page_title: Angonoka tortoise
section_title: Conservation
hierarchical_section_title: Angonoka tortoise / Conservation
caption_attribution_description: English: Angonoka tortoise in the Ivato Croc Farm, Antananarivo
context_page_description: The angonoka tortoise is a critically endangered species of tortoise severely threatened by poaching for the illegal pet trade. It is endemic to Madagascar. It is also known as the angonoka, ploughshare tortoise, Madagascar tortoise, or Madagascar angulated tortoise. There may be less than 400 of these tortoises left in the wild. It is found only in the dry forests of the Baly Bay area of northwestern Madagascar, near the town of Soalala.A captive-breeding facility was established in 1986 by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust in collaboration with the Water and Forests Department. In 1996, 75 tortoises were stolen, which later appeared for sale in the Netherlands. The project was ultimately successful, achieving 224 captive-bred juveniles out of 17 adults in 2004. Project Angonoka developed conservation plans that involved local communities making firebreaks, along with the creation of a park to protect the tortoise and the forests. Monitoring of the angonoka tortoise in the global pet trade has also continued to be advocated.
context_section_description: This species is one of the rarest land tortoises in the world, classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The principal threats to the species are believed to be fires started to clear land for cattle grazing, and collection for the pet trade. The tortoise has a restricted distribution, likely a result of past collection for food, the expansion of agriculture, and accompanying fires. An additional threat is predation by the bushpig. Fires made to clear land can get out of control, turning into wildfires, which cut back more of the angonoka tortoise's habitat. Following efforts to create firebreaks through controlled fires in savanna fringes by conservation groups, out-of-control fires have decreased, until less than 50 ha (120 acres) of its habitat were burnt in 2004.
  Another reason why the Angonoka might go extinct is that the species is concentrated only in one area. They are not dispersed, which means anything such as severe weather and disease could wipe the species out. 
  The angonoka tortoise is often captured to be sold in the international pet trade. Though some enforcement of restrictions on illegal trade is successful, including the confiscation of the illegally obtained tortoises, they remain in incredibly high demand for the global pet trade. This is a major threat to the tortoises remaining in the wild. Conservationists mark the shells with identifying marks which mars the most attractive feature and make them less desirable to poachers and wealthy collectors. The engraving is a last-ditch effort to protect the animals.
  In addition to its Red List listing, the angonoka tortoise is now protected under the national law of Madagascar and listed on CITES Appendix I, commercial trade in wild-caught specimens is illegal (permitted only in exceptional licensed circumstances). For the conservation of the angonoka tortoise, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust created Project Angonoka in 1986. The Water and Forests Department, the Durrell Trust, and the World Wide Fund for Nature work together on this project. A captive-breeding facility was established for this species in Madagascar in 1986 by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now the Durrell Trust) in collaboration with the Water and Forests Department. In May 1996, 75 tortoises were stolen from the facility.  The thieves were never found, but 33 tortoises later appeared for sale in the Netherlands. The project ultimately was a success, achieving 224 captive-bred juveniles out of 17 adults in December 2004. After the 1990s, Project Angonoka started ecological research on the tortoise and the development of conservation plans that involved the communities surrounding the habitat. The work with the community involved local people in making firebreaks, along with the creation of a park proposed by the community to protect the tortoise and the forests. Monitoring of the angonoka tortoise in the global pet trade has continued to be advocated.
  In March 2013, smugglers were arrested after carrying a single bag containing 54 angonoka tortoises and 21 radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) through Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand. The 54 angonoka tortoises might be as much as a tenth of the world's population of the species.
  On 20 March 2016, the Custom officials at Mumbai airport seized 146 tortoises from a mishandled baggage of a Nepal citizen. This bag was said to belong to a transit passenger, who arrived from Madagascar and flew to Kathmandu leaving this bag behind. Out of the 146 tortoises, 139 were radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) and seven were angonoka tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora), both critically endangered tortoise species of Madagascar. Two radiated tortoises were found dead with broken shell.
  On 12 June 2016, it was reported that 6 angonoka tortoises and 72 radiated tortoises had gone missing from a breeding facility in Thailand.
caption: Angonoka tortoise bred in captivity in the Ivato Croc Farm, Antananarivo.
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