Blog: The Long (but Slow) Walk Home - Restoring Elongated Tortoise Populations in Cambodia’s Forests

Jack Willis (Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity) on tortoise conservation returning one Critically Endangered species to the Cambodian wild:

When people think of wildlife conservation, they often imagine vast open plains, dramatic rescues, or large, intimidating animals. Our work, however, involves a quiet and often overlooked species, hidden within the lowland forests of South and Southeast Asia - the Elongated Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata).

Although widespread, this medium-sized tortoise has experienced severe population declines throughout most of its range and is currently listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Unsustainable collection for the international trade, illegal consumption, habitat degradation, and fragmentation have led to a decline of at least 80% over the last 90 years.

It's not uncommon for the smaller species to be overlooked in favour of these larger, more “charismatic” ones. I too was once guilty of this. As a zookeeper from the UK who was passionate about animal behaviour, I was eager to work with colourful birds and large mammals. However, now having worked with Elongated Tortoises for over two years this has given me a new perspective and respect for the underrepresented species of the forests.

Tortoises are far more important than many realise. They play an important ecological role in their environments. By eating a variety of fruits, they disperse seeds in their droppings and help regenerate forests. Their digging of burrows and nests aerates the soil and creates microhabitats used by other species. In short, protecting tortoises means protecting the health and resilience of entire ecosystems.

So, when offered the opportunity to move to Southeast Asia and help protect this incredibly vulnerable species, I jumped at the prospect of making a real impact in conservation. I now work at the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB), a conservation centre of the Allwetterzoo Münster in Germany, and established in collaboration with the Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Population. Based in Siem Reap province in Cambodia, we focus on protecting many of Cambodia’s most critically endangered chelonians and bird species.

My role at ACCB involves all manner of conservation activities, from rescues, reintroductions, post-release monitoring and both in-situ and ex-situ research. However, one of my most fulfilling projects has been the augmentation translocation of Elongated Tortoises back into Cambodia’s vast forests. This ongoing project, aims to bolster the dwindling wild populations, supported by the largest ex-situ assurance colony in the world, with ACCB currently housing approximately 600 individuals.

Part of my job is to oversee the releases of our ex-situ population and conduct post-release monitoring with the help of my field team. To understand whether our efforts are making a difference, and to understand more about this understudied species, we tagged a subset of tortoises with small GPS and VHF transmitters. These allow us to follow their movements and see how they adapt to life in the wild.

In April 2023, 100 captive-bred tortoises were transferred into a one-hectare acclimation pen within a protected area in Northern Cambodia. Government officials, community members, and Buddhist monks were invited to welcome the tortoises upon their arrival and the tortoises and the project team received blessings of good luck from the Buddhist monks. Involving local communities and government officials in our work is incredibly important, as it provides us the opportunity to educate people on why conservation is so important, Furthermore, these are the people who call these forests home, they are the ones who know the habitats best and ultimately are the ones who must be empowered to protect them.

On 12 January 2024, after eight months in the acclimation pen, the Elongated Tortoises were released to disperse into the forest. This is when our post-release monitoring began. We trained three “Tortoise Guardians” who live in the forest to track all the tagged tortoises and collect ecological data. A couple of times each month, my field team and I venture into the forest to assist, download GPS data, and switch out transmitters for charged ones. Every six months our ACCB veterinarian joins to provide health checks.

For now, data collection continues as we begin analysing over 20 months of information. At the same time, we are looking ahead, trying to secure funding and preparing for the next release cohort, while building on the lessons learned from our first release. None of this would be possible without the generosity of our donors, whose support has allowed us to continue this work and provide Elongated Tortoises with a lifeline, and to aid in the recovery of biodiversity in Cambodia.
 

- Jack Willis, Curator of In-situ Conservation & Research, Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity

Acknowledgements: We would like to express our gratitude to the ACCB staff, both past and present, with special appreciation to Jason Miller, Maria Blümm Rexach, Kees Groot, Phorn Sreymom, Jack Willis, and Chao Lengthol. We also thank Allwetterzoo Münster, the Ministry of Environment, the Forestry Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Rising Phoenix Co. Ltd, and the Wildlife Conservation Society for their invaluable support. Our project partners would like to acknowledge the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians, Berufsverband der Zootierpfleger e.V., the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, IUCN, Holohil, the IUCN SSC Asian Species Action Partnership, Re:Wild, Stiftung Artenschutz, Turtle Conservation Fund, and Tropical World Leeds for their contributions and collaboration. CEPF is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, Fondation Hans Wilsdorf, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Canada, the Government of Japan and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.