Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
Key
site specific
region wide
Swamp Tortoise in race of its life
Teetering on the brink of extinction is one of the world's most endangered tortoises, the Western Swamp Tortoise. Less than 150 are believed to remain, with most found in the Shire of Swan in southwest Western Australia.
Today Australia's smallest tortoise - measuring just 14 centimetres in length - is the focus of a recovery plan coordinated by the Swan Catchment Council.
The aim is to decrease the chance of extinction by creating at least three wild populations and doubling the total number of individuals.
Funding
The project is being funded over two years with $240,000 from the Australian Government and cash and in-kind contributions from the Western Australian Government.
Activities and achievements
The tortoise once ranged from Pearce Airbase in Bullsbrook to Perth Airport in Guildford, but is now only found in the Ellen Brook and Twin Swamps nature reserves.
Recovery Team chairman Lyndon Mutter said that a third of the population would be established at Mogumber Nature Reserve in the Shire of Gingin.
"It'll be a number of years before scientists are able to determine whether the population will be viable long-term," Lyndon said. "Predation by foxes and loss of habitat through clearing of swamps has decimated tortoise numbers."
A successful captive breeding program at Perth Zoo has produced 240 tortoises that have been released into the wild at Twin Swamps and Mogumber. The Zoo's first step was to get the captive animals to breed, with ultrasounds used to determine the reproductive ability of the females.
Since 1989 the survival rate has improved steadily with about 618 tortoises successfully reared at the Zoo. Since 1994, 370 tortoises have been released into the wild.
Lyndon said that using the breeding potential of the current adults was the main goal as well as rearing hatchlings to maturity, which may take as long as 10-15 years. The long-term aim is to release the grown tortoises into secure habitat in the wild.
"The recovery team is looking at a number of additional sites that can be used for the re-introduction of the tortoises," he said.
"An information shelter with interpretive material developed by the Friends of the Western Swamp Tortoise Group will be established at the nearest service station to the Ellen Brook and Twin Swamps nature reserves. This shelter will contain information on the tortoise and the recovery plan."
More information
- Lyndon Mutter, Recovery Team Chairman: (08) 9405 0705 or lyndonm@dec.wa.gov.au
See also
Key
Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window