About fifty turtles “furrowed” have left Monaco Saturday for the Senegal, via Paris, as part of an operation to strengthen the local populations of this endangered species. These reptiles of the Centrochelys sulcata species, the largest continental land turtle, some specimens of which weigh up to 100 kg and live for centuries, were born at the Oceanographic Museum of the Principality of Monaco in recent years. They are said to be furrowed because of the concentric furrows present on their shell.
This operation, carried out in partnership with the African Chelonian Institute in Senegal, will take place over several months. After their transfer by truck to Paris then by plane to Dakar in six specially equipped crates, the 46 juveniles will be placed in quarantine for six months in an observation enclosure located in the Turtle Village of Noflaye, near Dakar. Forty-nine were born in captivity in Monaco but two remain in the principality and one is deceased.
A two-year follow-up
These juveniles will then be placed for a year in a fenced part of the Koyli Alpha Nature Reserve in the northwest of the country, then released within this same reserve. The program established between the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco and its Senegalese counterpart provides for population monitoring for two years.
Born in captivity themselves, the parents of these juveniles were offered in 2011 to Albert II of Monaco by Mali during an official visit by the Prince to the country. The seven specimens in question have since been housed in a specially equipped space in the Oceanographic Museum, with the aim of both raising public awareness and conserving the species.
Very endangered in Senegal
The natural habitat of African spurred tortoises, present throughout the Sahelian strip, is particularly threatened by the overgrazing of domestic livestock. They are also victims of poaching, either for pet trafficking or for the consumption of their flesh or the sale of their shells on the black market. They are classified as a “vulnerable” species in the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. nature (IUCN).
“In Senegal, it is a very endangered species since at the last census there are 150 left, it’s really not a lot,” said Robert Calcagno, director general of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco. Since the first births in 2014, this organization was looking for a partner to carry out a reintroduction operation. He had had to give up finalizing a project carried out for several years with the Mali due to the political and security situation in that country. The princely family attended on Saturday, on the panoramic terrace of the Oceanographic Museum, the departure of the young turtles.