The Burmese star tortoise (''Geochelone platynota'') is a critically endangered tortoise species, native to the dry, deciduous forests of

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

(Burma). It is close to extinction in Myanmar, as it is eaten by the native Burmese.

Description

The Burmese star tortoise has radiating star-shaped patterns on its strongly domed carapace. It has bumps on its shell that look like stars. This tortoise can easily be distinguished from the more common

Indian star tortoise The Indian star tortoise (''Geochelone elegans'') is a threatened tortoise species native to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where it inhabits dry areas and scrub forest. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016, as the pop ...

by comparing the plastrons of the two species.

Conservation

The Burmese star tortoise is considered critically endangered by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. However it is still commonly eaten and is exported to food markets in neighbouring China. One recent expedition in Burma searched for the species in its habitat for 400 hours with specially trained dogs and five volunteers, and only found five tortoises. It is on

CITES Appendix I CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

, commercial trade in wild-caught specimens is illegal (permitted only in exceptional licensed circumstances). Reportedly, Myanmar has never granted an export permit, meaning most captive-bred tortoises are originally from illegal tortoises, or imports grandfathered in prior to the CITES listing.

Captive breeding

The breeding of the Burmese star tortoise is difficult, and its first successful breeding in captivity was in

Taipei Zoo The Taipei Zoo, sometimes referred to as the "Muzha Zoo", is a public zoo, zoological garden in Wenshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is the most famous zoological garden in Taiwan and a leader in conservation biology, conservation, research and ...

, Taiwan, where a few Burmese star tortoises were hatched in 2003.

Yadanabon Zoological Gardens The Yadanabon Zoological Gardens ( my, ရတနာပုံ တိရိစ္ဆာန် ဥယျာဉ် ) is a zoo in Mandalay, Myanmar. The zoo has nearly 300 animals, including tigers, leopards and elephants, and plays a major part in t ...

is also currently engaged in a captive-breeding program to attempt to increase the population of this tortoise. Starting with 200 tortoises in 2004, by October 2017, there were 14,000 tortoises in breeding programs and 1000 have been reintroduced into the wild. On 31 July 2021, Richard Branson announced two baby Burmese star tortoises were born on his private island, Necker Island, as part of his ongoing conservation work for the species. Burmese star tortoise
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References

* Listed as Critically Endangered (CR A1cd+2 cd, C2a v2.3)

External links

Columbia Science ReviewAssessing reintroduction sites for Burmese star tortoisesPopulation status and conservation of the Critically Endangered Burmese Star Tortoise ''Geochelone platynota'' in central Myanmar

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
{{Taxonbar , from=Q852181 Geochelone Turtles of Asia Endemic fauna of Myanmar Reptiles of Myanmar Critically endangered fauna of Asia Species endangered by the pet trade Species endangered by use as food Reptiles described in 1863 Taxa named by Edward Blyth Reptiles as pets