local rescue work.

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